When people speak of Laverne Cox, many speak of her beauty and her stunning smile. But there was a time in her life where the “Orange Is The New Black” star found it hard to smile and even go on living. And in a new interview, the transgender star explains her past attempt to take her own life.
In a new interview with ABC News, Cox and shared her wish for a more inclusive society in America.
“One thing I would wish for America … [are] spaces where we have real gender freedom, where we … create spaces of gender self-determination, where we don’t police people’s genders or we don’t tell people that they’re not supposed to act a certain way,” Cox said.
Cox explains that her youth was plagued with bullying that was so extreme that she feared for her safety.
“I was bullied and I internalized a lot of shame about who I was as a child,” Cox said. “[I was] Bullied because I didn’t act the way someone assigned male at birth was supposed to act. And so I was called sissy, I was called the F-word. I was chased home from school practically every day. There was always a kid or groups of kids who wanted to beat me up,” she said.
Cox says things got so bad that she eventually decided to try to take her own life.
“The suicide attempt happened when I was in sixth grade and I was having all these feelings about other boys. And I didn’t want to live,” Cox said.
Thankfully, Cox’s suicide attempt was unsuccessful and she’s now, arguably, the biggest transgender celebrity of this generation.
“So many trans folks have said that they see themselves reflected in this character,” Cox said. “Having your story told validates your experience. It’s like, ‘I’m not alone anymore, and maybe I’ll be OK.”
“I’m really, really happy that I survived,” she said. “If I didn’t survive, I wouldn’t be here today,” she added.
And we’re happy that she’s alive to inspire us all as well. – nicholas robinson
