Laverne Cox has never been shy when talking gender politics in America and in her latest interview with SiriusXMProgress, Cox explains she feels men who date trans women face more stigma than trans women themselves.
“Most men who are attracted to and date transgender women are probably stigmatized more than trans women are,” Cox said before explaining that she hopes more celebrity men advocate for the acceptance of dating trans women.
“I think a man who is dating trans women, who is a celebrity, or famous or is an athlete or something, needs to come forward –- or a musician –- and needs to say, ‘I love transgender women and [they] deserve to be loved and I’m going to declare that publicly.’ I think those men need some sort of inspiration and hope, so they can live more authentically,” Cox said.
The “Orange Is The New Black” star previously discussed the topic in an interview with Bust magazine, in which she discussed being dumped by a straight man who was too ashamed and insecure to claim her publicly.
“What I realized is it’s not about me,” she said. “It’s actually about that man’s shame around being attracted to me. And his own issues of being seen as less of a man. He has deep, deep, deep insecurities. There are many men who date transgender women and who engage with us only sexually and don’t want anyone to know about it. They’re straight identified, and there’s a huge stigma around men who are attracted to and have sex with and date trans women. They’re arguably even more stigmatized than we are.”
Clearly, this is a topic that needs to be discussed more across the board, because as the trans community becomes more accepted and represented in society, so will the love stories involving them.
