Laverne Cox becomes first trans woman on the cover of Cosmopolitan

The Orange is the New Black star graced the cover of Cosmopolitan South Africa for the magazine’s LGBT focused ‘Say Yes to Love’ edition. 

In a letter in the magazine, Laverne sent an impassioned message to Cosmopolitan readers.

She said: “Your voice matters, the truth of who you know yourselves to be matters. The truth will set you free!

“Trans women deserve to be loved out in the open and in the light.”

Laverne Cox posted the cover on her Instagram page, saying she was “honoured and proud” to be covering the magazine.

Related:
Laverne Cox collaborates with Beyoncé on new fashion line
Let's do the timewarp again! Laverne Cox is Dr. Frank N. Furter in Fox remake
Representation matters: 'Pose' gives LGBT+ people of color a voice

In an interview accompanying the photoshoot, Laverne opened up about love and dating, telling viewers about the most romantic thing a partner had done for her.

She said: “As a black transgender woman, I’ve often been kept a secret by the men I’ve dated.

“So when my ex-boyfriend introduced me to his dad, and invited me to spend Hanukkah with him and his family, it was the most special thing ever.”

Holly Meadows, the Editor-in-Chief of Cosmopolitan South Africa called Laverne “the world’s most vocal trans poster girl” and celebrated her role as an actress and activist.

She said: “Our goal was to play a small part in providing visibility for the LGBTQI+ community, of which Laverne has become a revolutionary icon.

“We wanted to disrupt hetero-normative ideas around February and Valentine’s Day and look at love in 2018 – including acceptance of self, others and non-binary relationships.”

She continued: “Cox is the world’s most vocal trans poster girl and an activist for the intersection of race, class and gender identities, challenging toxic masculinity, white supremacy and the misrepresentation of trans people.

“For us at COSMO, love – at least for this issue – is celebrating Laverne as the fun, fearless female she is.”

Information gathered from this article
The Gayly 1/22/2018 @ 1:49 p.m. CST