It’s been a big year for Laverne Cox. She’s already won a Vanguard award from GLAAD, been nominated for an Emmy, appeared on the cover of TIME magazine, and very nicely explained to Katie Couric that it’s not polite to ask about people’s genitals.
Now the transgender actress, who has earned all this attention thanks her role as transgender inmate Sophia Burset in Orange Is The New Black, has announced that she will host The T Word, a joint MTV/Logo TV production about transgender youth. The show will highlight seven transgender youths who will talk about the challenges they’ve faced. The show will be followed by Trans Forum, in which Cox will discuss trans issues with a live audience. The youngest person to appear in The T Word is 12-year-old Zooey, who left her school when administrators refused to recognize her as a girl; the oldest is a 24-year-old who became the first transgender Division One basketball player. In a statement, Cox says “The cast members in this documentary are fearlessly living their truths and in sharing their stories will send the message to other trans youth that it’s okay to be who you are.”
The T Word will air simultaneously on MTV and Logo TV on October 17, the day after LGBT Spirit Day; Trans Forum will air online immediately afterward.
[via Variety]