• ELIXHER
• On January 7, 2014

Television stars and transgender advocates Laverne Cox and Carmen Carrera appeared with Katie Couric on the ABC show “Katie” yesterday to discuss issues surrounding the transgender community.

During the interview, Couric took a no-holds-barred approach by asking the women about transitioning and the societal preoccupation with genitalia. Outspoken and passionate in her response, the “Orange is the New Black” star broke down the realities of many trans peoples lives.

“I think that the preoccupation with transition and with surgery objectifies trans people and then we don’t get to really deal with the real lived experiences,”.

Cox continued, “The reality of trans peoples lives is that so often we are targets of violence, we experience discrimination disproportionately to the rest of the community, our unemployment rate is twice the national average — if you’re a trans person of color it’s four times the national average — the homicide rate in the LGBT community is highest amongst trans women, and if we focus on transition, we don’t actually get to talk about those things,”.

Cox also used the opportunity to bring attention to the tragic slaying of Islan Nettles, a transgender Harlem woman who was beat to death by a group of men.

“We are looking for justice for Islan’s murder, and we are looking for justice for so many trans people across this country, and by focusing on bodies, we aren’t focused on the lived realities of that oppression and that discrimination.”

Cox is currently working alongside Jacqueline Gares to produce “Free CeCe”, a documentary about the life of black trans woman CeCe McDonald and her incarceration in a men’s prison.