Laverne Cox and the Transgender Tipping Point of 2014
Looking back at the year 2014 only goes to show what a game-changer the year was for transgender visibility. Janet Mock published her best-selling memoir Redefining Realness, Laura Jane Grace's punk band Against Me! released their watershed album Transgender Dysphoria Blues, and actress Laverne Cox — who portrayed Sophia Burset in the Netflix series Orange is the New Black — made history as the first transgender woman to snag a magazine cover when she was featured on the front of TIME magazine. While there is still much to be done in the department of legislative protection for trans and gender-nonconforming individuals, the rise in visibility was certainly well-worth celebrating at the time.