Orange Is The New Black actress Laverne Cox has announced a new documentary that highlights the lives of transgender youth in America.
Cox, who made history as the first transgender person to be nominated for an Emmy in an acting category, originally made it known in April that a documentary was in the works and now the Netflix star has officially revealed details for Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word , which is set to air simultaneously on MTV and Logo on October 17.
Proud to announce The #TWord – my new doc exploring lives of trans youth, coming to @MTV / @LogoTV 10/17! More: http://t.co/pJtGS0nF6f
— Laverne Cox (@Lavernecox) September 18, 2014
Laverne’s doc will focus on seven openly trans young people between the ages of 12 and 24 and capture crucial moments in their journeys, from coming out to friends and family to facing bullying and discrimination. In a statement, Cox described the importance of the message to trans people of all ages that is spread throughout the film. “For many of us, the ‘T’ in ‘LGBT’ means more than ‘transgender’ — it also means ‘truth,’” Laverne’s statement reads. “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.”
Cox also announced that following the premiere of the doc, an hour-long live forum will air and feature herself, along with MTV’s SuChin Pik, continuing the conversation with the documentary’s participants and audience members.
The T Word will air as part of MTV’s Look Different campaign , launched earlier this year as an ongoing initiative to, as the channel described, “identify and fight biases, whether they be based in gender, sexual orientation or race.” Laverne’s film is one of many television specials in a series of content on screen and online that began with a special edition of the long-running True Life series titled True Life: I’m a Gay Athlete. Earlier in her career, Cox produced and co-hosted the VH1 makeover series TRANSForm Me.
The T Word sees Cox venturing into new, widespread forms of the activism that she has been passionate about for many years. When not working on Orange, the actress tours throughout the country speaking publicly about LGBT rights. Laverne is also a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.
Laverne Cox broke ground earlier this year when she became the first openly transgender person to appear on the cover of Time Magazine.
Cox’s The T Word will debut on Logo and MTV on Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. E.T., followed by the hour-long forum at 8 p.m. Laverne will also guest star in an upcoming episode of the music channel’s LGBT-centric Faking It , set to air on October 14.
[Image via Google]
