Laverne Cox Says Transgender People Need More Than Just Media Visibility

2 minute read

Laverne Cox, transgender activist and star of Orange Is the New Black, stopped by the TIME/PEOPLE party in Washington, D.C., on Friday night. Standing on the patio in a gold dress, she talked about Florida’s bathroom bill and the next steps in the trans movement, and also gave a hint about the next season of Orange Is the New Black.

Who are you most excited to see at the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend?
I haven’t really thought about it, honestly. I feel like this neophyte in D.C. for this weekend, and I’m just coming to explore and be curious and open.

There’s a bill being put forward in Florida to make it illegal for trans people to use the bathrooms that don’t belong to their biological sex. What do you think of this and other bathroom bills around the country?
These bathroom bills are unfortunate in that they are sort of scare tactics. If you look historically at cities like New York City that have passed public accommodations protections for trans people, nothing crazy has happened when trans people go to the bathroom. We just want to go to the bathroom. It’s a way to sort of scapegoat us … We are the ones that are really unsafe. The first eight weeks of 2015, seven trans people were murdered, almost one a week. So we’re the ones whose lives are in danger. So to portray us as potential predators is unfortunate.

2014 was a watershed year for the trans movement. What do you see as the next steps?
I would say that 2014 was a watershed moment for visibility, but the record unemployment rates, homicide rates and discrimination that we experience, that has not changed. So we need more of what’s happening in the media in terms of visibility to affect policies and how we treat transgender folks.

Can you give me any sneak previews of the upcoming season of Orange Is the New Black?
Jenji [Kohan, the show’s creator] was really interested in faith in the third season, what do you believe in?

See the Stars at the TIME-People White House Correspondents Party

Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
MSNBC's Ronan Farrow, Actress Laverne Cox and Senior Advisor to President Obama, Valerie JarrettMichael Loccisano—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Video blogger Bethany MotaLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Retired New York Giants defensiveend Michael Strahan and Screenwriter Kenya BarrisMichael Loccisano—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
CBS's Gayle King and actress Tracee Ellis RossLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Mary Anne Huntsman and MSNBC's Abby Huntsman.Larry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Actress Gina RodriguezLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
MSNBC's Ronan Farrow and author and reality TV personality Wendy DiamondLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Laverne Cox and Editorial Director of PEOPLE Magazine Jess CagleLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
NBC sports commentator and figure skater Tara Lipinski and MSNBC's Chris JansingLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
CBS's Gayle King and her daughter, Kirby BumpusMichael Loccisano—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
CNN's Dana Bash, Actor Spencer Garrett, and Actress Kelly RutherfordMichael Loccisano—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
MSNBC's Thomas Roberts and Ronan Farrow, Actress Laverne Cox, MSNBC political commentator Karen Finney and guestMichael Loccisano—Getty Images for Time and People
Time And People's Annual Cocktail Party On White House Correspondents' Weekend
Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Justin MikitaLarry Busacca—Getty Images for Time and People

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Write to Tessa Berenson Rogers at tessa.Rogers@time.com