Laverne Cox, Janet Mock and Caitlyn Jenner now represent a triumvirate of the most visible and recognizable trans women in America.  As such, they wield enormous influence when it comes to talking about issues affecting the trans community and directing attention to them. In an essay published Tuesday on her Tumblr blog, Cox expressed optimism regarding the largely warm reception Jenner received as she debuted her new name and gender presentation, but she also reminded her readers of the struggles faced by everyday trans people who aren’t as well off or famous as she is.  Most trans folks don’t have the privileges Caitlyn and I have now have. It is those trans folks we must continue to lift up, get them access to healthcare, jobs, housing, safe streets, safe schools and homes for our young people. We must lift up the stories of those most at risk, statistically trans people of color who are poor and working class. I have hoped over the past few years that the incredible love I have received from the public can translate to the lives of all trans folks.  Cox is best known for portraying Sophia Burset on the Netflix dramedy “Orange is the New Black.” (Burset is a trans woman who is in prison for committing credit card fraud and using the profits to finance gender-affirming surgery.) She and Mock, author of the book “Redefining Realness” and host of the MSNBC web show “So POPular!,” have both used their heightened platforms as bullhorns for trans activism.  Let's celebrate Caitlyn & use her moment to uplift trans folks facing insurmountable economic barriers for affirming healthcare.  — Janet Mock (@janetmock) June 1, 2015  Cox is a producer of “Free Cece,” a documentary about a trans woman named Cece McDonald who was arrested and imprisoned after getting into a fight with people who attacked her with transphobic and racist slurs. She, like many convicted trans women, was housed in a men’s prison.  As Jenner continues a new phase in her life which will be openly documented with a reality series on E!, questions are bound to arise. How much of an advocate for trans issues should Jenner be? What, if anything, should be expected of her? Yes, she’s a trans woman. She’s also rich, white, and Republican, and all of those things color her experience living as a trans person. She’s stated publicly that she wants to see if she’s still able to drive a golf ball 300 yards with her new breasts.  When Jenner was still living as Bruce, she joined Sherwood Country Club in Thousand Oaks, Calif. It’s an exclusive enclave for Ventura County’s powerful and wealthy elite — the price of admission is a $225,000 initiation fee. The club, which is currently undergoing renovations, is segregated by sex. Its primary dining room and bar are designated as male-only, a privilege that Jenner formerly enjoyed.  [Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair: ‘Call me Caitlyn’]  Many trans women, especially trans women of color, face systemic problems that may as well take place in another universe considering how far removed they are from Jenner’s experience. They range from widespread mistreatment by law enforcement to higher rates of suicide to housing discrimination. Seven trans women were murdered in the first two months of 2015, and advocates warned of an “epidemic” of violence against trans women of color.  Should we expect Jenner to champion those issues, as Cox and Mock have? Is it fair to have those expectations of her simply because she’s a famous trans woman? It’s part of the tricky landscape that Jenner will have to publicly navigate.  She touched on those questions in her “20/20″ interview with Diane Sawyer in April: “I would like to work with this community to get this message out,” Jenner said, adding that Cox and Mock “know a lot more than I know … I am not a spokesman for the community.” She added, “the suicide rates, murder rates, difficulty — especially for black female trans women — I would like to think that we can save some lives here.”  [Jenner’s in-depth interview: ‘For all intents and purposes, I am a woman’]  Thinking about the implications of Jenner’s newfound ubiquity would have for everyday trans women, Cox also cautioned against reducing Jenner, who has drawn comparisons to Jessica Lange and Janice Dickinson, to her looks alone.  “Yes, Caitlyn looks amazing and is beautiful but what I think is most beautiful about her is her heart and soul, the ways she has allowed the world into her vulnerabilities,” Cox wrote. “The love and devotion she has for her family and that they have for her. Her courage to move past denial into her truth so publicly. These things are beyond beautiful to me.”  There’s a danger in thinking or expecting that all trans women look like Cox or Mock or Jenner. That simply isn’t the case, Cox said. She worried about the airbrushed and perfectly lighted conditions that are used to shoot magazine covers, perpetuating unrealistic standards of trans beauty.  A year ago when my Time magazine cover came out I saw posts from many trans folks saying that I am “drop dead gorgeous” and that that doesn’t represent most trans people. (It was news to be that I am drop dead gorgeous but I’ll certainly take it). But what I think they meant is that in certain lighting, at certain angles I am able to embody certain cisnormative beauty standards. Now, there are many trans folks because of genetics and/or lack of material access who will never be able to embody these standards. More importantly many trans folks don’t want to embody them and we shouldn’t have to to be seen as ourselves and respected as ourselves . It is important to note that these standards are also infomed by race, class and ability among other intersections. I have always been aware that I can never represent all trans people. No one or two or three trans people can. This is why we need diverse media representations of trans folks to multiply trans narratives in the media and depict our beautiful diversities.  A few days before Jenner’s Vanity Fair cover debuted, Cox published a picture of herself on Instagram sans makeup.  It was a reminder that all women need a chance to let themselves breathe, no matter what skin they inhabit.  “I feel so privileged to be able to do work that I love and very privileged to be able to take time off occasionally,” Cox wrote in the caption. “I take none of it lightly.”  What Buzz Bissinger and Caitlyn Jenner tell us about gender and identity  Actually, Caitlyn Jenner just broke the Internet  Highlights from Caitlyn Jenner’s interview with Vanity Fair: ‘I’m not doing this so I can hit it off the women’s tee’  Jenner on the cover of Vanity Fair: ‘Call me Caitlyn’  How Caitlyn Jenner won Bruce Jenner’s Olympic medals  Bruce Jenner’s teachable moment on being transgender  You don’t have to like it. You don’t have to even have to understand it. But you must respect Bruce Jenner's decision to come out as Caitlyn, says Post opinion writer Jonathan Capehart. (Tom LeGro/The Washington Post)  Soraya Nadia McDonald covers arts, entertainment and culture for the Washington Post with a focus on race and gender issues.
Laverne Cox and Janet Mock called for attention to pressing issues affecting trans women as they celebrated Caitlyn Jenner.