Actress, Transgender Advocate Laverne Cox to Present 'Ain't I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood'

The LGBTQ Student Alliance of Old Dominion, ODU Out, welcomes actress and transgender advocate Laverne Cox to campus Thursday, Feb. 27, for the presentation "Ain't I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood."

It begins at 7 p.m. in the University Theatre. This event is free and open to the public.

In the Netflix original series, "Orange Is the New Black," Cox plays Sophia Burset, an incarcerated transgender woman of color. She is the first trans woman of color to have a leading role on a mainstream scripted television show. Cox is also the first trans woman of color to produce and star in her own television show, VH1's critically acclaimed "TRANSForm Me."

Cox was featured as the Massachusetts Independent Film Festival's 2013 Best Supporting Actress and has been nominated for various GLAAD Media Awards. She has also been featured in "Law and Order," "Law and Order: SVU," "Bored to Death" and the independent films "Carla" and "The Exhibitionists."

In her presentation "Ain't I a Woman: My Journey to Womanhood," Cox explores how the intersections of race, class and gender uniquely affect the lives of trans women of color. She draws from her own personal story, discussing how issues of race, class and gender affect how she has been able to navigate the world.

From growing up in Mobile, Ala., and being raised by a single mother in a Christian family, to attending college in New York City to pursue a career as an actress, to finally finding the courage to step into the womanhood she always knew at heart was her destiny, Cox tells the story of the unique challenges along her journey to womanhood, professional achievement, self-acceptance and love.

The event is sponsored by the PAW funding program, ODU Women's Center, Student Government Association, ODU Safe Space and the Office of Intercultural Relations.

For more information email oduout@odu.edu.