Laverne Cox named one of Paper magazine’s beautiful people of 2014

Since the premiere of Orange Is the New Black on Netflix last year, Laverne Cox has become a pop-culture force of nature, effortlessly toeing the line between Hollywood it-girl and outspoken trans activist.

After a whirlwind year, Cox is getting yet another honour, as Paper magazine has named her one of the beautiful people of 2014, touting her as “a mainstream voice for transgender equality in Hollywood.”

Cox’s profile includes a dazzling shot of the star in Donna Karan, as well as a short interview about her year. She even takes the time to discuss the fallout over Katie Couric’s disastrous interview, saying that she has no ill feelings. She even claimed to still be a fan of Couric’s: “There are folks who have been demonizing Katie, but we taped that segment in advance, so she chose to leave everything that she left in. I think that was a courageous thing.”

Seriously, a class act. It’s great to see someone who is, by and large, a pretty major Hollywood star, step outside of her own celebrity and help out where she can. Now, if someone at Netflix would hurry up with the next season of OITNB, that would be great.

Keep Reading

A blue moon in a dark sky.

Richard Linklater showed me how to love

During a honeymoon phase with a new partner, I clung to Linklater’s “Before” trilogy. His new film, “Blue Moon,” helped me carve a new path forward
The Girlfriend Experience and Sasha Colby

Sasha Colby and The Girlfriend Experience on dolling across the world

The drag legend and the rising star talk chosen trans family, post-Drag Race jet-setting and how to survive this moment in history
Signs and buildings of queer archives; hands playing a game

Among the archives, you can find love, community and history

Queer and trans archives preserve our past—they also offer community space that is essential to our future
Collage with an image of the Book Boudoir's interior, which features candles on a wooden park bench that is suspended by metal chains, bookshelves, a ladder and a counter in front of a shop sign

How BookTok inspired this real-life romance bookstore

Edmonton’s Book Boudoir is building queer-inclusive community one page at a time