At Creating Change in 2014 Laverne Cox gave a speech all about the many challenges faced by transgender people in America. These challenges ranged from violence, to visibility, to unfair treatment in the criminal justice system. GLAAD defines a transgender person as someone whose “gender identity differs from the sex the doctor marked on their birth certificate.” (“Transgender FAQ”). Transgender people face many issues in America, and all over the world. In the first four months of 2014 there were already 102 acts of violence against transgender people, and 41% will attempt to commit suicide. Laverne Cox is certainly an authority to speak on these issues since she has either experienced these things first hand or knows plenty who have.
Laverne Cox was born in the rural town known as …show more content…
She shares her experiences with being bullied for being herself, and attempting suicide. She utilises repetition starting sentences with the phrase “some days” and then goes on to speak about a specific time in her life. For example, she states, “Some days I wake up and I’m that sixth grader who swallowed a bottle of pills because I did not want to be myself anymore because I did not know how to be anybody else,” (“Laverne Cox at Creating Change 2014”). She uses this to bring up a struggle that she has faced as a transgender woman, and it gives her credibility right from the beginning of the speech, because she goes on to give a personal story about each issue. This also allows her to introduce the many topics she will touch on throughout the duration of her speech. She makes the issues extremely personal and even adds some pathos. The listener can feel a sense of empathy for her and ultimately every other transgender person who may face these