http://www.thewire.com/culture/2014/05/laverne-cox-is-the-first-transgender-person-on-the-cover-of-time/371798/

Laverne Cox Is the First Transgender Person on the Cover of Time

Thanks to her work on Netflix's hit Orange Is the New Black — and a now infamous interview with Katie Couric — Cox has emerged as one the most well-known transgender faces in mainstream media. Along with fellow prominent transwomen Carmen Carrera and Janet Mock, Cox has spoken up about the bullying and phobia surrounding the T part of the LGBT movement.

"I realize this is way bigger than me and about a tipping point in our nation's history," Cox wrote on Facebook, "where it is no [longer] acceptable for trans lives to be stigmatized, ridiculed, criminalized and disregarded." She is the first transgender woman to be on the cover of the magazine.

Last month, Cox was left off of the Time 100 list despite being one of the highest vote-getters in online polls. That snub was seen as part of a longer history of ignoring the entire trans community in major media. The backlash lead to the hashtag #whereislavernecox trending nationally. "Laverne Cox’s absence on the list reflects our society’s failure to acknowledge the accomplishments and efforts of transgender women and transgender women of color in general," Kat Hache wrote at The Daily Dot.

Time didn't comment on those criticisms at the time, but it likely played a role in their decision to feature Cox for their cover story about transgender rights. (Time says the story was in the works for months.)