Laverne Cox speaks out on trans representation through the ages (Video)

The J.K. Rowling row has gotten out of hand, with manyt celebrities joining the fray. At a time like this, Laverne Cox's new project, Disclosure dropped its first trailer. 

Reportedly, Laverne features in and executive produces this Netflix documentary from director Sam Feder that tracks the visibility of trans people in media, from early black-and-white silent film to the Jerry Springer spectacle talk-show era to the revolution of trans storytelling in shows like Pose and Transparent. 

Laverne Cox said that she thought, for a very long time, the ways in which trans people have been represented on screen had suggested that they were not real, that they were mentally ill, that they didn't exist." Cox added that yet here she was, yet here we are, and we've always been here. 

Apparently, Disclosure seems to be a successor of sorts to the Celluloid Closet, focusing entirely on the evolution of trans representation across film and television. Matrix director Lily Wachowski and actress Jamie Clayton were among the ones to be interviewed.  

In a director's statement on Disclosure, Feder emphasized the importance of using "only trans people" as featured subjects in the documentary.

Feder said that they wanted audiences to enjoy the nostalgia of archival clips while sitting with complicated feelings." Feder aded that they did not want to tell anyone how or what to think. Rather, they wanted to ask ask how can we be critically engaged with problematic material, knowing that change happens over time, is not linear, and that often people don't know what they don't know. Reportedly, Disclosure will premiere on Netflix this June 19. You can check out the clip here: