Laverne Cox Is on the Cover of Time Magazine

After outcry grew over her exclusion from Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in April, Laverne Cox has gotten her own cover story for the magazine.

In a Time reader poll, Cox received an overwhelming number of votes from people saying she was deserving of inclusion on the 100 Most Influential list. While Time didn’t automatically include everyone that received a high number of votes on their list, they still said they considered the feedback when putting it together. When Cox didn’t make it on the list, they had no comment as to why.

At the time, Cox didn’t seem too upset about not making the final list, but she’s since credited her cover and the article “The Transgender Tipping Point” by Katy Steinmetz to the hashtag that was started in her honor, #whereislavernecox. “Thanks to everyone who used this # & spoke out,” she wrote on Twitter Thursday morning “U made this happen.” She also added that it was a “lovely bday present, a cover story 2 highlight the profound issues trans people face everyday.”

In an interview with Time, Cox – described by publication as “an unlikely icon” – explained where she thinks America stands with regards to trans acceptance:

We are in a place now where more and more trans people want to come forward and say ‘This is who I am.’ And more trans people are willing to tell their stories. More of us are living visibly and pursuing our dreams visibly, so people can say, ‘Oh yeah, I know someone who is trans.’ When people have points of reference that are humanizing, that demystifies difference. Social media has been a huge part of it and the Internet has been a huge part of it, where we’re able to have a voice in a way that we haven’t been able to before. We’re being able to write our stories and we’re being able to talk back to the media … We are the reason. And we are setting the agenda in a different way.