Actress and trans rights activist Laverne Cox appears on the cover of the current issue of Time Magazine, and talks candidly about her childhood, politics and why “genitalia isn’t destiny”.

The Orange is the New Black star rose to fame after the Netflix series became a runaway hit with all demographics. Since then, she has been using her notoriety to campaign for trans rights and to help create greater visibility for the trans community.

This year, Cox won the GLAAD Stephen F. Kolzak Award for her work paving the way for other transgender men and women. She is also producing a documentary about CeCe McDonald, a trans woman who served jail time in a men’s prison for defending herself in a transphobic attack.

Cox told Time that although there’s still a lot of work to be done, she thinks that a lot of progress has been made since she was a teenager. She said, “I think there are more media representations that young trans people can look to and say, that’s me, in an affirming way.

“There’s just so many resources out there now that it makes you feel like you’re less alone and gives some sort of sense of, ‘okay, this is who I am and this is what I’m going through’, as opposed to being ‘What the fuck is wrong with me?’ That was what I grew up with.”

Cox will return to Netflix on June 6 in season two of Orange is the New Black.  Watch an exclusive behind the scenes look at the Time photoshoot below.

Read The Outmost’s interview with Laverne Cox here.