JANET

MOCK
One of the most proactive millennial leaders at the forefront of the
transgender movement is none other than television host, author, and
activist: Janet Mock. A considerable "self-made" woman, the Hawaiian-born
Mock stands as a first-generation student who worked her way through an
undergraduate degree in fashion marketing and a graduate education in
journalism from NYU. Her background in writing and the world of apparel
poised her for a nearly decade-long editorship with People magazine and
her subsequent trajectory as a leading pundit for transgender rights and
social justice. Mock has appeared in many televised interviews giving
accounts of her experiences in transitioning, her advocacy for LGBT rights,
and has never been afraid to brandish the critical tone of social
accountability for which she is renown. Recently, Mock has addressed the
media trope painting black women in hostile and aggressive hues by
assessing the Minaj-Cyrus-VMA debacle. In criticizing Cyrus' blindness to
her cultural appropriation, Mock illustrates how the rebellious pop star has
been "quick to take everything but the burden" facing African-Americans
through both socioeconomically historical and modern contexts. Her
analysis of what many news outlets frame as little more than a "catfight" is
characteristic of Mock's ability to suss out the more divisive racial issues
underlying superficial conflicts. Mock highlights the perversion of revering
white artists for their aesthetic uses of "braids" and "twerking" in the
promotion of their personal brands rather than giving due credit to artists
representing the "brilliance and black cool" stemming from appropriated
African-American culture. As not only a woman but a woman of color, Mock
goes above establishing a voice in the narrative for trans-rights with her
unyielding critical commentary on contemporary racial matters.