I remember that, years ago, when I first read about Larry Wachowski making a transition to becoming Lana Wachowski, it weirded me out in the extreme. Now, Lana is opening up about her experiences as a trans woman for the first time, and I’ve grown up in the meantime.
Lana and her brother Andy gained fame and acclaim the world over for The Matrix, and now they’re back in the public spotlight in a big way for the first time in years thanks to their new movie, Cloud Atlas, which opens today. Thanks in part to this new exposure, this past Saturday, Lana received the Human Rights Campaign’s Visibility Award. Her acceptance speech has been online since yesterday, which in movie news terms makes it old, but I still feel it should be spread around as much as possible.
In the speech, Lana talks about growing up feeling different, almost attempting suicide, coming out, and other episodes of her life. It’s incredibly emotional, and an absolute must-see for anyone who cares about sexuality and gender-related civil rights issues.
Watch the video below. You should really see the whole thing, but in case you don’t have half an hour, THR has an abridged version on their site.