With all the attention that Caitlyn Jenner, formerly Bruce Jenner, gender identity has become a hot topic and the term "real woman" becomes a sensitive term.
Actress Selenis Leyva from "Orange is the new black" writes her second blog for the Huffington post to address the issue.
Real women are just woken. They stand out not because they exemplify femininity, but rather because they embrace who they are.
Women get portrayed in Hollywood as dainty, weak, petite and in need of rescue.
Women in the real world come in all shapes and sizes, are strong and weak and everything in between.
Women are equal to men, are as complex as men and are as diverse as men.
Read Leyva's blog post for Huffington post here.
Leyva's first post can be read here and deals more with the topic of transgender.
California law changed two years ago so that high school students were allowed to choose the restroom for the gender they identified with.
The issue outraged many parents who did not want their child learning about such topics as gender identity and transgender.
The issues with transgender people did not commence with Jenner and they do not end with Jenner.
The discrimination, teasing and bullying for gender related issues continues.
The LGBTQ+ community continues to be one of the most discriminated groups. Equality for everyone continues to be an issue.
Read Leyva's first blog post here.
Selenis Leyva is one of the breakout stars of NETFLIX's hit series Orange Is The New Black, which recently won the 2015 coveted Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Ensemble Cast in a Comedy Series. Selenis will reprise her role as series regular (and fan favorite!) Gloria Mendoza when the hit series returns for a third season on June 12 and will also make history as the first Latina Governor on HBO's Emmy-winning series, Veep, starring opposite Julia Louis-Dreyfus, later this summer. Selenis Leyva recently wrapped production in the highly anticipated feature film “CUSTODY”, starring opposite Catalina Sandino Moreno, Viola Davis, Raul Esparza and Hayden Panettiere in NYC.
Selenis' numerous television credits include recurring roles on hit shows like Law & Order: SVU; Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, Girls, Elementary, The Following, The Sopranos and Third Watch. On the big screen, she's been seen in Sex & The City 2, the Oscar-nominated film, Maria Full of Grace, and the animated films Ice Age:Continental Drift, EPIC and Ice Age: Dawn of Dinosaurs.
A triple threat, Selenis also has numerous acting credits on the New York Stage, including the iconic role of CELIA CRUZ in the off-Broadway hit Celia, and the critically acclaimed plays Ana in the Tropics and Dona Flor & Her 2 Husbands. Expanding her career further Selenis is working behind the camera as Executive Producer to her 1st indie film called "Romeo & Romeo", release date in 2016.
Born and raised in New York City, Selenis is a proud Latina of Cuban and Dominican descent. In addition to being the first Hispanic Ambassador for the Gabrielle's Angel Foundation for Cancer Research (her brother is a 2x cancer survior), Selenis is also the recipient of a 2014 ALMA Award, a Special Achievement Award for breaking barriers in the arts. She is also an advocate for LGBT rights and works closely with LGBT Human Rights Organizations and Anti- Bullying Campaigns.
