Netflix’s critically acclaimed original series, Orange Is The New Black, is all the rage. Making headlines regarding race, sexual identity, gender, economics, politics, you name it, this show is all about pushing boundaries while trying to teach the viewers a lesson.
For those of you who don’t have a countdown in your phone until the June 2015 season 3 release, let me catch you up a bit on one of my all-time favorite binge-worthy scripts: OITNB.
This series (rated 8.5/10 on IMDb) is the story of middle-aged Piper Chapman who has been convicted of assisting her druglord ex lover, Alex Vause. Pre-sentencing, Chapman is engaged to the wealthy Larry Bloom and is ready to start her “perfect life” and throw away all of her secret past. Upon arrival at Litchfield Penitentiary, Piper Chapman is not only mortified that her life is completely turned around, but also ill-prepared for the whirlwind that is women’s prison.
So, let’s delve into the question of how this series is able to combat stereotypical scripts, insert controversial topics and create a series that is relatable among the masses.
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STEP 1: Have a diverse cast to combat women’s prison stereotypes, promote equal representation
This streaming series has a full cast of extremely diverse women. There are several races represented: African-American, Caucasian, Italian-American, Latina-American and more. In addition, there are several sexual orientations and gender identities represented: heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual and transgender. While there may be ignorant remarks and slang terms thrown between inmates, there are few hate crimes (solely from Pennsatucky) related to sexual orientation and none regarding Sophia’s transgender identity. Additionally, there is equal representation among the races. There are educated and uneducated, privilege and under-privileged, religious and atheist, gay and straight women in each race represented in the series.
White girls:
Piper Chapman- privileged, white girl who got herself into some dirty business when she fell madly in love with con-artist Vause; identifies as bisexual — drug-related offense
Nicky Nichols- grew up in a wealthy family and became a heroine addict, resulting in her open-heart surgery; identifies as homosexual– drug-related offense
Tiffany “Pennsatucky” Doggett: imprisoned for opening fire in an abortion clinic, outwardly religious; identifies as heterosexual — violence-related offense
Alex Vause: former drug smuggler; identifies as homosexual — drug-related offense
Lorna Morello: Italian-American, self-proclaimed romantic in prison for multiple offenses including stalking, attempted murder and mail order fraud; identifies as heterosexual but has homosexual tendencies — fraud + violence-related offense
Black girls:
Suzanne “Crazy Eyes” Warren: misunderstood, emotionally unstable female adopted into an all-white, financially stable family; sexual orientation unknown– unknown offense
Tasha “Taystee” Jefferson: pulled from the streets, history of theft, grew up in the foster system; identifies as heterosexual — theft related offense
Poussey Washington: emotionally unstable military brat; identifies as homosexual — violence-related offense
Yvonne “Vee” Parker: manipulating and dangerous, former foster parent and drug dealer; identifies as heterosexual — drug and violence-related offense
Sophia Burset: transgender, used to be the male counterpart in a marriage and has one son; identifies as a bisexual transgender — fraud-related offense
Janae Watson: former athlete that got involved with the wrong people; identifies as heterosexual — armed robbery
Latina girls:
Dayanara “Daya” Diaz: comes from a tough background involving drugs, promiscuous, religious; identifies as heterosexual —drug-related offense
Gloria Mendoza: mother of two, in prison for fraud; identifies as heterosexual — fraud-related offense
STEP 2: Play around with privilege
While there are commonalities among the characters regarding their privilege, Piper Chapman seems, at first, to stick out like a sore thumb among the rest of the cast. Why might this be? Privilege.
In July 2013, a post was published to Ms. Blog Magazine regarding Piper’s privilege titled, “Orange Is The New Black: Taking Privilege to Tas.” In this article, Liss-Schultz debates Chapman’s described privilege according to quotes directly from season one. In her examples, there is one specific person that ensures that Piper is deemed superior to the other inmates: her mother. Piper’s mother is disgusted by the entire situation and is mortified that her daughter must be in prison. She insists that Piper is “nothing like the other women” and insinuates that she matters because she is wealthy. In addition, when legal issues go awry, Piper turns to her fiancé’s famed lawyer father for advice and legal assistance. The other characters originally think she is a joke and are determined to break her until Piper loses her “hoity-toity” attitude. While Piper could easily fall victim of these incidentals, she eventually reminds herself of reality when she says:
I am in here because I am no different from anybody else in here. I made bad choices, I committed a crime, and being in here is no one’s fault but my own.
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STEP 3: Recognize women’s prison issues
From the start, OITNB has been known for wanting to script a series that represents a part of reality in women’s prisons. An article published in June 2014 on COLORLINES: News For Action’s website titled, “The Women’s Prison Issues to Watch for In ‘Orange Is The New Black'” illustrates the different issues presented in Litchfield and how the producers have created a fairly realistic vision of the trials and tribulations faced by women behind bars.
1. Recidivism: this term refers to the amount of women that purposely return to prison after being released. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, three in every four former prisoners are re-arrested within five years of their release. Reasons for this?: lack of housing, lack of jobs, lack of professional experience, lack of resources
2. Mental Healthcare: several characters in OITNB flirt with mental instability throughout the show. Several of the women who are placed in solitary confinement come out extremely mentally unstable, while others develop mental issues solely from the drastic changes of life inside a penitentiary. In the show, it is made clear that there are few resources available for women to cope with their mental instability behind bars.
3. Pregnancy Behind Bars: according to the American Civil Liberties Union, 33 states allow prisons to shackle women to beds while they are giving birth. It is understood that this could be a safety measure; however, according to the ACLU, New York City jails do not restrain their inmates while they are giving birth and have had no reported harmful incidents.
4. Healthcare for Transgender: transgender character Sophia Bursett, played by Laverne Cox, reveals the real-life issue of transgender women being unable to secure the proper dosage of hormones from the prison medical staff. The consequences for transgender women not taking their proper hormones can be life-threatening and result in permanent physical and emotional damage.
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Overall, this series is record-breaking, Emmy-winning and life-changing for men and women alike. It is a breath of fresh air for TV-watchers and the media in general because Jenji Kohan and fellow producers have no boundaries in their Netflix series and are entirely unafraid of censorship. So now, go watch it, and tell me you don’t love it.
A Public Prowess 
I really enjoyed reading the in depth way that you focused on this show and the way that you explained everything so eloquently. It does combat a lot of stereotypes and the way you presented this was something I hadn’t really thought of before. The show does discuss a lot of dynamics dealing with everything on the show, but it’s not something I had looked at from this light because it is easy to see that there are stereotypes that run on the show, but this perspective shows that there is a lot of different representation amongst each identity with the characters on the show.
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I liked how you layed this post out, bringing attention to each intersection that this show manages to weave in to its writing. I haven’t watched yet, but it’s at the top of my to-do list. I have blogged about the need for more choices being made the way this show makes them, specifically talking about casting transgender actors, and lesbian actors, to play their respective parts, instead of hetero or cis actors putting on some kind of played up performance. I think you bring up an interesting point brielfy about not having to fear censorhip. It definately seems like with the premium shows, including HBO, Netflix, and Showtime series, they are able to push more boundaries because they can speak so explicitly and frankly, and that seems to draw in the most aware and creative writers. I see the boundaries being pushed, and carrying over to some network television, but it’s a bummer that the networks that gain the biggest viewership are unable to deliver important representations the way that the premium channels with limited viewership are.
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Hi there, and thank you for the comment! I really appreciate your feedback and I am glad that you enjoyed the post. I agree that premium networks draw in more aware and creative writers. Viewers seem to appreciate the stretch in boundaries and enjoy the networks in general. I think that the broadcast networks would love to push new boundaries but they have the fear of the general public and the always-pressing question of what is and is not politically correct.
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I really enjoyed the layout of this post. I am a huge OITNB fan, so I was able to understand all of the references you made quite easily. I think that even if I hadn’t seen the show I would have been able to follow.
The issue of privilege presented in this post is very interesting. In OITNB, as well as the prison system, it’s hard to picture what privilege looks like since it’s set in such a different environment. It was helpful for me when you categorized and explained each character within racial groups. This racial categorization is very prevalent in the series.
When I think about privilege in OITNB it’s hard to rank because as criminals, they somehow seem to be on a similar playing field (in the setting of the prison). I would argue that the environment in which OITNB is set in (the women’s prison) equalizes the prisoners, at least in this particular show. Yes, the women are separated by racial groups, sexuality, and in one instance gender, but within the prison I wouldn’t say that one group is always better than another. For instance, when Red is the head of the kitchen the white women seem to be on top, but when the Latinas take over they gain more power. Then theres the feud between Red and Vee that labels them as competitors, but not really better than each other. What do you think?
Your post really got me thinking about OITNB in a new and complex way!
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Sam, I am glad that you enjoyed this post! As a fellow OITNB fan, I am happy to see that you approved of my findings. I appreciate your comments regarding the privilege in the show. I think that, within the prison, they do play on the same field and are all working towards similar goals. I think it is easy for the different groups to take turns practicing superiority and this is clearly demonstrated in Season 2 when they are rallying for votes. Thanks for your post!
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I loved this post, as well as love this show. I never really thought about this show very deeply, but you use some really great examples. I also find it interesting that they do split themselves up into these groups voluntarily, for example all the Hispanic women all hang out with each other, and they all work in the kitchen together, now that Red is no longer the cook. I think it would be interesting to see if the guard-inmate relationship is as relaxed as it really is in the show, in which the inmates give the guards sexual favors for food or other items, and even engaging in full-on relationships with the guards in Daya’s case. I really wonder how much of the happenings in the show actually happen in the prison system.
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Thank you for your comments, Ashley! I loved your example with Red and the Hispanic women relating to my post. I, too, think it would be interesting to see if the relationship Daya has is realistic. Additionally, I would be really curious to see what actual inmates think of the shows realism.
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I love your in-depth thoughts on the show’s many controversial topics and why they matter. Personally, I love OITNB because it seems like one of the most realistic shows out right now. It’s great to see the characters tackle their challenges head-on and their actions remind us that they are just human like the rest of us. It’s obvious the girls’ cliques are segregated by race, both in social and work environments. I assumed the prison bosses gave the inmates of the same race the same jobs so that they wouldn’t have as much drama and violence between the groups. It seemed that the people running the prison encouraged the girls to segregate. Aside from race, It’s interesting how the show faces issues of class differences. Piper’s mother definitely made me laugh with her perception of Piper as a prisoner. Once we saw the reasons why the other girls got arrested, it shows that they’re not all murderers and robbers like many outsiders see people who are in prison. Even the relationship between one of the girls and a police officer shows people in completely opposite positions of authority can come together and fall in love. The way the show has affected the real-world has been very freshening as well. Laverne Cox is a great example of someone in the show who has become a national role model. I’ve seen many different articles focused on the talks she gives, and how influential she has been to different communities. Her confidence shows transgender people that there is no reason for them to hide who they are, and that non-transgender people shouldn’t treat them any different. I’m excited to see what issues they tackle next season. And I’m definitely with you on the countdown till next summer. Can’t wait!
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Janelle, I really enjoyed your feedback. I was intrigued by your quote, “I assumed the prison bosses gave the inmates of the same race the same jobs so that they wouldn’t have as much drama and violence between the groups.” I did not consider this at first and I think it’s a really interesting point. I also liked your point, “Once we saw the reasons why the other girls got arrested, it shows that they’re not all murderers and robbers like many outsiders see people who are in prison.” This is one of the biggest takeaways from the show and I think that viewers find themselves changing their views on the characters as the seasons progress. In total agreement that June can’t come soon enough… the finale was unreal.
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Sadly, even with all the hype of this new show, I have yet to see it! I heard all the things you’ve discussed in depth here in your blog post – that this show is diverse and more realistic than most shows. Your layout of this post made it easy for me to understand the different dynamics in the show and I actually got a good understanding of the differences throughout each individual. It doesn’t seem like there is any cultural assimilation in the show within any characters and it is relieving that the main character doesn’t accept her privileged ideals. I think by your post that this show would be perfect for a textual analysis assignment.
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Alexandria, you should definitely watch it! I am glad that you enjoyed the layout and I appreciate your feedback. I think that there is cultural assimilation in that the characters adapt to life in prison. In addition, some of the characters in season two change their personalities to match that of the group they seem to identify with most. While I don’t agree with this entirely, I think that if you watch the show you’ll see that it’s rather inevitable. Thank you for your comment!
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