Stephanie Jozkowski October 7, 2015 Draft One
Women jails are a recent product in our society considering only 30 years ago they barley existed. Orange Is the New Black is a Netflix series that opens everyone’s eyes up to a different view of women and also prison life for our time. It’s different than other shows because it has a more realistic side to imprisonment. At Litchfield Penitentiary the women keep their power when they’re supposed to be powerless and their dignity when they’re meant to be ashamed. Characters on Orange is the New Black are role models to the public because they show that women have a purpose unlike most TV shows with women today.
Can Orange Is the New Black be so interested in the ‘feminine’… [but] also be …show more content…
They stick up for themselves and their rights as a woman. Most of the characters have committed nonviolent, low-level crimes related to stealing, narcotics or some even worse being murders. Now they are just trying to finish their time and live their lives. Throughout the show they define what it really means to be a woman and also act as someone for young women to look up to today. All the characters realize they have a purpose and not to give up on what you want, no matter what somebody tells you. The Litchfield women come in all different shapes, sizes, races, religions, and sexual/gender identities. One thing they all share is being independent and not relying on any man. Being in a situation where it’s hard to make the most of everyday, the women continue to express themselves and live their lives. Litchfield prisoners make their own supplies, find ways to keep fit and even break the silence of their voices. The prison doesn’t supply them with even the most basic items so the women get creative. Each character has their own little possession that represents them. The woman in the show don’t wear any makeup which isn’t usually the case for women on TV. Sophia, the transgender character in the show, creates a homemade red lipstick out of Kool-Aid and Vasoline to make her feel like herself. By taking away all the things we use to hide ourselves on a daily basis, …show more content…
It makes us question correct prison mismanagement through the human stories of women behind bars. In the U.S, women are the fastest growing class of inmate. There are over “100,000 women currently imprisoned in the United States” and what this show does is give them a voice. Orange Is the New Black highlights issues like abuse from guards, corruption in the system, unfair rules and regulations. Piper advocates for community service over prison time for non-violent crimes, and it’s easy to see why with the characters. This show also shows a lot about how not only are the women affected but children, taxpayers and American society as a whole. In one episode in the first season, an inmate leaves to give birth and returns back devastated. She spends days in bed, refusing to eat or talk to anyone, as she works through the devastation of having to return to prison without her child. Most female inmates don’t get any pre-natal classes to help them deal with the pain of labor. Their partners aren’t present for the labor and birth, and many have laws that “keep women shackled to the bed” while they labor and deliver. The new mothers spend less than 24 hours with their baby, after which the newborn is given over to family members or foster care. This is just one of the many difficulties the women inmates have to deal
Women jails are a recent product in our society considering only 30 years ago they barley existed. Orange Is the New Black is a Netflix series that opens everyone’s eyes up to a different view of women and also prison life for our time. It’s different than other shows because it has a more realistic side to imprisonment. At Litchfield Penitentiary the women keep their power when they’re supposed to be powerless and their dignity when they’re meant to be ashamed. Characters on Orange is the New Black are role models to the public because they show that women have a purpose unlike most TV shows with women today.
Can Orange Is the New Black be so interested in the ‘feminine’… [but] also be …show more content…
They stick up for themselves and their rights as a woman. Most of the characters have committed nonviolent, low-level crimes related to stealing, narcotics or some even worse being murders. Now they are just trying to finish their time and live their lives. Throughout the show they define what it really means to be a woman and also act as someone for young women to look up to today. All the characters realize they have a purpose and not to give up on what you want, no matter what somebody tells you. The Litchfield women come in all different shapes, sizes, races, religions, and sexual/gender identities. One thing they all share is being independent and not relying on any man. Being in a situation where it’s hard to make the most of everyday, the women continue to express themselves and live their lives. Litchfield prisoners make their own supplies, find ways to keep fit and even break the silence of their voices. The prison doesn’t supply them with even the most basic items so the women get creative. Each character has their own little possession that represents them. The woman in the show don’t wear any makeup which isn’t usually the case for women on TV. Sophia, the transgender character in the show, creates a homemade red lipstick out of Kool-Aid and Vasoline to make her feel like herself. By taking away all the things we use to hide ourselves on a daily basis, …show more content…
It makes us question correct prison mismanagement through the human stories of women behind bars. In the U.S, women are the fastest growing class of inmate. There are over “100,000 women currently imprisoned in the United States” and what this show does is give them a voice. Orange Is the New Black highlights issues like abuse from guards, corruption in the system, unfair rules and regulations. Piper advocates for community service over prison time for non-violent crimes, and it’s easy to see why with the characters. This show also shows a lot about how not only are the women affected but children, taxpayers and American society as a whole. In one episode in the first season, an inmate leaves to give birth and returns back devastated. She spends days in bed, refusing to eat or talk to anyone, as she works through the devastation of having to return to prison without her child. Most female inmates don’t get any pre-natal classes to help them deal with the pain of labor. Their partners aren’t present for the labor and birth, and many have laws that “keep women shackled to the bed” while they labor and deliver. The new mothers spend less than 24 hours with their baby, after which the newborn is given over to family members or foster care. This is just one of the many difficulties the women inmates have to deal