Orange is the New Black lifts the bar of Gender RepresentationKatelyn Van West

University of Missouri- ColumbiaBreaking Barriers

For only having two seasons, Orange is the New Black has had huge success and is changing society’s perceptions of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer. The show has helped members of the LGBTQ become more accepted, however stereotypes still continue to exist towards them . Kerman and Kohan hope that as this show gets more popular with

References Lange, N., (2014). Orange is the New Black proves to be the Model of Queer

TV. Advocate.com. http://www.advocate.com/commentary/2014/06/30/op-ed-orange-new-black-proves-be-model-queer-tv

Maxwell, E., (2015) Orange is the New Black. IMDb: The Info Movie Database. IMDB.com, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2372162/?ref_=ttpl_pl_tt

Maxwell, Z., (2014). Ways Orange is the New Black shatter s racial and gender stereotypes. Indenties. Mic.http://mic.com/articles/91477/9-ways-orange-is-the-new-black-shatters-racial-and-gender-stereotypes

Tims, K.,(2014) Orange is the New Black’s Piper: What are we missing? Pacific Center. http://pacificcenter.org/orange-is-the-new-blacks-piper-what-are-we-missing

Orange is the New Black steals the showOrange is the New Black has been nominated for 53 awards

and of those won 31 including:

• Prime Time Emmy award for Outstanding Cast, 2014.

• AFI’s TV Program of the Year, 2014 & 2015.

• Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association (GALECA) for LGBT show of the year, 2014 & 2015.

• Critics Choice Award for Best show of the Year, 2014.

• People’s Choice Award for Favorite Streaming Series, 2014

• Peabody Award, 2014.

• Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, 2014. (Maxwell, E., 2015).

Among many other awards, Orange is the New Black has “been recognized and praised for displaying ’ diversity among many demographics,” (Lange). OITNB features characters of many different genders, races, classes, ethnicities and orientations in order to represent more people in a non stereotyped way.

Orange is the New Black is a hit Netflix original series based off the book by Piper Kerman, Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison. Kerman and Jenji Kohan of Weeds created Orange is the New Black (OITNB) in attempt to break away from the heteronormative masculine themes that dominate television culture by featuring more women protagonists and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer characters than any other show in syndication, (Tims, 2014). OITNB not only recognizes LGBTQ individuals but portrays gender as a spectrum which is a viewpoint different from most shows in the mainstream media, (Maxwell, Z. 2014). Each LGBTQ character is presented in a respected way in order create more positive perceptions of LGBTQ.

Piper Kerman (left) and Jenji Kohan are the showrunners and producer’s of Netflix’s Orange is the New Black. The show is due to release a third season to Netflix on June 12th, 2015.

Meet the Inmates

Sofia Burset• “Orange is the New Black is the first show to feature a

transgender character, Sofia,” (Lange, 2014) played by transgender actress Laverne Cox.

• Sofia is intelligent, strong and very highly respected among Litchfield which creates a positive representation of transgenderism.

• Laverne Cox has risen to fame with the success from Orange is the New Black and is strong spokes model for transgender people everywhere to look up to.

• Cox was the first transgender person to be featured on the cover of Time and has been featured in multiple magazines and interviews advocating for gender equality and better perceptions of transgenderism.

Piper Chapman• Piper, played by Taylor Schilling, is the star of the show and most

dynamic character as she changes through out the series. She struggles with what orientation she identifies with as she has both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.

• Piper never clearly identifies as being straight, lesbian or bisexual but instead references the Kinsey Scale when talking about her identity saying that she falls somewhere in the middle.

• Orange is the New Black is one of few shows to reference the Kinsey scale, (Tims, 2014) which considers gender to be spectrum and not a specific fixed label. Not giving Piper a specific gender label promotes the idea that one does not have to be defined by a label and can express their gender identity freely however they want.

In many episodes, Piper (right) struggles with her feelings about ex-girlfriend and fellow inmate, Alex (left). Piper can’t decide if she’d rather be with Alex or her fiancé, Larry.

Pennsatuckey• Pennsatuckey is one of the few heterosexual women in

Orange is the New Black. Her character is very religious and she uses her religion as an excuse for her homophobia.

• Although straight, Pennsatuckey is ridiculed more than any other character on the show. Pennsatuckey is a character that everyone loves to hate for she is ignorant and obnoxious due to her hatred of non-straight orientations (Maxwell, Z. 2014).

• OITNB portrays Pennsatuckey’s character as dumb to show how ignorant it is to be prejudice to someone based on their gender or orientation.

• Many heterosexists try to use their religion as a justification for this prejudice howeverOITNB doesn’t agree that religion is an excuse for hatred.

Future Sentence for Orange is the New Black

new seasons, that more misconceptions and stereotypes about LGBTQ people will be broken.