“The Representation of Latinas in Orange Is the New Black”

The presence of Latina women in US television is nothing new; however, their representation in the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black (2013-), created and directed by Jenji Kohan, is without precedence. This series, inspired by Piper Kerman’s memoir, Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison (2010), is one of the first to tackle the world of female prisons in the United States while exploring inter-ethnic relationships and fluid sexualities among inmates. This talk will discuss the representation of Latinas in the show within the context of women in prison, gender and sexuality, inter-ethnic relationships, and multi-lingual practices.

Sarah Weatherford Millette is an MA Candidate at the Department of Modern and Classical Languages. She recently completed and successfully defended her thesis on the representation of Latinas in Orange Is the New Black, which is arguably the first MA thesis that analyzes this TV show.