over the summer, i fell in love with the netflix series orange is the new black. more than just another prison show, it chronicles the lives of a diverse group of women sharing life, love and turmoil in an upstate new york prison. while some of the plot twists were based on the predictable prison stereotypes (sex with guards and smuggling drugs), others focused solely on unique aspects of the women’s humanity. sophia, the trans hairstylist, is one of my favorite characters, and i’m completely wrapped up in her struggle to maintain a relationship with her wife and son while in prison. face beat and hair laiiiiiiiid, sophia is portrayed by actress laverne cox, one of the first trans actresses to receive major media attention. check out her vibe vixen feature here and visit dr. kortney ryan ziegler’s blog for his critical analysis of oitnb’s trans narrative.
We knew [OITNB] was different, because in our industry people only care about size zero white girls and straight white men. But our show’s popularity across the board is crazy. I’ve had all types of people from all walks of life come up to me and love the show, so I truly hope this begins to change the industry.