Sophia Burset's Transition in “Orange Is The New Black”. Season 1, Episode 3 "Lesbian Request Denied"

Table of Content

1. Introduction

2. Definitions in the Context of Gender Theories
2.1. Sex, Gender and Transgender
2.1.1. Gender Roles and Stereotypes
2.2. Transition

3. The Transition of Sophia Burset
3.1. Physical Transition
3.2. Social Transition

4. Conclusion

5. Works Cited

1. Introduction

The public interest in the topic "Transgender" has clearly increased over the last years. This is particularly reflected at social media and online platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, where series with transgender characters enjoy great popularity. This popularity can be traced back to globalisation and the increasing number of transgender people as well as to social movements that, for example, fight for the rights of transgender people.

The following paper will deal with the topic of transgender in the context of the literature seminar "Doing (Trans)Gender". The primary source will be the Netflix series "Orange Is The New Black", created by Jenij Kohan and published in 2013, which deals with the topic "transgender". The series is about the women's prison of Litchfield, its inmates and their different stories. This paper will focus on how the transition of the transgender character Sophia Burset is represented in Season 1 Episode 3 “Lesbian Request Denied”. First the theoretical background and approaches on the issue of transgender will be explained. This includes definitions of certain terms and explanations related to transition. It follows a narrative analysis, which means the analysis and interpretation of certain scenes of the episode that deal with the issue of transition on the basis of the theoretical approach explained in the previous chapter. A conclusion and final thoughts will be given at the end of the term-paper.

Gender research is constantly investigating the thematic of transgender people and several texts with current research relevance are used as secondary literature in which it is particularly important for the authors such as Susan Stryker to inform about the topic, especially with regard to stereotypes.

It should be noted that the analysis and the interpretation refer to a transition of a transwoman. The character was invented for the series and serves only as an exemplary representation of a transgender person.

2. Definitions in the Context of Gender Theories

In the following theoretical approach, several definitions and explanations in terms of (trans)gender will take place which will serve as a basis for the analysis and interpretations in chapter three.

2.1. Sex, Gender and Transgender

To be able to explain the term transgender it is necessary to make clear what is meant by gender. Hence, the definition will take place at this point. However, it is important to mention that gender and sex are often distinguished and therefore, both terms have to be defined. West and Zimmermann represent the position that through the application of socially agreed biological criteria, sex can be seen as a social aspect of biological determination. This results in the sex category, which through the application of the sex criteria allows an identification of people with regard to their sex (127). Gender, on contrary, describes an appropriate behaviour belonging to the sex category and reflecting it. Accordingly, sex and gender are differentiated from each other, but are in some ways still related. At this point it is necessary to compare the view of West and Zimmermann from 1987 with more recent literature. In 2008, Stryker defended sex as a biological aspect and gender as a social aspect, but she does not believe that gender is determined by sex (6). It is thus possible that both, sex and gender, are completely independent from each other and individual. Another important aspect in relation to sex and gender is the concept of intersex. According to Stryker, a human is born with either typical male chromosomes XY or typical female chromosomes XX and the dedicated genitalia. However, there are exceptions which she explains as "Some genetic irregularities cause a body that is genetically XY (male) to look female at birth. Some bodies are born with genitals that look like a mixture of typically male and typically female shapes"(7). Hence, it happens that a few transgender people blame their desire for another body on biological causes and regard themselves as intersex affected, but a large number of transgender people, independent of chromosomes, simply do not identify themselves with the biological factors that have assigned them a certain sex and associated expectations at birth. In other words, their gender identity differs from the sex they achieved with birth (National Centre of Transgender Equality).

Now that sex and gender have been defined, a definition of transgender can take place. If the word is looked up in the Oxford dictionary the following explanation is given: "Denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender does not correspond with their birth sex" (Oxford dictionary). According to this explanation, transgender people are people whose sense of identity does not match the innate gender and the specific gender genitals. However, this does not mean that this inconsistency between identity and innate gender is communicated to the outside world. Therefore, Stryker offers a n improved definition of transgender. She describes transgender people as people who move away from their at birth assigned gender. Interesting, however, is that Stryker uses the term transgender as an umbrella term for all kinds of differences in gender norms and expectations (16). Since the term transgender is used in many different contexts and can have different meanings, it should be mentioned at this point that this paper refers to the definition described above, that a person moves away from their innate gender. Furthermore, the primary focus is on transwomen, people who have decided to live as women and who regard themselves as such even if they were born with a body that fulfils male criteria (Stryker 17-20).

2.1.1. Gender Roles and Stereotypes

Gender roles and stereotypes are closely related to transgender themes. By gender roles we mean expectations of a certain behaviour and certain activities which are determined by society (Stryker 10). After birth, there is a social categorization into female or male, depending on the genitalia, whereupon the classification into corresponding gender roles takes place. If this classification was made, it is fixed until the individual decides not to fulfil it and identifies himself with another role, for instance (Planned Parenthood). Typical gender roles for women, which will be the term for people with feminine genitals in this termpaper, are for example to be kind or take care of the children while typical gender roles for men including to be strong, to be the breadwinner of the family or to be aggressive. Different cultures, religions and societies produce different gender roles, but all have in common that they maintain them at all and change them slowly or not at all (Planned Parenthood). In addition, gender roles occur as the basis for gender specific stereotypes as well as individual beliefs and expectations with the regard to typical characteristics of men and women, which can be positive or negative (Athenstaedt and Alfermann 14). Stereotypes can be defined as “a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group” and “Stereotypes about gender can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person's gender (Planned Parenthood). There are four possible dimensions of gender stereotypes: personality features, which mean characteristics of a gender, the role within the family, which means for example that women cook and men earn money, an expectation in terms of occupations, for instance that kindergarten teachers are women, and the expectations of specific body characteristics, such as thin women and tall men (Planned Parenthood). Those stereotypes can cause problems if women or men feel limited in the development of their personal and professional skills, in the pursue of their careers and in decisions they make about their lives (UNHRO). Gender stereotypes in particular can become problematic by restricting people in their freedom, individuality and human rights.

2.2. Transition

Transgender people, who decide to live out their inner gender identity and adapt their body and appearance to it, are experiencing a process of change. This change and the period in which the process takes place can be named transition. While there is no fixed order in which a transition takes places as every transition is individual and can be performed from childhood to old age, there are several steps which a large number of transgender people during their transition take. With regard to transgender women, these steps include for example wearing feminine clothes and make-up, changing the name or in some cases have gendermatching surgeries in which a penis is turned into a vagina and implants are used to enlarge the size of the breast. A transition can also be grouped into three categories: physical, legal and social transition (National Centre of Transgender Equality). With the physical transition a transwoman seeks to fulfil the expectations she associates with a typically female body, for example, breasts and a vagina. These associations can be modified through hormonal medications, clothing or surgeries (Stryker 8). The legal transition refers to the amendment of official documents, such as passport, driver's license or birth certificate in which the name and gender has to be changed. The social transition means that transwomen leave male gender roles behind and adopt female gender roles. Often, they change their role in society in order to create a whole new identity which includes all aspects of femininity and thereby she discards her old gender identity (glaad). In reference to the aspect that not all transgender people can afford surgeries or medical care or are otherwise limited, the social transition has a great significance for transwomen to live and feel female (Straight For Equality). Depending on the transgender person and the society she or he lives in, a transition may extend over short or long period of time.

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