Nasreen Badrodien BDRNAS002

Seminar Research Essay

Alta du Plooy
The representation of Latinas and motherhood in Litchfield
This essay provides a brief introduction to understanding how images of Latin American women are
represented to us through the Netflix series Orange is the New Black (2013 - ) in order to bring the
much-ignored theme of Latina motherhood to light, which is the source of much conflict in the
narrative. I will, for most parts of this essay be focusing on characters such as Dayanara (Dascha
Polanco) and Aleida (Elizabeth Rodriguez) Diaz, Gloria Mendez (Selenis Leyva), Maria Ruiz (Jessica
Pimentel).
Orange Is the New Black is a Netflix original crime-based dramedy set in a womens low security
prison, and is adapted to the 2010 memoir by Piper Kerman based on her experiences in prison in
2004. While Jenji Kohan did intend for the show to commence with Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling)
being the main protagonist, and the Hispanic characters as secondary contributing characters,
character development and personal flash backs allowed for subordinate characters to become more
significant and essential to the storyline. The use of flashbacks humanized the character and
enlightened the viewer of their past and reason for incarceration, giving the audience a connection
with each inmate as they progress through prison. Eventually, the Hispanic women are portrayed as
such functional characters that the show can be viable without Piper Chapman as a multitude of
characters individual story arcs begin to overshadow hers (Case Study: OITNB, 2015).
To fully appreciate the extensity of Jenji Kohans nuanced representation of Latina women, one must
first understand past representations. Latinas were primarily cast in secondary and nonrecurring
roles, speaking with heavy accents and reduced to being the brown race (Millette, 2011: 61) as
Hollywood perpetuated North American hegemony in film through Latino stereotyping (Hochhalter,
2013: 9). Their roles seldom diverged from the attractive maid, the immigrant housewife as seen in
Devious Maids (Lifetime, 2013-) and Modern Family (ABC, 2009- 2015) or the single middle-class
mother in a poor working-class neighbourhood. Modern Familys Gloria (Sofia Vergara), is one of the
most recognized Latina characters (Millette, 2011, p.61) who has deep-rooted the stereotypical Latina
mould (Millette, 2011: 62) with her heavy Spanish accent and voluptuous body.
The presence of Latinas in US media is nothing new, but the way in which they are being represented
is. Orange Is the New Black breaks the mould of stereotypical representations as exemplified with
Flaca Gonzales (Jackie Cruz), who has interests outside of her cultural norms with her bangs,
eccentric eyeliner and Smiths music. The multidimensional and complex Latina characters in OITNB
create a new discussion about the representation of Latinas in the US media (Millette, 2011: 59) as
they are no longer passive characters included in the background in a half-hearted attempt to promote
diversity but instead form part of the heart and soul of the Litchfield prison population (Millette, 2011,
p.64).

The role of Spanish in Orange Is the New Black is a particular indicator of culture and identity from the
first scene of the pilot (Millette, 2011: 40) when Piper Chapman arrives with Latina Dayanara Daya
Diaz. Their arrival serves as a metaphorical indicator of the increasing centrality that Dayas character
will assume over Chapmans throughout future seasons (Chavez, 2015: 39). Chapman and Diaz are
introduced to Gloria Mendoza, another Latina inmate. Mendoza not only assumes that Diaz knows
Spanish because of her appearance, but also demonstrates the belief that to be Latina, one must
speak Spanish. Upon introduction to Diaz, Mendoza says that she needs a minute in Spanish as she
finishes putting on makeup (Millette, 2011: 40). Diaz replies that she doesnt speak Spanish and
Glorias response is one of disapproval.
Her first irritated remark is an attack on her mother: Great, another fucking coconut. Whats the
matter with your mother, she dont teach you Spanish? Though this comment is retrospectively
humorous as Mendoza is actually friends with Dayas mother, Aleida - it implies Mendozas belief that
it is the responsibility of the parent to teach the child the language of their shared heritage (Millette,
2011: 49). Mendoza considers Spanish to be a marker of Latinidad, and her response to Daya
expresses her disappointment in her lack of knowledge although it serves as a removal from
stereotypical language association.
From this, the important role that the mother plays in their childs linguistic development is reinforced.
Motherhood becomes a prevalent theme from the pilot of OITNB when mention is made of Aleidas
incapability of bringing Dayanara up properly. This focus on Motherhood provides Netflix ample
opportunity to depict Latinas correctly, as they have always been associated with family (Hochhalter,
2013: 78).
While OITNB rejects Latina stereotypes, the characters still fall susceptible to unavoidable Latina
realities as they negotiate their roles in prison as daughters and mothers (Soto, 2006: 24) in season
three. Their realities during flashbacks and inside prison appear no different as they continue to tackle
or disregard motherhood, the reason behind most of the conflict and many incarcerations in Litchfield.
Of all the mother-daughter relationships on the show, the one between Daya and her standoffish
mother Aleida is the most complicated. Mothers Day (3:1) is particularly difficult for Daya, as she is
incarcerated with her mother, who continues to lament her daughters existence at every turn. With
Aleida as the only example of motherhood she has known, it is understandable that she has
reservations about her ability to be a mother (Sprankles 2015).
Down in Spanish Harlem, Aleida wants to know what shes getting from Daya for Mothers Day and
tells Daya Its not all bad. You end up with a baby. It just ruins your life is all referring to her unborn
child (Dornbush 2015) But we also see a flashback of Aleida revealing that she had quite the different,
much more ecstatic reaction to Dayas birth and was filled with love and hope the day she was born.
Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, those virtues have been dulled and in time, she began
choosing to serve her needs before her children's. Eventually you get the impression she feels that
motherhood robbed her of the life she thought she would have (Sprankles 2015).

This is plainly illustrated in episode twelve, which shows a younger Aleida, deciding to send Daya to a
summer camp after she picks up a used condom and shows it to her. When Daya is initially terrified to
leave her mother, she tells her she made plans to go out and this is her summer of freedom so Daya
better suck it up. But when Daya comes home happy and nurtured, Aleida, afraid shed exposed her
to too much of a better life, cruelly throws her artwork in the garbage. Heartbreakingly, Daya
understands what this means; at such a young age, she must provide emotional support for her
mother and help fill her with self-worth. Its deeply unfair, and shows that emotional vampirism starts
early, especially if its your mother sucking the life out of you (Escobedo 2015).
In contrast, Daya is constantly portrayed as a mother figure or care provider to her siblings during the
series. In many flashbacks Daya can be seen taking care of her younger siblings while her mother is
hanging out with her boyfriend Cesar and when she is incarcerated. In a flashback we see Aleida tell
Daya that she needed to look after the kids better. Daya snaps, saying How about you? Aleida
replies, Ive got better things to do (Chevez, 2015). Although Daya appears victimized by her mother
she in turn retaliates and harms her mothers relationship by sleeping with Cesar. In this case both
mother and daughter are toxic for each other and better off without each other for now.
As the title hints, the pilot of season three is about something far more universal than the roles
prisoners play when they are incarcerated. It is about one specific role to women and how that role
affects them pre and post-Litchfield (Sprankles 2015), motherhood. Struggles concerning motherhood
in all its various forms and contexts are the central theme that ties everything together in this season.
Episode 1 of season three starts with Litchfield hosting a Mother's Day event, where children of
inmates are allowed on the grounds for a party in the yard, planting the seeds for storylines to come
(Vice 2015) which acts as a metaphor for the entire season as mothers and daughters will soon start
questioning intentions and roles.
This episode confirmed every parents worst fear: if your child ends up in prison or on drugs, its the
mothers fault (Amatangelo 2015). Kohan organizes this season specifically around speculating on the
psychological inheritances that the various inmates mothers have left for them as she glances over
some of them through quick flashback (Newsweek 2015). In this season, the viewer can now ask
What makes a mother? and answer it too as they are able to identify the good and bad mothers
and the sins they have passed down. This exploration of what it means to be mother is important
because it begins in the pilot of season one and permeates until the finale of season three.
In flashbacks we see the inmates with their children, or flashbacks to their own childhood and it was a
toss-up for which one was most depressing (Amatangelo 2015). Ultimately, we are faced with the
stark reality that the future for so many children of imprisoned mothers will include incarceration and
flashbacks that involve Mother's Day celebrations spent punching empty piatas while wearing
makeshift blindfolds made out of maxi pads (Sprankles 2015).
Of course, all good things must come to an end, and as a relative of Dayas goes missing on Mothers
Day, the alarm sounds and the inmates are forced onto the ground. The inmates are embarrassed in
front of their families, but the lockdown is short-lived once Aleida finds Lucy under Dayas bed while

trying to steal the letter from Pornstaches mom. Unfortunately, the emergency puts a damper on the
entire day, and the families leave shortly after the commotion (Dornbush 2015). This plunge also
reflects the disappointments sprinkled throughout the day.
Aleida sees the letter from Pornstaches mother to Daya as an opportunity for money. She makes the
initial contact on behalf of Dayanara but only brings more tension between them and burdens her
daughter with complicated ethical decisions and puts her in pre-natal distress. Its easy to demonize
Aleida after she goes behind Dayas back and tries to sell her baby to Pornstaches mom in exchange
for a personal remuneration. But underlying her abusive, demonically selfish streak is both confusion
about how to be a good mother, and overwhelming love to the point of destitution for her children
(Escobedo 2015) as she justifies selling the unborn child because she cares and wants the baby to
have a better life than Dayanara.
Then there are the "good mothers," who want nothing more than to be there for their children depicted
when Maria refuses to get any haircut other than a trim in the hope that it might give her baby some
sense of "object permanence" (Sprankles 2015). Mothers Day still needs an emotional hook and
sadly turns to Maria Ruiz, who believes she has had the perfect day with her daughter right up until
the end of visitation (McNutt 2015). Maria says goodbye to her baby, and her babys daddy tells her
he wont be bringing her daughter to prison anymore as he doesnt want her to grow up with
memories of her mother in prison thinking its normal. Maria screams at him as he walks away, but
she has no option. Shes a mom, but shes still in prison (Dornbush 2015).
We watch many women who are unable to mother their own children or have no children in prison act
as mothers to others: Gloria to Daya (3:12), when she begins having contractions and doesnt want
her mother anywhere near her, but rather finds comfort in Gloria (Sprankles 2015). For Mendoza,
She's taken all these women and girls and decided to take care of them, to do what she can't do for
her kids on the outside. And she needs that in order to remain almost sane (Vice 2015).
In this episode, Gloria learns one of her sons, who didnt come, has become a delinquent and that her
other son, Benito who she hasnt seen in two and half years, has become a brat, a far cry from the
boy shown during Mendoza's flashback last season. In an effort to make him get his act together,
Mendoza demands that he start visiting every week to do his homework in front of her, but he has no
lift to Litchfield on a regular basis. Gloria works out an arrangement with Sophia (Laverne Cox) for
their sons to make the trip together, but this need to nurture and mother soon becomes the reason for
conflict between the two mothers as Sophia blames Gloria for her sons recent acting out.
The brutal end to Mothers Day with the disappointments experienced by Dayanara, Gloria and Maria
signifies the difficulty in parenting from Prison whether their children are on the outside or inside
prison with them. Children, in this case, daughters are burdened with inheriting the sin of their parents
as they are usually incarcerated for the same reason - in the case of Daya, like her mother, who was
later sent to prison for drug-related charges - or because of the psychological impact that was left on
them from childhood. Unwittingly, these mothers and daughters cause conflict within the prison
system usually by looking out for themselves or their children.

After Daya gives birth, Aleida calls Pornstaches mom from prison informing her that the baby was a
boy and died. Dayas daughter is then sent to live with Aleidas partner Cesar who is later arrested.
Her daughter is taken into custody along with the other children in his care and the cycle of neglect
that Daya was trying to save her child from starts again as Dayas daughter is forced back into the
system a parentless middle-class life that ruined Daya (Wikia 2015).
In conclusion, the representation of women in Orange Is the New Black deflects the values and
ideologies of historical archetypes. While many minority women receive visibility in Orange Is the New
Black, the representation is not always positive as seen in the theme of motherhood. (Chevez, 2015:
58). In Orange Is the New Black, Piper is seen as a Trojan horse for the show as through her, viewers
begin to care about stories that centre on incarcerated Latina women (Chevez, 2015: 58). We can
also take away from this essay that the term "mother" is not a static term, but rather a state of mind.
Through the dissertation of motherhood in season three we can see that not teaching Dayanara
Spanish was the least of Aleidas maternal shortcomings; and while it's up for debate as to whether
the mothers of these women influenced the human beings they became for better or worse, they now
have an opportunity to redefine what life looks like (Sprankles 2015). After all, it's no coincidence the
season ends with the birth of Daya's baby and a baptism a rebirth for the ladies of Litchfield too
(Sprankles 2015).
[2535]

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