Pride Month 2020: Laverne Cox's Sophia Burset in 'OITNB' is realistic representation of trans women's problems
Laverne Cox and her character Sophia Burset in ‘Orange Is the New Black’ (OITNB) should be celebrated every day not just during Pride month, celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan. And there are several reasons for that.
The first and foremost is that it was a breakthrough moment when we saw a transgender woman play the role of a transgender woman. While transgender characters had been in the fray before ‘OITNB’, rarely did any of those characters have a major role in shows and films. What’s more, all too often, cis-gendered men and women would end up playing the roles of transgender men and women.
Cox as Sophia in a show as big as ‘OITNB’ did wonders for trans representation in popular culture. But the appreciation expands beyond simple representation in terms of right casting. It has also to do with representation in terms of a good character arc.
For those who don’t know, ‘OITNB’ is based in the Litchfield Correctional Facility, a minimum-security women’s prison. Sophia, formerly a firefighter named Marcus, goes to prison for credit card fraud, which she used to finance her sex reassignment surgery. In prison, she runs a hair salon. She’s fierce, fashionable (as much as anyone can be in prison), empathetic, and proud.
Just for starters, her character’s background brings to light the expense the surgical procedure needs. According to a 2019 Business Insider report, The cost of medical treatments can add up to more than $100,000. This puts an enormous amount of financial burden on trans men and women who would otherwise be left to deal with gender dysphoria.
As Sophia’s character further develops, we see a whole host of other problems articulated beautifully and each one is heartbreaking. She faces a hard time when the prison changes her hormone treatment medication to a low-dose generic. Her problem, unique to that facility, is not met with a decent response. This brings to light the inadequacy of U.S. prisons in dealing with trans inmates.
Further, we see complications in her personal life. Sophia’s wife (later ex-wife), Crystal, had been supportive of her transition and even helped her during her adjustment period. But there was only so much that Crystal could support. It provides a realistic look at couples when one of the partners goes through the transitioning process. It shows that even when supportive, partners have a breaking point. For Crystal, it was Sophia’s surgery. There’s an emotional scene in the show, where Crystal helps Sophia dress up in a purple gown. Even as they both admire how beautiful she looks, Crystal begs Sophia to “keep it”, implying that she should not get rid of her male genitalia.
There is also how Sophia’s young son, Michael, has difficulty with her transition. He becomes openly rebellious and rude to Sophia and that’s understandable. There is an enormous amount of social stigma still attached to transgender men and women. How is a boy no older than 10 or 11 supposed to deal with that when grown-ups don’t try to?
Sophia’s trials and tribulations, however, have a happy ending. Unlike several characters in ‘OITNB’ (many of whom were audience favorites) who died in the show, Sophia leaves prison to lead a happy life. She may still have hardships, but they’d be nothing compared to what she left behind.
Sophia Burset is a rare character that not just tells a good story, but also highlights through her hardships the many problems that transgender men and women face in the U.S. And isn’t that what representation truly means?