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Entertainment July 12, 2017
She's not letting anyone keep her down. Prison isn't keeping her down that much either, tbh.
If you haven’t watched the hit Netflix show “Orange is the New Black,” I don’t know where you’ve been. But you need to get on it ASAP.
The show follows convicted female felons in a minimum-security prison on the East Coast, and what they encounter dealing with prison life. (For those of you who have never watched the show and plan on watching, there may be *spoilers,* so fair warning.)
One of the main characters is the fabulous Sophia Burset. Burset is a transgender character who is played by real-life transgender actress Laverne Cox.
“Before transitioning, Sophia started life out as Marcus (played by Laverne Cox’s real-life twin brother M. Lamar), a firefighter married to Crystal, with whom she had a son. To pay for her gender reassignment surgery, Sophia stole credit cards from fire victims,” states The Telegraph.
Since there are now five seasons of “Orange of the New Black,” let’s go over ENTITY’s five reasons why we love Sophia Burset.
Burset was originally born a male, however, this did not feel right. She transitioned to become a woman, even though she was married to a woman (Crystal Burset) and had a son with Crystal.
Ultimately, she knew what was right for her, and even though she went about getting the money for her transition in the wrong way, she was true to herself, which we love.
What’s great about Burset is that even though she is transgender, she knows more about the female anatomy than many of the other female prisoners in Litchfield. In the episode “A Whole Other Hole” (Season 2, Episode 4) Burset gives an entire lesson to the ladies of Litchfield, who don’t seem to know where their pee comes from.
In Season three, we see some conflict occurring between Burset and Gloria Mendoza. Gloria has asked that Burset’s family bring her son, since they live close to each other. Burset agrees, but once Burset thinks that Mendoza’s son is a bad influence, trouble brews.
Even though she was wrong about Mendoza’s son, she still stands up for herself and doesn’t allow people to treat her poorly just because she is transgender. She eventually gets sent to the SHU (Special Housing Unit) for her own protection.
Burset is probably one of the more relatable characters on the show. Her real emotions and feelings throughout prison are constantly shown. She isn’t a hard chick like others, and shows that it’s okay to feel emotion.
In Season four, we see Burset struggling with suicidal thoughts and self-harm to try to get herself out of the SHU. Even though we aren’t trying to get out of solitary, her struggles make her relatable.
