History Main / GirlsBehindBars

* ''Film/WerewolfInAWomen's Prison.'' Nuff said.

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* ''Literature/RoseUnderFire'' is set in Ravensbrück, a women's concentration camp, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII.

* Occurs in an episode of ''Series/LaFemmeNikita''.
* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'':
** In "The Embezzled Dress" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Student Banking"), Miss Brooks fears being sent to prison. Landlady Mrs. Davis had unknowingly spent the students' bank money left in Miss Brooks' care, thinking it was Miss Brooks' back rent. Walter Denton, trying to teach Miss Brooks up, tells her about the conditions at the State Prison for Women. It involves mopping the floors all day; as there are not enough mops to go around, many of the inmates have to clean the floors on their hands and knees.
** In "Bobbsey Twins in Stir", Mrs. Davis, and later Miss Brooks, are briefly in jail after they're tricked into selling phony tickets to the policeman's ball.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Little Jerry," where George goes on a tour of a women's prison, as he is in a relationship with one of the convicts, and is disappointed to discover it's a peaceful, minimum-security institution without a shower fight to be seen. His girlfriend is doing time for embezzlement, but breaks out to be with him.
* ''Series/TheBill'' has done this several times.
%% * ''Series/MutantX'', "The Taking Of Crows"
* ''Series/BadGirls'' has made a series of this, but without the detective.
* The ''Series/PrisonBreak'' MadeForTVMovie revolved around breaking Sarah out of a women's prison. However, while it's probably not as tough as most RealLife women's prisons, it still contains no small amount of gangs and violence.
* An otherwise best forgotten episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'' had Carter lampshade this trope.
--> '''Carter:''' Why do I feel like I'm in a women behind bars movie?
* ''Series/PacificBlue'' had an episode that guest starred Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/{{Sable}}, with one of the (female) main characters going undercover into the prison and Sable playing the head bitch. Yes, there was a shower scene, and a couple different catfight scenes.
* German TV series ''Hinter Gittern - der Frauenknast'' (English: "Behind bars - The Women's Prison")
* One episode of ''Series/XenaWarriorPrincess'' has her sent to a women's prison island for murdering a woman who turns out to be the [[spoiler:very-much-alive commandant of the prison]]. It is, however, played entirely for drama rather than sex appeal.
* On ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'', Olivia goes undercover at a women's prison in one episode. However, it is definitely not played for prurient amusement; in fact she's nearly raped by a guard and several later episodes show her dealing with the trauma. She went in to begin with because of allegations that said guard had raped several prisoners already (he was busted after the aforementioned assault on Olivia), and none of the usual tropes are in play.
* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK''. While investigating the murder of a prison guard, Matt and Ronnie note that one of the other guards is reluctant to talk. When the press him, it turns out that he's new and is reluctant to cause trouble, as, "it would be very easy to find yourself in the middle of a riot and no one coming to help you", thus making it quite clear that a women's prison is just as dangerous as its male counterpart. Indeed, the guard in question turns out to be an AssholeVictim who was [[PrisonRape forcing himself]] on several of the inmates.
* ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' had an episode where Xev went to prison, complete with a shower scene.
* ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has a two-part episode where Lois Lane is framed for murder and sent to a women's prison.
* ''Series/RedDwarf'' series VIII was set in the eponymous spaceship's brig. In the episode "Krytie TV", Kryten is classified as a woman because of his lack of identifying male genitalia. Although his programming does not allow him to exploit that, Killcrazy and other prisoners kidnap him, reprogram him and make him secretly film and broadcast the women prisoners showering for the viewing of the male prisoners.
* ''{{Series/NCIS}}'' episode "Caged" plays this realistically. [=McGee=] is at a womens' prison interviewing a murder suspect when a riot breaks out over the murder of a guard-- and the female inmates prove very difficult to handle, one threatening to kill him repeatedly.
* Season 5 of ''Series/TheLWord'' sees Helena incarcerated in the La County Jail. The scenes include a strip search and shower, where she's hit on/threatened (however all other naked prisoners are unnatractive). Also sex with her cellmate, who is very butch. So it's played absolutely [[JustForPun straight]].

* ''Series/PrisonerCellBlockH'' was set in an Australian women's prison, and was at the time one of the more realistic depictions of this trope.

* In ''Series/MyNameIsEarl'', Joy frets about going to prison, because she knows that it's ''not'' lingerie and pillow fights. (Randy tries to convince her that it won't be so bad, because of this trope.)
* ''Series/BurnNotice'' does a fairly realistic depiction when [[spoiler: Fiona]] goes to prison for awhile. While there, she has to fight the most dominant member of the prison and has to adapt to the harsh conditions. [[ActionGirl Of course, she does pretty well under the circumstances....]]. It should be noted that Fi as always been portrayed as a full fledged action girl, quite self-reliant, self confident, independent, and successful in pretty much every aspect of her life, both before, and after Michael showed up in Miami, yet when he visits her in prison she has an emotional breakdown, and Michael later informs his mother when asked, that she is eating very little, and is ''quite'' scared. this is all shown without a trace of {{chickification}}.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' shows [[spoiler: Faith]] in jail a few times. Mostly it's the visitor's room, complete with telephones and a window, but there is a prison fight between two inmates in the yard. There is no fetishizing of the prison; mostly it looks like depictions of male prisons but with the inmates having longer hair.

* The entire premise of the {{dramedy}} series ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', notable for being a weird mix of racial and sexual stereotypes with much more realistic elements about life in prison. But the violence element is notably downplayed, at least until the arrival of a one-woman AppleOfDiscord in the second season. In the audio commentary for the first episode, the director states that they chose to start the series with a shower scene as a homage to the typical porn depiction of women's prisons.

* In one episode of ''Series/PoliceWoman'' from 1974, Detective Sergeant Pepper Anderson has to go undercover in a women's prison. Despite looking like a high-security facility from the outside, with guard towers and tall walls, the inside of the prison is rather "soft": the inmates don't have cells, but "rooms" (without doors), the furniture looks more comfortable than in most depictions of prisons, and the guards seem pretty nice for prison guards. If there is any FanService it is that all the inmates are young, good-looking (with makeup and nice hairdos), wear uniforms consisting of sleeveless minidresses, and spend a lot of time walking around in their short nighties.
* Alluded to in ''Series/PeepShow'', where Jeremy is put on jury service with a female defendant. He doesn't seem to grasp the reality of it, though, even thinking that women's prison was "probably like one long hen night".
* Rhonda and Leanne start ''Series/YouMeAndTheApocalypse'' in a women's prison in New Mexico.
* Spanish series ''Series/LockedUp'' / ''Vis a Vis'' centres on a naive and idealistic woman sent to prison. In addition to the thriller aspect of the main plotline, it details more everyday problems of prison. This includes one inmate who is unable to get a heart transplant because she is convicted of murder, the main character trying to get bail, smuggling, prison rape, escape attempts, an abusive doctor, 'snitches', etc.
* ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'': While in a mental hospital for her various crimes, Sheila gets beaten up by two other prisoners. Their [[ButchLesbian unpleasant appearance]] and [[PsychoLesbian demeanor]], plus the way Sheila acts afterwards--taking a ShowerOfAngst--are clearly meant to imply that they sexually assaulted her as well. Even if not, the whole sequence still gives off a DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything vibe. On the flip side, Sheila and the other prisoners get along great, giving off a "college--dorm" atmosphere.
* ''Series/GeneralHospital'': Laura is wrongfully imprisoned. Aside from taking an instant dislike to her because of her cherubic looks, the other prisoners get even more ticked off when the police commissioner, a friend, comes to visit (a highly stupid move that he should have known would endanger her), assuming that she's a snitch. Luckily, she's bailed out before anything happens.
* ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''. When Alex (a district attorney) is imprisoned, she's inexplicably placed in general population and sure enough, gets attacked by a vengeful inmate.
* The short-lived Fox sitcom ''Women In Prison'' featured six women prisoners, one of whom, the protagonist, was a newcomer, a socialite wrongly arrested and sentenced for shoplifting. Despite the comedy setting, there were a few moments of realism--the others dislike her due to her looks and previous social status, one prisoner is explicitly stated to be a murderer (albeit of her abusive husband). But otherwise, the general atmosphere was that of a strict college dorm--cell gates were ''left open'' with prisoners free to come and go as they pleased, prisoners wore their own clothes, cells were large and comfortable, etc.

* The very first episode of ''Femme Fatales'' is set in a women's prison. While there is definitely same-sex erotic content, that's kind of inevitable since the series was built on it. However, they don't gloss over the violence, since the main character gets sexually assaulted by another prisoner the first time she showers, then rescued by the woman whom she's later involved with.
* Cookie from ''Series/{{Empire}}'' spent 17 years in prison and the pilot episode centers on her release. Flashbacks to her life behind bars and the friends/enemies she made there are a recurring aspect of the show, and those scenes are ''not'' played for glamour. The women are a wide range of appearances and body types, and one of Cookie's friends in jail [[ChildByRape became pregnant after being raped by a guard]]. For what it's worth, the jail scenes weren't ''all'' bleak and violent. Cookie was also in the prison's book club.

* Creator/PamGrier's song "Long Time Woman" from ''The Big Doll House.''
* Played for laughs with the backup dancer in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXnoLAEUSQ this old Bobby Fuller Four video.]]

* Subverted in ''A Gulag Mouse'', where the plays is set in a women's prison camp that is starkly realistic and brutal.
* In ''Film/{{Hairspray}}'', the song "The Big Dollhouse" is about the women of the cast getting thrown in a holding cell after Tracey, Edna, and the black characters crash Mother-Daughter Day on ''The Corny Collins Show''. Oddly enough, the song was cut from both the film and telecast versions.

* The comedy-oriented ''WebAnimation/DorisAndMaryAnneAreBreakingOutOfPrison'', [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNkxGLp3Up3vAg3XEBSeX1Q/videos found here]], set in the year 1922.

* Averted entirely on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where Marge goes to prison for a month, as the situation is PlayedForDrama and this particular trope is not even mentioned.

* ''WesternAnimation/TrippingTheRift'' has a women's prison themed episode. It contains skimpy prison dresses, a shower scene, and a catfight during said shower scene.

* In ''WesternAnimation/{{Ben 10}}'', the porno version is naturally not an option, so when Gwen gets thrown in jail after Charmcaster forced a body-switch with her, a jail for girls looks a lot like... jail! Or rather, [[CardboardPrison jail in a superhero show]]. She busts out rather easily, but it helps when you're in a mundane jail and have the body of a magic-wielding supervillain.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' naturally parodied this. "Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat" opens with him getting arrested for killing [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Fluffy and Uranus]]. He was terrified of being sent to prison, until he found out that (thanks to a clerical error) he was taken to the federal women's penitentiary instead. He's about to point out he's not a woman, but then he sees the inmates exercising; two getting into a half-naked MudWrestling fight over what to play next (naked volleyball or nude weight-lifting) just seals the deal for him. Incidents include the warden forcing the inmates into an illegal dancing ring (with Duckman actually enjoying raking in the cash until a new girl replaced him) and a PrisonRiot after the girls realize they got sciatica from "all this gratuitous mud fighting."

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

* ''Manga/BlackLagoon'' alludes to this when Revy threatens Janet to "show her her stuff" if she ever tried to have sex with Rock, tellingly hinting at how she would make every other inmate her bitch back in prison.

* ''Anime/CrossAnge'' makes heavy use of the fetish potential, with an all-female population on a military prison island. Besides the typical hijinks in the locker rooms and showers/baths, the squadron commander has herself a small harem and attempts to [[PrisonRape force]] Ange to join.

[[folder:ComicBooks]]
* Happens to ComicBook/MsTree in the "Prisoner in Cell Block Hell" storyline. Despite the general realism of the series, this arc does include the obligatory shower scene and a fight with the AlphaBitch of the cell block.
* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' #82 has Gina Diggers doing time in a women's prison. The comic includes a shower scene and a fight with the head bitch, who happens to be a ShoutOut of a certain female ''Franchise/StarWars'' character.

* O'Brien spends time in a women's prison during ''ComicBook/ThePunisherMAX'' arc where Frank is going after Nicky Cavella and his men for pissing on his family's remains. Being a ''Punisher MAX'' story, O'Brien's arc is played for drama rather than titillation as she fights viciously to keep the other convicts from raping her, and breaks out when they kill a guard and stick the shiv in her hand.

* The "Lockdown" arc (#76-81) of ''ComicBook/GrimmFairyTales'' features Sela in a women's prison. Plenty of the standard tropes apply, including a ShowerScene, a fight with the ButchLesbian, etc.
* ''ComicBook/BitchPlanet'' is all about this, set in a PenalColony on a prison planet for Non-Compliant women.

[[folder:Fan Fics]]
* The ParodyFic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25503826 Voyager Chicks Behind Forcefields]]'' is this trope RecycledInSPACE using the intrepid crew of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Warning: NotSafeForWork.

** in the tale ''Fanfic/GapYearAdventures'', the [[BadassIsraeli Cenotian]] Assassin Rivka ben-Divorah's first experience of the country of [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Smith-Rhodesia]] is a prison cell. It's all to do with a forgotten lump of Klatchian bhong resin discovered in her luggage by Customs. Rivka shrugs and reflects that for seven years she was a boarding pupil at the Assassins' Guild School. Prison therefore holds no terrors for her. And she has some annoyance to work off, as the cell's Queen Bitch soon discovers. [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12321109/27/Gap-Year-Adventures Her time in prison]] is brief, instructive and entertaining.

[[folder:Film]]
* The zombie movie ''Film/PlanetTerror'' has the two heroines behind bars for a scene in the third act. Also, [[AC:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin WOMEN IN CAGES!]]]]
* ''Chained Heat'' is the classic series of movies in the late-night genre.
* Creator/PamGrier got her start in WIP movies. Her first film role was in ''Film/TheBigDollHouse'' which is probably the real trope maker for the genre. She went on to star in that film's SpiritualSequel ''The Big Bird Cage'' as well as ''Film/BlackMamaWhiteMama''. That last film, ''Black Mama, White Mama'', happened to be written by a young up-and-comer named Creator/JonathanDemme. Demme's first film as a director was yet another WIP movie, ''Film/CagedHeat''. Demme went on to a hugely successful career as a film director.
* ''Film/TankGirl''. Tank Girl and Jet Girl spend some time incarcerated in Water and Power's coed prison.

* Creator/RogerCorman's ''Film/SwampDiamonds'' (as seen on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''). Undercover cop, check; struggle for dominance, check; Beverly Garland as a PsychoForHire, bonus!
* The first part of the Creator/PamGrier movie ''Film/BlackMamaWhiteMama'' takes place in a woman's prison. As is to be expected from an ExploitationFilm the situation is played for FanService in almost every conceivable way.
* ''Film/TheBigDollHouse''

* ''Film/{{Caged}},'' a 50's film that is considered a classic example of women in prison. It's something of an UnbuiltTrope, as the story is more of a film noir - showing how the innocent Marie Allen is [[CorruptTheCutie slowly corrupted]] by the system and becomes just as cold and ruthless as her fellow prisoners. It's pretty much a gender flipped version of any male prison story, without the fetish elements of a usual GirlsBehindBars story.
* ''Bare Behind Bars'' is an especially brutal example of the genre.
* ''Girls in Prison,'' a 1994 film that is an example of the innocent woman in prison plotline. However, many cliches were also subverted, as it's shown to be a realistically violent, dangerous place (the main character has a hit on her by the real killers), with just one same-sex relationship shown and only a couple nude scenes which are in the prison showers (however even then most prisoners are pretty attractive). It's set in the early 1950's, slightly campy at times, and possibly a send-up of films like this from the period.
* ''Under Lock and Key,'' a B-Movie with the classic undercover female cop plot.
* ''Werewolf in a Women's Prison.'' Nuff said.
* ''Film/JoshuuSasori'' (Female Prisoner Scorpion), a Japanese women's prison movie that sparked a series of sequels and copycats. Thing is, the prison in question is full of feuding, scheming inmates and the whole film is a deconstruction of the genre, shot through with sadistic torment and unexpected surrealism. The only person who behaves like the stereotypical sexpot prisoner is an undercover warden with zero in-story credibility.
* ''Film/{{Gothika}}'' is a notable aversion, despite being an asylum for the criminally insane, featuring an all-female prison with NO porn-like scene. The ShowerScene, for instance, features a bunch of inmates in which some are unattractive or old, like a RealLife women's prison would feature. Scenes in recreation rooms consist of those women often sobbing, staring blankly, or gabbling to themselves.
* Played with in ''Film/{{Freeway}}''. On one side, you have the typical lesbian inmate Rhonda (Creator/BrittanyMurphy) who hits on Vanessa (Creator/ReeseWitherspoon) and on the other hand, the dominant Mesquita (Alanna Ubach) who immediately provokes Vanessa to a physical fight over who's the baddest bitch, thus the one in command.
* ''Film/{{Bound|1996}}'' invokes this trope by depicting ButchLesbian Corky (Creator/GinaGershon) as a former inmate.

* The filmography of Andreas Bethmann consists almost entirely of incredibly extreme entries in this genre.
* Averted in ''Film/JackieBrown'', with a realistic view of women's prison.
* There was a whole genre of {{Exploitation Film}}s based on this Trope, the American ones mentioned above; foreign films with this subject like ''Women's Prison Massacre'' (1985), ''Caged Women'' (1984), and ''Jail — A Women's Hell'' (2006) from Italy and ''Bamboo House of Dolls'' (1973) and ''Great Escape from a Women's Prison'' (1988) from Hong Kong all had far more graphic sex and violence than those produced in the U.S. The 1992 Hong Kong movie ''Comfort Women'' was based on true events of World War II.
* Not the case in ''Film/MadeaGoesToJail'', to Big Sal's (initial) chagrin and Madea's relief regarding [[AxCrazy Tee Tee]].
* In ''Film/DiaryOfALostGirl'' Thymian is in a reformatory for "wayward women", so technically not a prison, but the girls are being held prisoner there, so basically it is. And like this trope usually plays out, there's all kinds of lesbianism, including an evil DepravedHomosexual headmistress, another inmate who plays FootsieUnderTheTable with Thymian, and other inmates who simply crawl into bunks together in the communal barracks. The most surprising thing is the year this movie came out--1929.

* ''Film/Jailbait2014'' is set in a woman's prison. There are liberal amounts of lesbian sex and underwear is apparently a privilege only earned after the first year. However, it also shows sexual assault and violence as common. The warden is revealed as coercing many of the prisoners into sex in return for favors, which the main character (who's herself a victim of this) reveals eventually, getting him arrested.
* ''Born American'' (1986). One of the protagonists in the gulag gets hold of a coin and tries to purchase medical care for his friend. The FriendInTheBlackMarket says it's not enough, but as the protagonist is a young man he could use it to buy... ''(puts a finger through hole in coin and leers)'' We then cut to several male inmates, including the protagonist, looking through vents into the women's shower. Contrary to the usual examples of this trope, the [[UglySlavicWomen women are rather unshapely]].
* ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'' is intended to be a spoof of the genre, but instead winds up being an IndecisiveParody.
* Rather grimly subverted with ''Film/HouseOfWhipcord'', a horror film about women being unwillingly captured in a secret prison for committing 'immoral' crimes (the protagonist is a model who had a nude picture taken in public). While there is nudity, it's straight up FanDisservice and the flogging is decidedly unsexy. Unfortunately the poster - and the fact that it's directed by exploitation filmmaker Pete Walker - make it appear like a straight example.
* ''Film/StrangerInside'' focuses on a plot about a teenage girl who gets herself into prison just to be close to her biological birth mother. While inside, she experiments with another female innate as most of the female inmates are in relationships with each other.

* Cookie from ''Series/{{Empire}}'' spent 17 years in prison and the pilot episode centers on her release. Flashbacks to her life behind bars are a recurring aspect of the show, and those scenes are ''not'' played for glamour. The women are a wide range of appearances and body types, and one of Cookie's friends in jail [[ChildByRape became pregnant after being raped by a guard]]. For what it's worth, the jail scenes weren't ''all'' bleak and violent. Cookie was also in the prison's book club.

Needless to say, the above description is purely fantasy and '''NOT''' TruthInTelevision, except maybe for the shower scenes and the nude searches, which also happen in men's prisons. In RealLife, women's prisons are populated with the same ilk as the men's: violent and dangerous criminals and lawbreakers. And no, just because they're women doesn't mean they are more peaceful and gentle. The daily fight for dominance also applies there, [[CatFight catfights]] tend to involve the use of [[SinisterShiv shivs]], and the {{Alpha Bitch}}es are just as ruthless and ''physically'' violent as Alpha Dogs in men's prisons, especially to newcomers who happen to be [[DrivenByEnvy prettier than them]]. In an all-female setting, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse good looks are a hindrance]], not an asset. Also, just like in men's prisons, [[PrisonRape sexual violence]]--at the hands of corrections staff as well as fellow prisoners--is a very real and constant threat. And if the rapist is a man, there's the additional risk of an inmate becoming pregnant in the worst possible environment for such.

Needless to say, the above description is purely fantasy and '''NOT''' TruthInTelevision, except maybe for the shower scenes and the nude searches, which also happen in men's prisons. In RealLife, women's prisons are populated with the same ilk as the men's: violent and dangerous criminals and lawbreakers. And no, just because they have vaginas doesn't mean they are more peaceful and gentle. The daily fight for dominance also applies there, [[CatFight catfights]] tend to involve the use of [[SinisterShiv shivs]] and the {{Alpha Bitch}}es are just as ruthless and ''physically'' violent as Alpha Dogs in men's prisons, [[TruthInTelevision especially to newcomers who happen to be prettier than them]]. Remember: in an all-female setting, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse good looks are a hindrance]], not an asset. Also, just like in men's prisons, [[PrisonRape sexual violence]], at the hands of corrections staff as well as fellow prisoners, is a very real and constant threat.

** in the tale ''Fanfic/GapYearAdventures'', the [[BadassIsraeli Cenotian]] Assassin Rivka ben-Divorah's first experience of the country of [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Smith-Rhodesia]] is a prison cell. It's all to do with a forgotten lump of Klatchian bhong resin discovered in her luggage by Customs. Rivka shrugs and reflects that for seven years she was a boarding pupil at the Assassins' Guild School. Prison therefore holds no terrors for her. And she has some annoyance to work off, as the cell's Queen Bitch soon discovers. [[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12321109/27/Gap-Year-Adventures Gap Year Adventures Her time in prison]] is brief, instructive and entertaining.

* ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': In "The Embezzled Dress" (a SoundToScreenAdaptation of "Student Banking"), Miss Brooks fears being sent to prison. Landlady Mrs. Davis had unknowingly spent the students' bank money left in Miss Brooks' care, thinking it was Miss Brooks' back rent. Walter Denton, trying to teach Miss Brooks up, tells her about the conditions at the State Prison for Women. It involves mopping the floors all day; as there are not enough mops to go around, many of the inmates have to clean the floors on their hands and knees.

* Season 5 of ''Series/TheLWord'' sees Helena incarcerated in a women's prison. Scenes include a strip search and shower. Also sex with her cellmate, who is very butch. Trope played absolutely [[JustForPun straight]].

A case of SituationalSexuality taken UpToEleven to [[PanderingToTheBase pander to the audience]]. Might be used as an ExcusePlot for a SweepsWeekLesbianKiss. May contain offensive tropes like DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/female_convict_by_vincent_e_burns___illustration_by_robert_maguire___pyramid_book_1952.jpg]]

The odd of TheQueenpin among the inmates is often telltale of a rare DarkerAndEdgier take on the trope as this kind of character is usually [[FemaleMisogynist not that fond of other women]].

The odd presence of TheQueenpin among the inmate is often telltale of a rare DarkerAndEdgier take on the trope as this kind of character is usually [[FemaleMisogynist not that fond of other women]].

* ''Born American'' (1986). One of the protagonists in the gulag gets hold of a coin and tries to purchase medical care for his friend. The FriendInTheBlackMarket says it's not enough, but as the protagonist is a young man he could use it to buy... ''(puts a finger through hole in coin and leers)'' We then cut to several male inmates, including the protagonist, looking through vents into the women's shower. Contrary to the usual examples of this trope, the women are rather unshapely.

* {{Subverted|Trope}} in the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Little Jerry," where George goes on a tour of a women's prison, as he is in a relationship with one of the convicts, and is disappointed to discover it's a peaceful, minimum-security institution without a shower fight to be seen.

* ''Series/LawAndOrderUK''. While investigating the murder of a prison guard, Matt and Ronnie note that one of the other guards is reluctant to talk. When the press him, it turns out that he's new and is reluctant to cause trouble, as, "it would be very easy to find yourself in the middle of a riot and no one coming to help you", thus making it quite clear that a women's prison is just as dangerous as its male counterpart. Indeed, the guard in question turns out to be an AssholeVictim who was forcing himself on several of the inmates.

* In one chapter of the ''Manga/ExcelSaga'' manga, Excel and Elgala are on a boat headed for an island women's prison. A guard mentions that "they will be subjected to tortures both savage and sensual!"
* Averted in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'': The story revolves around protagonist Jolyne Kujo being framed for murder and sent to prison, but it's shown as a fairly bleak-as-RealLife women's prison, not romanticized in the slightest and full of things like near-deadly fights, monetary extortion, and solitary confinement as punishment. (Although definitely filled with ArtisticLicense as Jojo tends to be with many things.)

* ''AdventureComics'' #394 features a [[UsefulNotes/TheSilverAgeOfComicBooks Silver Age]] story with ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} in an alien women's prison. The story isn't really that good; however, and the comic is best remembered for [[http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljhz6xBUsP1qbujox.jpg its cover]] with the laughter inducing tagline "Heartbreak Prison! Where Every Girl's A Lifer!"

* Homaged in the ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' story "Interdimensional Women's Prison Breakout", with [[http://hackslashinc.com/1/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/hack_slash_11_a_web_72.jpg obligatory]] SexyPackaging.

* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'':
** In the Golden Age Diana once helped a woman aiming to become the first warden of a women's prison near Washington D.C. and spent a week or so at the prison helping implement reforms that included getting rid of the uniforms and giving all the inmates more fashionable clothes.

* The whole point of the 80's flick ''Reform School Girls.''

* "When You're Good to Mama" from ''Film/{{Chicago}}'

* In one multi-part episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Sam and the other patrons uncovered Robin's plot to enact a hostile takeover of his company, using Rebecca as a pawn; in one scene, Sam had was discussing what to do about it with the others, mentioning that Rebecca wouldn't last long in a women's prison, the conversation quickly turning into a fetish fantasy discussion between them on what she might ''wear'' if incarcerated. (They did this ''a lot'', actually.)
* {{Subverted|Trope}} on the ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'' episode "The Little Jerry," where George goes on a tour of a women's prison, as he is in a relationship with one of the convicts, and is disappointed to discover it's a peaceful, minimum-security institution without a shower fight to be seen.

---> '''Carter:''' Why do I feel like I'm in a women behind bars movie?

* Season 5 of ''Series/TheLWord'' sees Helena incarcerated in a women's prison. Scenes include a strip search and shower.
** Sex with her cellmate, who is very butch. Trope played absolutely [[JustForPun straight]].

* ''Series/BurnNotice'' does a fairly realistic depiction when [[spoiler: Fiona]] goes to prison for awhile. While there, she has to fight the most dominant member of the prison and has to adapt to the harsh conditions. [[ActionGirl Of course, she does pretty well under the circumstances....]]. It should be noted that Fi as always been portrayed as a full fledged action girl, quite self-reliant, self confident, independent, and succesfull in pretty much every aspect of her life, both before, and after Michael showed up in Miami, yet when he visits her in prison she has an emotional breakdown, and Michael later informs his mother when asked, that she is eating very little, and is ''quite'' scared. this is all shown without a trace of {{chickification}}.
* ''Series/{{Angel}}'' Shows [[spoiler: Faith]] in jail a few times. Mostly it's the visitor's room, complete with telephones and a window, but there is a prison fight between two inmates in the yard. There is no fetishizing of the prison, mostly it looks like depictions of male prisons but with the inmates having longer hair.
* ''The Late Show with Creator/DavidLetterman'': when Martha Stewart was in prison for insider trading Letterman made many jokes implying that Stewart was in this kind of prison.
* The entire premise of the {{dramedy}} series ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'', notable for being a weird mix of racial and sexual stereotypes with much more realistic elements about life in prison. But the violence element is notably downplayed, at least until the arrival of a one-woman AppleOfDiscord in the second season.
** In the audio commentary for the first episode, the director states that they chose to start the series with a shower scene as a homage to the typical porn depiction of women's prisons.

* Rhonda and Leanne start ''[[Series/YouMeAndTheApocalypse You, Me And The Apocalypse]]'' in a women's prison in New Mexico.

* ''Series/TheBoldAndTheBeautiful'': While in a mental hospital for her various crimes, Sheila gets beaten up by two other prisoners. Their [[ButchLesbian unpleasant appearance]] and [[PsychoLesbian demeanor]], plus the way Sheila acts afterwards--taking a ShowerOfAngst--are clearly meant to imply that they sexually assaulted her as well. Even if not, the whole sequence still gives off a DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything vibe.
** On the flip side, Sheila and the other prisoners get along great, giving off a "college--dorm" atmosphere.

* Mentioned briefly in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. In the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail [[http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail193.html rated]], Strong Bad makes reference to the "triple-R rated" ''Women's Penitentiary Bakesale Nightmare''.

* In one episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'', Peter reveals that he accidentally recorded over his and Lois' wedding video with "softcore cable porn"; the brief clips we're shown are of a Girls Behind Bars film.
** And referenced in another episode, where Quagmire frets that what Peter is doing could land him in jail- "And not the good kind of jail, like on Cinemax! The man jail!"

** In the episode "Dial Meg for Murder," Meg goes to prison and becomes a hardened criminal.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Duckman}}'' naturally parodied this. "Aged Heat 2: Women in Heat" opens with him getting arrested for killing [[TheyKilledKennyAgain Fluffy and Uranus]]. He was terrified of being sent to prison, until he found out that (thanks to a clerical error) he was taken to the federal women's penitentiary instead. He's about to point out he's not a woman, but then he sees the inmates exercising; two getting into a half-naked mud wrestling fight over what to play next (naked volleyball or nude weight-lifting) just seals the deal for him. Incidents include the warden forcing the inmates into an illegal dancing ring (with Duckman actually enjoying raking in the cash until a new girl replaced him) and a PrisonRiot after the girls realize they got sciatica from "all this gratuitous mud fighting."

* ''ComicBook/GoldDigger'' #82 has Gina Diggers doing time in a women's prison. The comic includes a shower scene and a fight with the head bitch, who happens to be a ShoutOut of a certain female ''StarWars'' character.

* Cookie from ''Series/Empire'' spent 17 years in prison and the pilot episode centers on her release. Flashbacks to her life behind bars are a recurring aspect of the show, and those scenes are ''not'' played for glamour. The women are a wide range of appearances and body types, and one of Cookie's friends in jail [[ChildByRape became pregnant after being raped by a guard]]. For what it's worth, the jail scenes weren't ''all'' bleak and violent. Cookie was also in the prison's book club.

* Cookie from ''Series/Empire'' spent 17 years in prison and the pilot episode centers on her release. Flashbacks to her life behind bars are a recurring aspect of the show, and those scenes are ''not'' played for glamour. The women are a wide range of appearances and body types, and one of Cookie's friends in jail [[ChildByRape became pregnant after being raped by a guard]].

Needless to say, the above description is purely fantasy and '''NOT''' TruthInTelevision, except maybe for the shower scenes and the nude searches, which also happen in men's prisons. In RealLife, women's prisons are populated with the same ilk as men's prisons: violent and dangerous criminals and lawbreakers. And no, just because they have vaginas doesn't mean they are more peaceful and gentle. The daily fight for dominance also applies there, [[CatFight catfights]] tend to involve the use of [[SinisterShiv shivs]] and the {{Alpha Bitch}}es are just as ruthless and ''physically'' violent as Alpha Dogs in men's prisons, [[TruthInTelevision especially to newcomers who happen to be prettier than them]]. Remember: in an all-female setting, [[SoBeautifulItsACurse good looks are a hindrance]], not an asset. Also, just like in men's prisons, [[PrisonRape sexual violence]], at the hands of corrections staff as well as fellow prisoners, is a very real and constant threat.

Still, an unfortunate effect of MostWritersAreMale is that most of them have never been to a women's prison, nor do they know how life is really like inside of it. It can be because men are not allowed inside, much like women in men's prisons. It may be because [[FemalesAreMoreInnocent female offenders aren't considered]] as [[WomenAreDelicate violent]], [[ARealManIsAKiller dangerous]] or [[TheUnfairSex despicable]] as [[DoubleStandard male offenders]] and thus less worthy of scrutiny - never mind that being in a prison means they are ostensibly guilty of one or more crimes in the first place. It almost certainly involves a (possibly subconscious) downplaying of violence between females inmates, as acknowledging that would mean [[MenAreTheExpendableGender treating the loss of female life in the same way as loss of male life]]. It may even be because in most places, there are a lot more male prisoners than female. Or it may be because they just didn't bother with research.

But, let's face it, it's mostly because most of them assume women's prisons are a [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian porn heaven]]. No matter what, in sharp contrast to men's prisons, women's prisons are always believed to be a {{fetish}} station where women learn to be bisexuals thanks to this oh-so beautiful and chaste thing called lesbianism (which [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale doesn't involve rape at all]], oh no), so they can serve [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian fantasies]] better. And of course, female guardians partake joyfully in it as well as the lucky male staff who live in this palace of pleasure! It also goes without saying that the women are [[LipstickLesbian beautifully feminine]] except perhaps for a few [[ButchLesbian tough dominant ones]] who [[AlphaBitch run the prison]] and [[NaiveNewcomer initiate newcomers]] into [[SituationalSexuality the homosexual prison environment]]. Depending on how dirty-minded the audience is, and the [[{{Watershed}} time slot]], this may result in a sort of ChekhovsGun scenario as the audience expects... ''[[HotterAndSexier action]]''. In a movie or late-night cable TV show, there will be at least one ShowerScene or strip-search.

Needless to say, the above description is purely fantasy and '''NOT''' TruthInTelevision, except maybe for the shower scenes and the nude searches, as can be seen in men's prisons. Female prisons are dangerous, disgusting hellholes - this is what makes them prisons and not, say, resorts. But the preponderance of the porn-friendly description is so deeply ingrained in pop-culture that realistic depictions of women's prison ''as a main setting'' that don't include these elements are exceptional.

In RealLife, women's prisons are populated with the same ilk as men's prisons: violent and dangerous criminals and lawbreakers. And no, just because they're vagina-havers doesn't mean they are more peaceful and gentle than penis-havers. The daily fight for dominance also applies there, [[CatFight catfights]] tend to involve the use of [[SinisterShiv shivs]] and the {{Alpha Bitch}}es are just as ruthless and ''physically'' violent as Alpha Dogs in men's prisons, [[TruthInTelevision especially to newcomers who happen to be prettier than them]]. Remember: in an all-female setting, good looks are a hindrance, not an asset. Also, just like in men's prisons, [[PrisonRape sexual violence]], at the hands of corrections staff as well as fellow prisoners, is a very real and constant threat.

* Likewise, ''Film/CagedHeat'' was another example of the genre from [[TheSeventies the 70's]]. It was one of the first films directed by a young Creator/JonathanDemme.

* Likewise, ''Caged Heat'' was another example of the genre from [[TheSeventies the 70's]].

* ''The Big Doll House''

* ''Film/{{Bound 1996}}'' invokes this trope by depicting ButchLesbian Corky (Creator/GinaGershon) as a former inmate.

* The ParodyFic ''[[https://www.squidge.org/peja/cgi-bin/viewstory.php?sid=37971 Voyager Chicks Behind Forcefields]]'' is this trope RecycledInSPACE using the intrepid crew of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.

** in the tale ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/12321109/27/Gap-Year-Adventures Gap Year Adventures]]'', the [[BadassIsraeli Cenotian]] Assassin Rivka ben-Divorah's first experience of the country of [[UsefulNotes/{{Zimbabwe}} Smith-Rhodesia]] is a prison cell. It's all to do with a forgotten lump of Klatchian bhong resin discovered in her luggage by Customs. Rivka shrugs and rflects that for seven years she was a boarding pupil at the Assassins' Guild School. Prison therefore holds no terrors for her. And she has some annoyance to work off, as the cell's Queen Bitch soon discovers. Her time in prison is brief, instructive and entertaining.