| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | %% |
| 5 | %% |
| 6 | %% This list of examples has been alphabetized. Please add your example in the proper place. Thanks! |
| 7 | %% |
| 8 | %% |
| 9 | %% |
| 10 | %% |
| 11 | %% |
| 12 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1507573727023228100 |
| 13 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 14 | %% |
| 15 | [[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/female_convict_by_vincent_e_burns___illustration_by_robert_maguire___pyramid_book_1952.jpg]] |
| 16 | |
| 17 | ->'''Marshall:''' Spending ten months undercover in a women's prison? I can think of worse.\ |
| 18 | '''Mary:''' You do know it's not all lingerie and pillow fights?\ |
| 19 | '''Marshall:''' But it is sometimes, right? |
| 20 | -->-- ''Series/InPlainSight'' |
| 21 | |
| 22 | Women's prison is a setting that stands out for how scarce its depictions are... outside of porn that is. At most, only expect a vague allusion but the instances where the lives of female inmates are featured are vanishingly rare in comparison to those of male inmates. And the only thing that most people recall about women's prison is its {{fetish}} potential. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | In short, women's prisons are [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything hotbeds]] of... uh... intrigue. For instance, if there's a female detective character, it's practically a law that she be [[GetIntoJailFree sent to prison undercover]] or be wrongly accused and temporarily incarcerated at least once. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | 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 male inmates aren't allowed in. 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 there are a lot more male prisoners than female. Or it may be because they just didn't bother with research. |
| 27 | |
| 28 | But, let's face it, it's because many writers assume women's prisons are a [[GirlOnGirlIsHot lesbian porn heaven]]. In sharp contrast to men's prisons, women's prisons are always believed to be a {{fetish}} station where women learn to be intimate with one another (which [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale doesn't involve rape at all]], oh no). And of course, female guards partake joyfully in it as well as any male staff lucky enough to work in this palace of pleasure! It also goes without saying that the women are no older than mid-30's and [[LipstickLesbian beautifully feminine]], except perhaps for a few [[ButchLesbian tough dominant ones]] who [[AlphaBitch run the prison]] and [[NaiveNewcomer initiate newcomers]] into [[SituationalSexuality the lesbian 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. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | 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: convicted felons who run the full gamut of age, body type, appearance, and potential for violence. 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 beauty is 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. |
| 31 | |
| 32 | One character unique in this setting is the Prison Matron. Any jail that houses female inmates will have at least one female officer whose job is to see to gender-specific needs, such performing or overseeing strip searches, medical care, and any other situation where an inmate would otherwise be alone with a likely-male staff member. Beyond that, the matron's duties vary based on the time period and jurisdiction, but she's the highest female authority in the prison and either works alongside the warden or ''is'' the warden-equivalent. She will visually resemble the ApronMatron unless the setting is pornographic, in which case she'll be beautiful (but still middle-aged) and not above engaging in sexual shenanigans with her charges. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | This trope is a case of SituationalSexuality to [[PanderingToTheBase pander to the audience]]. Might be used as an ExcusePlot for a SweepsWeekLesbianKiss. May contain offensive tropes like DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnFemale. |
| 35 | The presence 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]]. |
| 36 | |
| 37 | This is also a SuperTrope with the same basic genre elements being transported to a number of different prison-like settings or more specific types of prison, such as [[CatholicSchoolGirlsRule reform schools]] or "jungle prison", even coining unique terms for the sub-genre, like Nunsploitation or {{Nazisploitation}}. Typically this means a change of costume or scenery, but little else. |
| 38 | |
| 39 | Compare PrisonRape and WondrousLadiesRoom (another trope whose fallaciously ideal depiction of women is due to MostWritersAreMale). |
| 40 | |
| 41 | See also: ChainedHeat, ForcedPrizeFight. |
| 42 | ---- |
| 43 | !!Examples: |
| 44 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 45 | |
| 46 | [[folder:Anime & Manga]] |
| 47 | * ''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. |
| 48 | * ''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. |
| 49 | * In one chapter of ''Manga/ExcelSaga'', 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!" |
| 50 | * ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventureStoneOcean'': Averted. 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.) |
| 51 | * ''Anime/SengokuCollection'': An episode is an homage to Japanese women's prison film ''Film/JoshuuSasori'' (Female Prisoner Scorpion). |
| 52 | [[/folder]] |
| 53 | |
| 54 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 55 | * ''ComicBook/BitchPlanet'' is all about this, set in a PenalColony on a prison planet for Non-Compliant women. |
| 56 | * ''ComicBook/{{Supergirl}}'' story ''ComicBook/AdventureComics #394: Heartbreak Prison"'' features Supergirl and half dozen of females put behind bars in the titular alien escape-proof pen. |
| 57 | * ''ComicBook/{{Catwoman}}'' #80 features said character being thrown into a women's prison. It includes catfights and a shower scene. |
| 58 | * ''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. |
| 59 | * ''ComicBook/GrimmFairyTales'': The "Lockdown" arc (#76-81) features Sela in a women's prison. Plenty of the standard tropes apply, including a ShowerScene, a fight with the ButchLesbian, etc. |
| 60 | * Homaged in the ''ComicBook/HackSlash'' story "Interdimensional Women's Prison Breakout", with [[https://comicvine1.cbsistatic.com/uploads/original/6/67663/2085895-09b.jpg obligatory]] SexyPackaging. |
| 61 | * 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. |
| 62 | * 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. |
| 63 | * ''ComicBook/WonderWoman'': |
| 64 | ** In UsefulNotes/{{the Golden Age|OfComicBooks}} 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. |
| 65 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1942'': Visits to Mala while she's overseeing her prisoners on Reformation Island have the all female inmates wearing skimpy clothes, restraints that very intentionally bring bondage to gear, sing the praises of said bondage themed restraints and participate in training fights and ambiguously gay adoration of Mala and each other. |
| 66 | ** ''ComicBook/WonderWoman1987'': [[CoversAlwaysLie The covers]] play up the fanservice angle when Wondy is imprisoned on an all female slave planet with a bunch of extraterrestrial humanoid women. The comics themselves do ''not'', though her outfit does end up rather revealing as she adjusted it into short shorts and a midriff revealing top due to the heat. |
| 67 | [[/folder]] |
| 68 | |
| 69 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 70 | * Creator/AAPessimal's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' tale '''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/5423228/1/Murder-Most-Orrible Murder most Horrible]]''' introduces the womens' wing of Ankh-Morpork's Tanty Prison. It has a suspicious amount in common with ''Series/PrisonerCellBlockH''. |
| 71 | ** 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. |
| 72 | * In ''Fanfic/KitsuneNoKenFistOfTheFox'', the Shimo City Women's Prison averts the trope's standard depiction. When Yugito and the kids go there to visit the temporarily-incarcerated Fuu, the warden informs them that the inmates include husband-killers, boyfriend-beaters, child abusers, thieves, white-collar crooks, and perverts, "and not in the way late-night soft-core TV would lead you to think." |
| 73 | --> '''Warden:''' I have two teenage boys and a cable subscription at home. I've seen what they watch. And what I see here on a weekly basis is ''nothing'' like what porn claims. |
| 74 | * ''Fanfic/PokemonResetBloodlines'' mentions that Belladonna's mother was beaten up by her fellow inmates at least five times. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Says a lot that these women would find someone who abandoned their own child disgusting.]] |
| 75 | * The ParodyFic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/25503826 Voyager Chicks Behind Forcefields]]'' is this trope JustForFun/RecycledINSPACE using the intrepid crew of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. Warning: NotSafeForWork. |
| 76 | [[/folder]] |
| 77 | |
| 78 | [[folder:Film -- Live Action]] |
| 79 | %%* ''Film/AndGodCreatedWoman1988'' features this as its setting. |
| 80 | %%* ''Film/BareBehindBars'' is an especially brutal example of the genre. |
| 81 | * In ''Film/TheBigBirdCage'', Terry, a social-climbing young woman accidentally gets caught up in the activities of two revolutionaries, Blossom and Django, and finds herself in a concentration camp for women. In the center of the camp is a towering wooden machine ([[TitleDrop "The Big Bird Cage"]]) in which the women risk their lives processing sugar as the evil warden looks on. The prisoners are subjected to sadistic cruelty from the guards and fellow prisoners, and all attempts at escape are dealt with - permanently. |
| 82 | * Creator/PamGrier's first film role was in ''Film/TheBigDollHouse'' which is probably the real {{Trope Maker|s}} for the genre. |
| 83 | * ''Film/BlackMamaWhiteMama'': The first part of the film contains all the tropes you can expect from a Girls Behind Bars movie, with sexy women in (very) skimpy prison uniforms, sadistic guards, lesbian innuendo, catfights and a matron who spies on her inmates when they are showering. Then two of the prisoners (one a revolutionary, the other a prostitute jailed for drug-related crimes) manage to escape from a prisoner transport [[ChainedHeat while chained together]] and the movie turns into an action story. |
| 84 | * ''Film/BornAmerican'' (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]]. |
| 85 | * ''Film/{{Bound|1996}}'' invokes this trope by depicting ButchLesbian Corky (Creator/GinaGershon) as a former inmate. |
| 86 | * ''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 Girls Behind Bars story. |
| 87 | * ''Film/ChainedHeat1983'' is the first in a series of movies fetishizing female prisoners in the late-night genre. |
| 88 | * "When You're Good to Mama" from ''Film/{{Chicago}}'' |
| 89 | * 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. |
| 90 | * 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. |
| 91 | * ''Film/GirlsInPrison,'' 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. |
| 92 | * ''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. |
| 93 | * 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. |
| 94 | * Averted in ''Film/JackieBrown'', with a realistic view of women's prison. |
| 95 | * ''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. |
| 96 | * ''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. |
| 97 | * ''Film/LadiesTheyTalkAbout'' is an early example from UsefulNotes/ThePreCodeEra. |
| 98 | * The zombie movie ''Film/PlanetTerror'' has the two heroines behind bars for a scene in the third act. Also, [[AC:[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin WOMEN IN CAGES!]]]] |
| 99 | * Not the case in ''Film/MadeaGoesToJail'', to Big Sal's (initial) chagrin and Madea's relief regarding [[AxCrazy Tee Tee]]. |
| 100 | * ''Film/ReformSchoolGirls'' is intended to be a spoof of the genre, but instead winds up being an IndecisiveParody. |
| 101 | * ''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. |
| 102 | * Parodied in the ''Series/StrangersWithCandy'' film. The opening Shower Scene features women who, well... look like the women you'd actually see in a women's prison. |
| 103 | * In ''Film/{{Suffragette}}'' the protagonists are imprisoned for ... taking part in a demonstration for women's voting rights. Which law exactly forbids this is not clear, and they are also not treated as political prisoners, but as common criminals, and forced to strip and change into prison clothes, an additional humiliation designed to discourage them from standing up for their rights. The prison is not depicted as comfy, but realistically depicted as the horrid place a women's prison of that era would be - grey, cold cells, bad food, sadistic guards, and fellow prisoners who are too overworked and underfed to even think of entertaining violence or lesbian sexy times. When the protagonist goes on hunger strike, she's force-fed, in a way that looks like torture. Which is probably what is is intended as, as the reason it is done is because the government doesn't want the women's rights movement to have a martyr. The only ''nice'' thing about the protagonist's stay in prison is the fact that she's given flowers and a medal by fellow suffragists when she's finally released and walks out of the prison door. |
| 104 | * Creator/RogerCorman's ''Film/SwampDiamonds'' (as seen on ''Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000''). Undercover cop, struggle for dominance, and Beverly Garland as a PsychoForHire. |
| 105 | * ''Film/TankGirl''. Tank Girl and Jet Girl spend some time incarcerated in Water and Power's coed prison. |
| 106 | * ''Film/UnderLockAndKey,'' a B-Movie with the classic undercover female cop plot. |
| 107 | * ''Film/WerewolfInAWomensPrison.'' Nuff said. |
| 108 | [[/folder]] |
| 109 | |
| 110 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 111 | * In the first book of the ''Literature/{{Birthright}}'' trilogy, ''All These Things I've Done'', Anya Balanchine, the anti-heroine, spends some time in a female correctional facility. She's a mafiosa and murder suspect, though ironically, at the time of her imprisonment, she hasn't actually done anything yet. Unusual to the trope, the correctional facility Anya is sent to is more akin to male depictions of prison, unglamorous, with ruthless occupants, abusive wardens, and desperation to leave. |
| 112 | * In the Creator/DanielleSteel novel ''Malice'', the heroine is sent to prison for killing her sexually abusive father (no one believed her, thanks to his pillar of the community status). The depiction is fairly realistic, namely in that she's nearly assaulted by a group of other prisoners before her cellmate rescues her. |
| 113 | * The prison in ''Literature/TheMentalState'' is divided in half by a metal fence. All the male prisoners are kept on one side and all the female prisoners are kept on the other. One of the central character's goals is to secretly unite the two genders without the prison staff finding out. |
| 114 | * In his book ''Literature/APrisonDiary'' about his own imprisonment, Creator/JeffreyArcher tells that surprisingly, he heard that the level of violence is higher in women's prisons than men's. Men tend to restrict giving each other "hammerings" to more private places such as showers, whereas women do not: any time, any place will do. |
| 115 | * ''Literature/RoseUnderFire'' is set in Ravensbrück, a women's concentration camp, during UsefulNotes/WorldWarII. |
| 116 | * The autobiographical novel ''Literature/WhoLieInGaol'' described Holloway prison, and then then new idea of a prison without bars Askham Grange in the 1950s. |
| 117 | [[/folder]] |
| 118 | |
| 119 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 120 | * ''Series/{{Angel}}'' shows 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. |
| 121 | %% * ''Series/BadGirls'' has made a series of this, but without the detective. |
| 122 | %% * ''Series/TheBill'' has done this several times. |
| 123 | * ''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. |
| 124 | * ''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}}. |
| 125 | * ''Series/{{Capadocia}}'' depicts a for-profit womens's prison in Mexico where the inmates work making lingerie for the brand "Cautiva" ("Captive"), supposedly so they can earn wages and learn job skills. It does not shy away from the violence; the first season ends with protagonist Lorena beating to death another inmate in self-defense. |
| 126 | * ''Series/CharliesAngels'' |
| 127 | ** All three angles went to prison, [[ChainedHeat chained together]] in the aptly named episode "Angels in Chains." |
| 128 | ** This series liked the women's prison plot enough to use it a second time, albeit with only one Angel actually imprisoned in "Caged Angel." |
| 129 | * ''Series/CharliesAngels2011'': The 2011 remake of the classic series had an episode where the Angels went to prison, titled "Angels in Chains" in homage of the original series episode. There are some notable differences; however, such as the prison being located in Cuba and the absence of a ShowerScene. |
| 130 | %% * ''Series/{{Charmed|1998}}'' had [[spoiler:Piper]] in prison briefly. |
| 131 | * 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 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 turned into a fetish fantasy discussion between them on what she might ''wear'' if incarcerated. (They did this ''a lot'', actually.) Sam: "Guys, no! Save it for the end of the day when we all have a moment to relax..." |
| 132 | * ''Series/CoronationStreet'' has Fizz falsely in jail for murders committed by her husband John Stape. |
| 133 | * In the ''Series/{{CSI}}'' episode "XX", the CSI team investigate a murder inside a women's prison. However, the episode is devoid of most the tropes associated with women's prisons and shows it as a brutal and dangerous place to be. |
| 134 | * 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. |
| 135 | * The very first episode of ''Series/FemmeFatales'' 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. |
| 136 | * Occurs in an episode of ''Series/LaFemmeNikita''. |
| 137 | * ''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. |
| 138 | * German TV series ''Series/HinterGitternDerFrauenknast'' (English: "Behind bars - The Women's Prison") |
| 139 | * ''Series/TheLateShowWithDavidLetterman'': when Martha Stewart was in prison for insider trading Letterman made many jokes implying that Stewart was in this kind of prison. |
| 140 | * 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. |
| 141 | * ''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. |
| 142 | * ''{{Series/Lexx}}'' had an episode where Xev went to prison, complete with a shower scene. |
| 143 | * 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. |
| 144 | * ''Series/LoisAndClark'' has a two-part episode where Lois Lane is framed for murder and sent to a women's prison. |
| 145 | * ''Series/LostGirl''. The episode "Caged Fae" has [[GetIntoJailFree Bo going undercover by getting herself thrown into a Fae prison]] run by a literal AmazonBrigade. It's... kinda porn-y, in keeping with the [[FanService tone of the show]]. |
| 146 | * In ''Series/LukeCage2016'' season 2's finale, when Mariah Dillard is awaiting trial in jail, she's shown in a cell block at Rikers where the Stokes, Stylers and Rosalie Carbone's gang all have female members, all of whom are depicted as violent. |
| 147 | * 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 unattractive). Also sex with her cellmate, who is very butch. |
| 148 | * ''Series/MutantX'', "The Taking Of Crows". While on a night out, Lexa has been unknowingly drugged with a lethal substance that wreaks havoc on her powers. Lexa is eventually stabilized but the team soon learn that she's going to die in 72 hours unless a cure is found. As such, Shalimar and Lexa go undercover, successfully getting arrested where they end up in a woman's prison meeting Dr. Sara Stanton who also happens to be the creator of the deadly drug Lexa was dosed with. |
| 149 | * 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.) |
| 150 | * ''{{Series/NCIS}}'' episode "Caged" plays this realistically. [=McGee=] is at a women's' 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. |
| 151 | * ''Series/OrangeIsTheNewBlack'': The series is 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. |
| 152 | * ''Radio/OurMissBrooks'': |
| 153 | ** 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. |
| 154 | ** 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. |
| 155 | * ''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. |
| 156 | * 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". |
| 157 | * 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. The {{Fanservice}} aspect is mild: 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. |
| 158 | * 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. |
| 159 | * ''Series/PrisonerCellBlockH'' was set in an Australian women's prison, and was at the time one of the more realistic depictions of this trope. |
| 160 | * ''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. |
| 161 | * {{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. |
| 162 | * An otherwise best forgotten episode of ''Series/StargateSG1'' had Carter lampshade this trope. |
| 163 | --> '''Carter:''' Why do I feel like I'm in a women behind bars movie? |
| 164 | * ''Series/WalkerTexasRanger''. When Alex (a district attorney) is imprisoned, she's inexplicably placed in general population and sure enough, gets attacked by a pack of vengeful inmates, until she is saved by one inmate held on trumped-up charges. |
| 165 | * The short-lived Fox sitcom ''Series/WomenInPrison'' 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. |
| 166 | * 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. |
| 167 | * Rhonda and Leanne start ''Series/YouMeAndTheApocalypse'' in a women's prison in New Mexico. |
| 168 | [[/folder]] |
| 169 | |
| 170 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 171 | * Played for laughs with the backup dancer in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPXnoLAEUSQ this old Bobby Fuller Four video.]] |
| 172 | * Creator/PamGrier's song "Long Time Woman" from ''The Big Doll House.'' |
| 173 | * Music/LadyGaga's music video for "Telephone". Crotch shots, chains, girl on girl action, and undies galore. Seems to be another one of her attempts at {{Fanservice}}. |
| 174 | [[/folder]] |
| 175 | |
| 176 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 177 | * The Wrestling/WOWWomenOfWrestling TagTeam Wrestling/{{Caged Heat|Wrestling}}, named after the film, Loca and [[PunnyName Delta Lotta Pain]], who were the first and only [[https://www.cagematch.net//?id=5&nr=2954 WOW World Tag Team Champions]] until they were defeated by The All American Girls one year after the company's revival, and Vendetta, who mostly just hung around and did not return with them. They were billed from [[PartsUnknown the Nevada State Correctional Facility]], wore [[InstitutionalApparel orange jumpsuits]] and their [[SignatureMove signature moves]] had such names as "Hard Time" (BearHug with top rope clothesline) and "Capital Punishment" (better known as Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys' "Dudley Death Drop"/"3D," a combined flapjack and a [[Wrestling/DiamondDallasPage "cutter"]]). Their [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ri1aadv70og entrance video]] showed them in prison rapping their [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic theme song]][[note]]Theirs was the only one with lyrics[[/note]]. The absence of logic in the fact that they were supposedly driven to the arena from ''prison'', and then sent back after the match, was not even {{Handwave}}d away, as this promotion adhered to an old-school, straight-faced {{Kayfabe}} mentality, which is what would be expected from a promotion started by David [=McLane=], who had previously created Wrestling/{{GLOW}} in TheEighties. In 2000-2001, this was a decided contrast to Wrestling/{{WWE}}'s Wrestling/AttitudeEra, which was taking place at the same time. Despite the implications of their [[TheGimmick gimmick]], they were VERY popular. The revival did come up with a reason for their presence (and absence of Vendetta). A lawyer named Sophia Lopez had been fighting to prove their innocence and finally did in 2012, for ''two'' of them. |
| 178 | * More inline with 90s "Attitude" was a pay per view on demand called ''Wet Wrestling: The Shawshank Redemption''. It was about convicts being forced to compete in a wrestling ring. |
| 179 | * WOW's {{spiritual successor}}s CRUSH and Wrestling/{{Wrestlicious}} featured a wrestler known as Felony (Wrestling/CheerleaderMelissa in the former, indie wrestler Rain [[TheOtherDarrin in the latter]]). The gimmick worked on the premise she was allowed to wrestle on work release. She had to be led to the ring in handcuffs by her parole officer and a RunningGag would be Felony trying to escape from him whenever she got the chance. Her gear was a sexy version of the striped uniform. |
| 180 | [[/folder]] |
| 181 | |
| 182 | [[folder:Theater]] |
| 183 | * "When You're Good to Mama" from most versions of ''Theatre/{{Chicago}}''. |
| 184 | * Subverted in ''Theatre/AGulagMouse'', where the plays is set in a women's prison camp that is starkly realistic and brutal. |
| 185 | * In ''Theatre/{{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. |
| 186 | * Mo'Nique in her routine ''I Coulda Been You Cellmate'', that is set in a women's institution, playfully toys with this trope about its implausibility. |
| 187 | [[/folder]] |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 190 | * One of the storylines in the Japanese RPG ''VideoGame/SagaFrontier'' opens with the main character, Emelia, having to escape from a women's prison. |
| 191 | [[/folder]] |
| 192 | |
| 193 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 194 | * The comedy-oriented ''WebAnimation/DorisAndMaryAnneAreBreakingOutOfPrison'', [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNkxGLp3Up3vAg3XEBSeX1Q/videos found here]], set in the year 1922. |
| 195 | * Mentioned briefly in ''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''. In the WebAnimation/StrongBadEmail [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spaJAGMYmmo rated]], Strong Bad makes reference to the "triple-R rated" ''Women's Penitentiary Bakesale Nightmare''. |
| 196 | * [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTIYz51lVks This]] episode of ''WebAnimation/TheInfographicsShow''. Daniel has to worry about violence, while his girlfriend Donna doesn't have to, at least not nearly to the same extent. |
| 197 | [[/folder]] |
| 198 | |
| 199 | [[folder:Webcomics]] |
| 200 | * Subverted in ''Webcomic/TheJapaneseBeetle'' when Kremlina goes to jail. The "top dog" tries to make her her bitch, only to get downed in one punch - which makes Kremlina the new top dog, complete with another inmate asking very politely to be her bitch. |
| 201 | * Averted in ''Webcomic/LastRes0rt'' -- There are plenty of female contestants, and yes, the show is in a prison, so while there ARE Girls Behind Bars, it's a relatively calm co-ed prison environment and the closest we get to a ShowerScene is one panel of Daisy from the shoulders up. |
| 202 | [[/folder]] |
| 203 | |
| 204 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 205 | * 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. |
| 206 | * ''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." |
| 207 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'': |
| 208 | ** In one episode, 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. |
| 209 | ** 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!" |
| 210 | ** The episode "Breaking Out Is Hard to Do" sees Lois sent to prison. When visiting with her family she remarks-"I'm just gonna have to lay back and let the penal system teach me a lesson." |
| 211 | ** In the episode "Dial Meg for Murder," [[HadToComeToPrisonToBeACrook Meg goes to prison and becomes a hardened criminal]]. |
| 212 | * The ''{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}}'' movie "Into the Wild Green Yonder" has Leela, Amy and a bunch of other female characters from the show all get sent to a women's prison. While it's far from the nicest place, all these good friends are put in cells together and start painting toenails and the like. |
| 213 | * ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' had an episode where Johnny was falsely convicted of bank robbery and sent to a women's prison because of a typo on his birth certificate spelling his name "Joanie". |
| 214 | * Averted entirely on ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' where [[Characters/TheSimpsonsMargeSimpson Marge Simpson]] goes to prison for a month, as the situation is PlayedForDrama and this particular trope is not even mentioned. |
| 215 | * ''WesternAnimation/TrippingTheRift'' has a women's prison themed episode. It contains skimpy prison dresses, a shower scene, and a catfight during said shower scene. |
| 216 | [[/folder]] |
| 217 | |
| 218 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 219 | * [[http://www.linternaute.com/sortir/spectacle/un-spectacle-nomme-desirs-au-crazy-horse/image/crazy-horse-dynasty-830769.jpg This number]] from the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crazy_Horse_(cabaret) Crazy Horse Saloon]]. |
| 220 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext Main / GirlsBehindBars
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
