We criticize what we love because we know they can do so much better. One of the main reasons so many people love "Orange Is the New Black," or OITNB, is because the characters are so relatable. Another reason is because of the diversity of the cast. For the first time, there is a large representation of lesbians, African-Americans, and Hispanics and a small, but prominent example of genderqueer and transgender people. With all the strides OITNB is making in representing minority groups in a form of media that they consume, there are still a few areas that the show has fallen short. Namely with Asians and with bisexual people.

I think SoSo said it best when she asked Chang “Where’s my big Asian prison family.” Here, Chang responds with “You Scottish,” which is partially true. The struggles half-Asians and biracial people go through are different from that of full-blooded Asians. It’s not that we don’t accept them into our community, it’s just that they do have issues that they face differently from us because of the other half that isn’t Asian (not saying it’s a bad thing…just different). So no, SoSo, does not really count as an example of Asian representation on the show (at least not to me), she counts more of as a representation of the struggles that biracial people go through. Chang, on the other hand, barely counts as figure to which many of us can relate to. While she does have awesome one-liners and did get a whole fleshed out backstory, for the majority of the story arc, Chang has been regulated to comedic relief. Chang, as a character on the show, is already fairly old and bit difficult to relate to on an emotional and generational level for young Asian-Americans watching the show. She also does not represent the struggles of Asian-Americans as she is an immigrant, who faces different difficulties from the first generation Asian-Americans. Furthermore, Hapakuka, a native Hawaiian inmate, has an apparently integral part to Season 4, which will hopefully become more and involve into a backstory in Season 5. This character shows promise in bringing representation to Native Americans and Pacific Islanders/South-East Asia, but has done little to help with East Asian representation (as there are so many different types of Asians, they really should all be represented). Finally, Abdullah, who is Muslim on the show and a part of a predominantly Asian religion, is not Indian. I feel like it was a missed opportunity for the OITNB writers to not have casted an Indian or Indian-American actress and given Indian-Americans the representation they don’t have within America’s mainstream media and outside of Bollywood.

While I know that the writers of OITNB have to write the characters in a way where they are consistent with their personalities and cast actors in a way that also true to the plot, it is frustrating to see in such a progressive show, still so little Asian representation. Hollywood has a problem of white-washing, or replacing Asian roles with white characters or actors, and has given Asian actors little major roles outside of their stereotype of martial arts masters. Maybe I hope for too much to see a character that I can identify with both physically and mentally/emotionally in American television, but I have no doubts that if a show can make this happen, it would OITNB.

Another thing that especially hurts is the show’s refusal to use the word bisexual. While I acknowledge that some people in life choose to go without a label for a variety of reasons (like how Piper identifies herself as liking hot people) and others specifically avoid the label of bisexual due to other people’s negative perceptions of bisexuals, it is still disappointing that a show that has given so much visibility to the other members of the queer community (lesbians, trans people, and genderqueer people) still participates in the pervasive problem of bi erasure. Bi erasure (also known as bisexual invisibility) is society’s tendency to ignore or explain away the existence of bisexuals, reinforcing the idea that people can only be gay or straight. To this day, bisexuals are still portrayed on television as sluts who constantly cheat on their partners and can’t stay monogamous, and even when they aren’t portrayed that way, they are not explicitly identified or declared as bisexual. This is harmful to anyone who is questioning and doesn’t realize that feeling attraction to both their gender and other genders is valid and perfectly normal.

While I will give the OITNB writers props for mentioning the Kinsey Scale, an outdated spectrum in which people’s sexuality are rated from straight to gay with middle scores representing bisexuality, that isn’t exactly what we’re looking for. What we want as a community is for our sexuality to be accurately represented in television and media and especially for the younger members to have role models of their sexuality to look up to. This issue isn’t so much about the show’s refusal to have bisexual people on air, but rather a seemingly small omission that contributes to a harmful status quo. Furthermore, while I am aware that the prison is supposed to be an exaggeration of racial, class, religious, etc. tensions, the other inmate’s constant reference to Piper as “the straight girl” or just “lesbian” in Chang’s case also reinforces the idea that people are either gay or straight and there isn’t anything in between. I can guarantee that there are people out there who, due to Larry’s disappearance and Piper only getting with females now, believe that Piper is now lesbian and has fully accepted that part of herself. Yet, she did love Larry, and that relationship was completely valid, just as her relationship with Alex is completely valid. This points to the fact that Piper is bisexual. Piper Kerman, whose memoir is a source material for the show, is an out bisexual herself, and I have to admit I am a bit disappointed that Piper Chapman, her on screen counterpart is not. The sad part of the state of bisexual representation in television is that even if Piper Chapman were to just offhandedly drop the label bisexual into any off-handed conversation or any other character simply ask if she were bisexual (and she could explain a lack of desire to use labels…or anything!), then the show will already have taken things where no other has done before.

This was by no means written to hate on the show; I love the diversity of the cast and the awareness the show is bringing to so many social topics previously unknown to such a wide audience. By writing this piece I am not hating on those who don’t wish to define their sexuality either. Everyone is allowed to identify or not identify however they wish, I simply wish that tv would understand that a little representation for those who do identify as bisexual or need to know that being bisexual is valid, ok, and actually exists can help relieve a lot of pain and questioning of some queer people. I am simply offering my own opinion on what it is I believe the show could and should improve on.