Jane the Virgin is a TV sitcom centering around Jane Vilanueva’s life and family. Season one starts off with Jane telling her co-workers/friends how she intends on saving herself for marriage. She tells the story of how her deeply religious grandmother has bestowed the importance of virginity and Catholicism. Jane’s life quickly changes during a routine gynecological exam, where she is accidentally artificially inseminated. This is the beginning of crossroads that Jane meets where she must battle with the different intersectional identities of her life and her deeply meaningful cultural ideas. Season one introduces you to the Vilanueva women and how their intersectional identities differ. While they all share a bicultural and bilingual family; they all have vastly different views on gender norms, sexuality, and religion. Jane the virgin is driven by having a majority Latina/Latino cast but in a way that does not make their identity the punchline like other Latino shows have.
Jane the Virgin does not just bring forth their Latino characters but brings their cultural identities to the forefront. The show adopts the comedic drama of a telenovela that many Latina/latino viewers can connect to. This style of story telling showcases how race and gender affects Jane and her family’s lives. Jane’s family all represent a different character that is traditionally shown in a telenovela, the religious and endearing opposition, the sassy opposition, and the caretaker opposition. The interesting thing about Jane the Virgin is how the writers work these complexities rather than facing the women against each other.
The first episode presents problems Jane faces with gender roles/family, sexuality, and tradition. Jane’s pregnancy is a huge hurdle for the family to get through. Their Latina background defines what their actions should be. But her pregnancy doesn’t necessarily break these codes. The whole family must question their beliefs. Jane finds out that her mother considered abortion when she was pregnant and that having a child set her life onto a different track that left her dreams behind. Jane then finds out that her grandmother also suggested that her mother have an abortion rather than having a baby out of wedlock. Janes accidental insemination allows the characters to have their views questioned because Jane’s life will ultimately never be the same. Jane the Virgin manages to show the different aspects of a highly touchy and controversial subject on gender roles and sexuality. This style introduces you the complexity of the problems without an agenda. Instead of ideologies, this show represents the real lives of Latinas and how their cultural identities play a major role.