The CW series, Jane the Virgin, aired on October 13, 2014 and is directed by Melanie Mayron. The audience ranges from ages 18-34. The show features Gina Rodriguez who plays the main character Jane, Andrea Navedo who plays Janes mother, Yael Grobglas who plays Petra, and Justin Baldoni who plays Rafael. The show begins with Jane as a little girl being taught by her religious Latina grandmother to not have sex until she is married. The story then shifts to present day where grownup Jane is a waitress in a hotel in Miami and is engaged to a man named Michael. One day Jane goes to the gynecologist where her doctor, Dr. Luisa Alver, accidentally artificially inseminates her during her checkup. Jane’s mother, who became pregnant with Jane at a young age, is scared Jane will be ruining her life by keeping the child. However, Jane’s traditional religious Latina grandmother, Alba, tells Jane to do as she chooses. The biological father is a married man named Rafael who owns the hotel Jane works at. Rafael’s wife, Petra is involved in an affair with Rafael’s best friend. Also, Rogelio de la Vega, a famous telenovela star and Jane’s biological father, shows up back in her life wanting to reconnect with her.

Throughout the show, Latin culture was portrayed. Jane was raised to be a religious Catholic. Her grandmother and mother have very strict religious beliefs and make Jane follow them. For example, when Jane was a little girl, her grandmother instilled in her that having sex before marriage was a sin. So, Jane is still a virgin even though she is engaged and an adult. The characters were portrayed like typical Latinas. Jane’s grandmother speaks in Spanish on the show, creating a “Spanglish” household. In one of the episodes, there was a flashback to Jane’s Quinceanera: the Hispanic tradition of celebrating a young girls coming of age —her 15^th birthday.

A stereotype with which Latinas are associated with is teen pregnancy. In the show Jane’s mother was a teen mom. She had Jane when she was very young with the TV star, Rogelio de la Vega. Throughout the show Jane and her family watch a telenovela, the one Janes father is the star of. Latinas are typically seen watching telenovelas in their household. When Jane was deciding whether or not to keep the baby, she had the thought of getting an abortion in the back of her head. Typically, Latinas are anti-choice, however in Jane the Virgin they crushed the stereotype since Jane was pro-choice.

Jane the Virgin is different compared to the shows I typically watch. In the shows I watch, only English is spoken throughout and characters are stereotypical white people. In Jane the Virgin, they address issues such as abortion, teen pregnancy and religious beliefs. However, in the shows I am used to watching, they portray stereotypical white Americans such as the ways they dress, the slang words used, and topics discussed such as U.S. politics.

The overall value in delivering messages about this population is that the world can see inside a different culture. Before watching Jane the Virgin, I did not know much about Latinas. It was an eye-opening experience as an outsider because I learned about their culture, religious beliefs, and how close the relationships of the families are. I also learned about typical stereotypes portrayed throughout the show such as speaking Spanish in the household and teen pregnancy.