Summer is over. Vacation time from work has been used up. School is back in session. It’s back to being confined and bossed around, which tells me that it’s a great time to settle down with some classic women-in-prison movies.

Women-in-prison movies, or WIP in cineaste slang, can be categorized as a subgenre of exploitation films originating in the B movies of the 1960s and '70s. These drive-in theater staples feature sexy women behind bars, usually in scenarios that require some level of nudity, such as showers or catfights. Trademarks of a WIP flick are flimsy plotlines (typically around breaking out of prison), acting that would make John Waters proud, sadistic situations, and at least one predatory dyke.

Lesbian characters have always been prominent in women-in-prison movies—which were once one of the few kinds of films that openly depicted lesbians on screen—but they were traditionally not depicted in the most flattering light. These characters have evolved slowly along with a changing social climate that has become more familiar with queer culture, as well as more accepting of lesbians outside of the stereotypes of sexualized straight-male fantasy or pathetic pervert.

Soft-core titillation like Roger Corman’s The Big Dollhouse (1971) and The Big Birdcage (1972) would have driven Dworkinesque feminists screaming from the theater. Both of these films feature a lithe Pam Grier (of L Word notoriety) butching it up and laying down the rules for the new girls on her cellblock. Chock full of sleazy mayhem, including explicit forced sex acts with male prison guards and the “lesbians” in charge, these early WIP films are a long way from the cleaned-up, mainstream entertainment they have become today.

In most WIP films through the 1980s and '90s, the lesbian characters are established as loathsome, repugnant, deviant bullies. They typically act or look butch, or are older and not very attractive. These characters are also sadistic and sexually dominating to the point of rape.

On the positive side, they also wield the power, are in charge, and have the best lines. For example, take this tasteless but campy gem from Edna the Head Matron in Reform School Girls (1986): “Keep your fingers above the sheets; we only change them once a week.”

The lesbian characters are also capable of protecting the weaker fresh meat (new prisoners) who are typically feminine in appearance. These “straight” prisoners are portrayed in varying levels of queerness that correlate with the amount of time they’ve been behind bars. Essentially, the longer they’ve been in prison, the more likely they are to accept the advances of the overtly lesbian characters. This deprivation model of sexuality makes the decision of the straight characters to become “lesbians” a pragmatic one: there are no men available, they want protection and preferential treatment, or they are victimized and forced to have sex with the lesbians.

The relationships portrayed between women in films like Chained Heat (1983), Caged Fury (1983), and Caged Heat (1974)—yes, most WIP flicks have "heat" or "cage" in the title—are either purely superficial or one-sided. They are also weighted heavily toward heterosexual male fantasy and stereotypes of lesbians and women in general. Dykes are ugly while straight women are attractive; and lesbians act like men without penises while hetero women are sexually submissive and just need a real man.

The recent cinimatic version of Chicago (2002) has all the elements of classic women-in-prison movies—except for the Oscar-winning performances and high production values. Instead of nubile young actresses running around naked, Chicago is characterized by much more tease and innuendo. The suggestively-lesbian warden Matron “Mama” Morton, played by Queen Latifah, exercises her lecherousness through persuasion instead of force. As she lays down the law to the fresh meat, she sings, “When you’re good to Mama, Mama’s good to you.” Queen Latifah challenges the WIP lesbian stereotype by being both gorgeous and charming.

Television has never shied away from exploitative scenarios, especially during sweeps week. The WIP storyline has been a staple of television drama, from the infamous “Angels in Chains” episode of Charlie’s Angels to CSI and even The L Word. Last season on CSI, episode 417 featured the investigation of a murder involving lesbians in prison. But since this is a more enlightened and queer-friendly time, the refreshing twist in the babes-behind-bars plotline was that the women were in love and having a consensual relationship. Of course, one of the women was also cheating on her lover with a man, which so infuriated her lover that it resulted in one woman killing the other in a jealous rage.

A somewhat-less-stereotypical example of the WIP story on primetime can be found in episode 1.12 of The L Word, appropriately titled “Locked Up.” In this obvious homage to the campy melodrama of WIP tradition, Bette (Jennifer Beals) and Candace the carpenter (Ion Overman) are imprisoned together after they are arrested at a political demonstration. Their sexy cellblock shenanigans, complete with prison-issue white tank tops reading “Inmate” on the backs, played to both lesbian and heterosexual fantasies. The L Word prison scene differed from old-school WIP flicks in that both Bette and Candace were clearly lesbian characters even before they were conveniently locked up together; they remained lesbians after their release at the end of the episode; and nobody killed anybody else.

If you aren’t easily offended and keep in mind that these are exploitation movies, women-in-prison movies can be pretty entertaining if the viewer embraces their campiness, ridiculous straight propaganda, and actresses hired for visual appeal rather than actual talent. For those who aren’t quite ready to explore the subgenre, check out Freeway (1996), which includes a brief scene with the main character played by Reese Witherspoon in a female juvenile facility, or Bound (1996) which could be the epilogue to a women-in-prison film.

I would love to see a movie with Gina Gershon’s character before she got out of jail—she could be the ringleader of a cellblock girl gang honing their skills as safe crackers while wearing skimpy outfits. They could call it Bound Heat.

Spike TV (the basic cable channel for men) is airing three women-in-prison movies this Friday, October 8th. Beginning at 9 p.m. E/P, you can watch Chained Heat (1983), Caged Heat (1974), and Concrete Jungle (1982).