Gender
Gender plays an important role in Didn't Nobody Give a Shit What Happened to Carlotta. When Carlotta went to prison, everyone knew her as a man. She presented as a man and lived her life as a man. However, while in prison, Carlotta has a gender awakening. She realizes that she is truly a woman and begins to live her life as such. However, she experiences tremendous discrimination from her fellow inmates (who are male) and from the guards, who treat her poorly and constantly rape her because of her gender identity.
Making amends
After Carlotta surprisingly gets out of prison after spending nearly two decades there, she must make amends for the harm that she caused as a result of her imprisonment. First and foremost, Carlotta decides that she must reconcile and make amends with her son, who she hasn't seen in quite some time. Then, Carlotta decides to make amends with her family. Both her son and family are initially very hesitant to reconcile with Carlotta (despite her best attempts) because of the time they spent away and because of Carlotta's new gender identity. Her friends, however, more easily reconcile with her. Regardless, and against all odds, Carlotta is able to make amends with her friends and family—until she is sent to prison again.
Violence
Violence fundamentally affected and transformed the lives of Carlotta, the clerk that was shot and subsequently paralyzed, and Carlotta's friend. When Carlotta robbed the liquor store with her friend, she wanted to get alcohol. During Carlotta's prison term, which occurred as a result of the violence that she partook in, her life radically changed. She found herself and who she truly was. She met someone with whom she fell in love. And perhaps most significantly, she destroyed the relationships she had with her family (especially her son) and many of her friends. Violence shaped Carlotta's life and made it considerably worse than it was before.
