Boys Don T Cry And The Brandon Teena Story

Jesse Howie

Film Analysis

Boys Don’t Cry and The Brandon Teena Story combined are the story of a trans man struggling for acceptance in Nebraska. Brandon Teena’s story is a resonating one to which a lot of queer and trans people, unfortunately, can relate. Boys Don’t Cry and The Brandon Teena Story exemplify an overarching story that bonds all queer people together, because they show a boy who only wants to live and love and is not afforded that luxury at all. It’s torn from him because others thought he didn’t deserve it and that’s a constant narrative that almost all queer people have felt touched by in their lives. Boys Don’t Cry was revolutionary, because it was based on a news story and instead of following the news’ lead of dehumanizing

Brandon Teena, it was told without invalidating Brandon or his life. Kimberly Peirce, the director, sought to tell Brandon’s story from as close to his perspective as possible, because he was robbed of any access to telling his story or explaining himself to the world.
The depiction of Brandon’s murder by the media is important to dissect before actually watching the films.

Brandon’s sexual assault and murder were consistently blamed on him by publications in the 90’s surrounding his death. “Death of a Deceiver” by Eric Konigsberg; “Teena Brandon's Double Life May Have Led To A Triple Murder” by Rogers Worthington; and many more headlines frame the crimes committed against Brandon as his fault or caused by his actions rather than by the men who perpetrated the crimes against him. The key difference between Boys Don’t Cry and The Brandon Teena Story is that one is told in the same mindset of the media, and one rebels against that

thinking.
The Brandon Teena Story is incredibly difficult to watch. It’s a documentary filmed a couple of years after Brandon was murdered, those interviewed are friends and family, the perpetrators of the crime, and police involved. Some of those interviewed, like Brandon’s girlfriend Lana, consistently use Brandon’s correct pronouns, “he”. Most, however, have no regard for Brandon’s intentions and use the pronoun “she”. The Brandon Teena Story sought to give a unbiased account of Brandon Teena’s death by presenting first hand accounts by those who knew him. This could never happen, because those who knew Brandon, even those who cared for him, never really understood who he was. Those interviewed consistently slip on pronouns and profess that he was really a girl. Friends of Brandon said he was manipulative and lying to them by expressing his gender how he saw fit. Those interviewed could never give an unbiased account, because they exemplified the cultural and societal dehumanization of trans people. Boys Don’t Cry is another story. This film sought to give the power back to Brandon, because every shred had been taken from him. The story is told with him as the protagonist. It shows him as a young man smiling and being with people he loved and not as a lifeless body or a headline.
These two films are an incredibly important part of queer culture. Specifically, obviously, trans culture. Trans communities can identify with several important aspects of Brandon Teena’s life and how his story is portrayed. Brandon was notably concerned with passing. He reveled in other people thinking he was a cis man. He would court as many straight women as he could, because having someone validate his gender identity meant a lot to him. This is a really common occurrence. Many trans people go out of their way to be seen as cisgender. Stuffing his pants, wearing strap-ons, unsafely using Ace bandages as binders; Brandon was very concerned with his appearance, because being seen as a girl was the worst thing that could happen to him. One of his friends in The Brandon Teena Story, said that the one thing that repulsed Brandon most was the idea of a man touching him erotically. A man touching his body would be an invalidation of his identity, he exemplified terrified hegemonic masculinity by being repulsed by the touch of another man. Trans people are forced to over dramatize their gender. A cis woman could walk out of her house in jeans and a t-shirt and no one would have anything to say about it, but a trans woman is another story. Overacting and overplaying gender is a form of protection. Brandon talking about cars and hitting on women was maybe what he wanted to do, but also to feed into the stereotype of the average man was a way of going undetected and staying safe within his gender.
Trans people are “pretending to be something [they’re] not” or they “manipulate you”. Trans people are perverts and criminals who must defend themselves at every turn for just existing. In the case of Brandon Teena and many trans people like him, if trans people commit crimes whether it’s theft, forgery, or any other crime, it can be used to validate their murders. Something as little as “lying” about their sex is enough to justify a murder. For Brandon, one of the officers interviewed in The Brandon Teena Story, uses his record of forgery and theft as reason to misgender and dehumanize him. The overarching message rings through, that trans people are not afforded the basic right of gender recognition if they’ve done even an inkling of bad. To most people, especially in this documentary, that inkling of bad can just be saying that you identify with a gender not assigned to you at birth. Sheriff Charles Laux demonstrates the hoops trans people have to jump through; his interrogation after Brandon’s sexual assault was invasive and unnecessary. He reduced Brandon to his genitals and instead of seeing him as a victim Laux treats him as if he’s on trial. 64% of transgender identified people are sexually assaulted in their lifetime (Grant). Brandon’s story is not one that is unheard or unseen, it is a very real threat to trans people every day. This fear and caution is a built in part of queer culture.
For Brandon Teena there was always an unclear distinction between sexuality and gender identity. This sentiment is echoed in society. A “woman” who performs gender outside the mainstream isn’t a man, they’re just a lesbian. Same sex desire is mistaken for gender dysphoria.
Even in death trans people aren’t respected. Any trans person will tell you that the most common thing they do is correct other people on pronouns, or stop them from asking invasive and disrespectful questions. A trans person is the only person that can completely preserve their humanity in a society that disregards them. In death, Brandon is not a man. He is to many people, but to plenty of his peers, to fellow citizens of Falls City, to the policemen that persecuted his murderers: he is a girl. The belief held by the men who murdered him is upheld by the same people who claim it was a tragedy. Brandon was murdered because he was a girl, but he was not a girl. He was murdered because he lied about his gender, but he didn’t lie about his gender. He was murdered because two men took it upon themselves to correct a person who was in no need of correction. Self-prescribed medication for what they saw as a sick person. Brandon Teena’s autonomy was not awarded to him in life and that is what killed him, and it is still taken away from him in his death.
Boys Don’t Cry and The Brandon Teena Story highlight what is wrong with society.

That someone who rebels from our cultural customs is someone that deserves to die. Queer culture is subversive, it seeks to undermine all the rigid and binary ways of thinking those in existing society seek to uphold. Brandon Teena lived his life as a man, but because he wasn’t one in the eyes of mainstream society, he wasn’t allowed to die that way. Queer culture is a validation and acceptance of those who don’t fit. It’s allowing those who’ve been cast out from society to live and rebel against these norms. Brandon’s story is an important one, because it was a call to arms for a culture that wouldn’t allow him to be buried with his birth name, that honestly wouldn’t have allowed him to be murdered in the first

place.