`` Boys Don 't Cry ``

The dynamic between male and female is extremely complex. Over the course of human history, men have primarily dominated over women in nearly every aspect of human interaction and daily life. Despite the large progress that has been made in recent decades, women are still heavily subordinated by the male gender both in the workforce and in the private sphere. Examples of this domination of men can be seen in many aspects of everyday life including: interpersonal and social interaction, family, among peers, in education, and in the media.

The hate crime of Brandon brought national attention to the ideal and possibility that someone would want to change their gender. For many people, this was their first time even hearing about trans people and the violence against trans people. After his death, his identity was challenged and argued even though there are quotes from him saying he felt like a man trapped inside a woman's body. As Karina Eileraas puts it “Transgender violence targets both men and women, but Brandon Teena's case highlights its particularly brutal effects on FTM transgender individuals. Boys Don't Cry provides a clear political incentive to integrate feminist, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender concerns in the analysis of violence against women...Serious risks accompany any attempt to invest the body with particular 'truths' about gender and sexuality”. Brandon was not fully accepted in life or given the support he needed but he is remembered in death and his story continues to inspire many people whether trans or not.

The film, Boys Don't Cry, Kimberly Pierce's brilliant work of 1999, is the true story of, Brandon Teena, born Teena Brandon, played by Hillary Swank, who created a male identity for herself. Brandon was born in 1972 and died at the hopelessly young age of 21. The actual story takes place within the last two weeks of Brandon's life, in 1993. The movie, a dramatized documentary, was released in 1999. Brandon is a transgendered individual; he was born a female, but feels that he would be happier living as a man. She leaves her brother and hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, where everybody knows her as Teena, to start a new life as Brandon. Brandon ends up in Falls City and his short life, as a man, begins. It is in essence, the epitome of

The gender describes how our understandings and perception of differences between masculinity (what society deems appropriate behaviour a “man” and femininity (what society deems appropriate behaviour for a “woman”) are influenced.

Rigid societal gender roles have always played a part in human existence. These predetermined ideals for what either man or woman should be like have constantly created both small and large scale conflict in literature as well as real life. When these roles are at their most extreme, men are supposed to hold all of the power, while women are docile and in charge of taking care of the home only. The masculine ideal, though it may change through times and cultures, has such a grip on society that it has created a set of unspoken rules that must be followed in order for one to be considered a “real man”, and this pressure to be a “real man” has created a constant need for self-assertion of dominance. This self-assertion of dominance often displays

West and Zimmerman’s theory of “Doing Gender” defines sex and gender as two separate entities within this binary society. Sex refers to the biological characteristics that are typically attributed to males and females. Gender is the status of the individual performing the activities that are commonly associated with masculinity and femininity. These traits are rigid in dictating the individual’s consistent performance of them. A gendered individual must execute the appropriate acts that are linked to masculinity or femininity respectively. It is a learned behavior that is taught at an early age through observation of society. Therefore, it is society that decides whether an action is attributed to masculinity or femininity. Gender is a socially constructed idea of thought that people unconsciously follow. The acts that constitute a particular gender can change based on the views of society within a generation. Certain activities and forms of appearance have shifted between males and females. As society evolves throughout history, the interactions between individuals and their gendered actions have changed. West and Zimmerman state, “When we view gender as an accomplishment, an achieved property of situated conduct, our attention shifts from matters internal to the individual and focuses on interactional and, ultimately, institutional arenas” (West and Zimmerman, 1987, page 126). Thus the performance of gender has developed passed the individual and is engrained within the

The film, Boys don’t cry, is a commercial film based on a true story, which portrays the hellish life of a young female-to-male transgender named Brandon, originally named Teena Brandon. The film reveals the hardship and discrimination a transgender can, and most likely will, experiences in the American society. With the film, Andy Bienen, co-author, and Kimberly Peirce, co-author and director thought provokingly portray the deeply rooted homophobia and stigmatization of gays, lesbians, and transgenders found in America. Both Bienen and Peirce bring to the audience’s attention that “Heteronormativity results in stigmatization of gays and lesbians,” that “Sexual Preference implies a choice while sexual orientation is biological or

The movie Boys Don’t Cry is about a trans man named Brandon Teena (Born Teena Brandon). When Brandon is found to be Transgender by his ex-girlfriend’s brother, he is forced to move to Nebraska where he makes new friends and falls in love with a girl named Lana. Lana is unaware that Brandon is biologically a woman but when she finds out she pays no mind and continues to love him. His other friends, however, react in disgust and they drag him into a car and drive to and isolated location where they brutally beat him up and rape him. Later, they take him to a house where he escapes through a window and hides in a shed near his house. His “friends” get drunk and decide to search and kill him. The movie ends tragically with Brandon being shot in

The movie Boys Don’t Cry is a touching film about a tragic true story. It is a story about the struggles a transgender man named “Teena Brandon” or “Brandon” for short faced during his life. Brandon was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1972 and lived there for the majority of his life. As he was growing up he felt different than the people around him. In 1992 Brandon was said to be suffering from a “sexual identity crisis” (also known as a gender identity crisis). In 1993 Brandon was facing legal trouble, so he packed up his things and moved to Falls City, Nebraska. Falls City was the first place he had been where he could identify as male and nobody knew him otherwise.

R.W. Connell’s (1995) concept of hegemonic masculinity is the most significant theoretical device for understanding the masculinity hierarchy. Demetriou (2001) states how hegemonic masculinity expresses two different social practices, from a social constructivist view. The first is that men benefit from the patriarchal system of society. The second process is that there is an “intramasculine hierarchy” by which the social order of men is created and maintained. Connell (1995) argues that this is the reason for the societal gender order where not only do men uphold power over women, but also certain men are dominant over other men. Demetriou (2001) criticises Connell’s term of hegemonic masculinity for being too broad, as the main focus is usually placed on the intramasculine process. He therefore believes this process to be “internal hegemony” (ibid).

“The emotional, sexual, and psychological stereotyping of females begins when the doctor says, “It’s a girl.” – U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm. Scores fail to differentiate the meaning of sex and gender and how the two realities not only shape our personal lives but also shape our higher level ambitions, motivations, and socio-political and economic structure. Sex, in the biological context, refers to the physiological attributes found in those of male or female distinction. The more ambiguous question is what exactly gender is and how does it pertain to peace, security, and conflict. The APA (American Psychological Association) defines gender as “the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person’s biological

Misunderstandings of Hegemonic Masculinity’s relation to Violence have led to Hegemonic Masculinity being examined as a problem not only for women, but also for men. Interventions in relation to Hegemonic Masculinity, can be used for building gender equity and to reduce gender-based violence against women.

There is a direct observation in which there is a subtle yet heavily policed border between femininity and masculinity. Status and privilege that come with masculinity do so with a price tag. For instance, men may pay with poor health, shallow relationships and shorter lives. This may begin to unpack how masculinity is so fragile, met with much heavy policing. To paraphrase Pierre Bourdieu, men are

In today’s society men are constantly reminded of what it is to be a man. What divides men and women are the characteristics they might possess of masculinity and femininity. To be distinguished as a man with feminine qualities would be considered an insult. In order to avoid such an insult men oftentimes go to far lengths to achieve societies idealized form of masculinity. Masculinity and its characteristics have changed throughout our continuously developing society. One dominant feature that continues to serve a purpose in defining masculinity is violence. To further examine the connection between violence and masculinity this essay will first examine Leo Braudy’s introduction to his book and will clarify his perception of the word masculinity.

Thus, by explaining the concept and relationships of violence, masculinity and femicide; it would be beneficial for us to fully understand the term ‘gender’ and what it may imply in terms of nature and nurture. First of all, if ‘gender’ is viewed from the perspective of nature, then ‘gender’ refers to the sex of our body or the masculinity/femininity of our personalities (Clarke & Braun, 2009). According to Clarke and Braun (2009) this view also provides an explanation for our behaviours, our beliefs, needs and desires; in which they are motivated through biological factors such has hormones and genes. Thus, the nature view of ‘gender’ is deemed an essentialist’s view; where the term ‘gender’ would mean the same as ‘sex’ and it then becomes a fixed trait and does not change with your views or beliefs. It is what you were identified