Blog Post #10

            This week we watched the film, “Boys Don’t Cry.” The film was very engaging and emotional. It focused on a transgender individual named Brandon; Brandon is actually a woman whose real name is Teena Brandon. In the beginning of the film, we see Brandon as a character that continually gets in trouble with the law. Once he arrives in Falls City, Brandon is portrayed as one of the guys. He easily makes friends with John and Tom through an act of violence at the bar, and after this incident, the boys continually drink, cuss, smoke and bumper ski together. However, as the film progresses, Brandon is portrayed as a generous, sensitive, emotional and caring individual. The viewer is able to discover all of these qualities through his relationship with Lana. When viewing the sex scene, it becomes apparent how in love the two are. The extreme passion for one another is evident. At this point, Brandon believes he’s at a perfect place in his life- he’s in a relationship with a woman and he has close friends that love him. However, when Tom and John discover Brandon’s secret, they’re furious. They rape, shoot and stab Brandon due to this extreme secret. Since Nebraska is such a small town, homosexuals, transgenders etc., are not accepted in this town. Tom and John believe that Brandon is not normal and doesn’t embody a true man. However, the one person that accepts Brandon for his true self is Lana. She claims that she doesn’t care “what” Brandon is, because she will love him anyway. This film really opened my eyes to the many issues relating to identity crises in our society. It’s a shame, but many do not accept others for who they truly are because they believe that it’s “weird” or “wrong” or “not normal.” The film also allowed me to witness the constant struggle that these individuals face on a daily basis. No one should be raped or killed because others don’t accept them for who they really are. We are all different and members in society need to become accepting of this fact.

            One of this week’s articles, written by Anderson, focuses on the documentary titled, “The Brandon Teena Story,” and the film, “Boys Don’t Cry.” The one concept that really stuck out to me and was continually repeated in this article was the male heterosexual identity. Anderson says, “Yet what is really in ‘crisis’ as Muska and Olafsdottir suggest, is not Brandon’s sexual identity but the male, heterosexual identity inhabited by people like John Lotter and Tom Nissen- an identity so fragile that, when threatened by Brandon’s ‘masquerade’ of masculinity- knows no other response but violence.” In other words, the issue is not Brandon’s sexual identity crisis, but it’s Tom and John’s masculine identity crisis. When thinking back to the film, Tom and John use violence on numerous occasions, but most notably after they find out that Brandon is actually Teena. The rape and murder scenes specifically represent this use of violence. Towards the conclusion of the article, Anderson states, “Peirce’s direction in this scene (the rape scene) emphasizes the rabid pathology present in John and Tom’s conception of masculinity, one which assumes that committing acts of violence is their natural birthright.” Our society’s view on masculinity is absurd. Just because one is a man doesn’t mean one needs to resort to violence. This concept goes back to previous lessons about the differences between the perceptions of men and women in our society. Society views men as powerful, strong and violent, while women are viewed as sensitive, weak and powerless.

            The other article this week, written by Judith Halberstam, focused on the background of being a transgender and what the term actually means. However, it was very interesting to see different theorists’ views on the term. This article really proved to me that the term is extremely hard to define. Despite this fact, it’s evident that all people are different. Society needs to realize this and accept it.