Boys Dont Cry

Boys Don't Cry: List # 1

PLOT

Boys Don't Cry is a film about the real life of Brandon Teena. Brandon Teena was a

young transgender individual from Nebraska that was murdered after the discovery of

his being transgender. Brandon Teena found a group of friends after a bar fight that

got out of hand and found a home like atmosphere in their presence. However, his new

found friends did not know that he was born a woman and Brandon Teena does his best

to keep his identity a secret. Unfortunately, Brandon Teena has had some problems

with the law, meanwhile he is trying to form an intimate relationship with one of

the girls in the group named Lana. Lana seems to know that there is something

different about Brandon, but she is enchanted by this outsider and his softness of

sorts. The story starts to unfold when the group together starts to get in trouble

with the law through a high speed chase and various careless acts that take place in

this impoverished area where there is little to do other than cause trouble!

. Eventually, the truth is discovered, and this leads to a brutal sexual assault by

the friends of Lana upon Brandon, and after reporting the assault to the

authorities, Brandon Teena is killed in front of Lana as they were attempting to

run away together.

CHARACTER UNDER DISCUSSION

Brandon

Brandon is driven by the need to be accepted by all those that cross his path. You

wouldn't know it being that a lot of his time is spent pretending to be tougher than

he really is. He is small in stature, with a clean cut hair cut. He comes from

Nebraska so he is often found in flannels and jeans. He is very unsettled both

psychologically and emotionally. With his family disowning him and his cousin

kicking him out, he really has no place to call home. This can lead to severe

anxiety and it has for Brandon as he is a pathological liar and changes his story

with those around him to suit his needs. He also lies to the women he seduces in to

thinking he is a biological male, not transgender. This is likely due to the

conservative demographic in that town, but also due to the response he has already

gotten regarding his being transgender. Brandon is a "pleaser" as he does not go out

of his way to create conflict with anyone. In fact, his adaptability is pretty

amazing as you ha!

ve to be a relatively perceptive person to have the quality of adaptation. He might

even be a bit naпve as well, which creates a bit of a paradox in his personality.

He is torn to both be a pleaser and to be pleased with his life circumstances. He

has difficulty with intimate relationships as he does not want any person, not even

one that he cares so deeply about to discover his secret. He struggles to be

realistic in the outcome of his current situation. He is overwhelmingly optimistic,

but has a tendency to be aggressive when insecure. He is young and never had anyone

to tell him how to take the right path. He became a criminal for survival and it

then became second nature.

DIAGNOSIS (WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO AND DISCUSSION OF DSM-IV CRITERIA)

Diagnosis: Gender Identity Disorder ( Page 352, Durand and Barlow )

? Brandon has strong and persistent cross gender identification, as he

continually packs a fake penis to give off the image of having one. He as well has

used socks to create a bulge in the crotch area. He made statements about him being

a man, as if he really believed it.

? Brandon experiences persistent discomfort with his sex and relates in no

way to being born a woman, socializing as a woman or interacting as a woman. He does

not demonstrate any form of lesbianism or lesbian inclinations as he does not feel

as if he is a woman to begin with so sexual relations with women are seen as

heterosexual.

? Brandon has a preoccupation with getting rid of primary and secondary sex

characteristics as he binds his breasts, cuts his hair short and intentionally

focuses on lowering his voice to appear more masculine. He has trouble dealing with

his menstrual cycle and denies any sexual contact with his intimate parts.

? There was no evidence in the movie as to whether or not Brandon's condition

was caused by a physical intersex condition. It could probably be assumed that

Brandon was born with all of his parts in tact, with no extras, otherwise that would

have been in the movie as it was based on an accurate depiction of the real story.

? Brandon demonstrates significant distress throughout