We live in a society where we wear our gender on our sleeve; from the clothes we wear, to the shoes we walk in, our physical appearance is often a marker and label for gender and sexual orientation. Our culture places significant weight and emphasis on being able to ascertain a person’s correct “sex” easily, and when this cannot be easily determined, frustration, confusion, anger and violence often emerge. We live our lifestyles under certain constructions of masculinity and femininity, and when one does not meet these expectations of gender behavior, he or she is often considered sexually deviant and abnormal, and often subjected to physical and emotional abuse.
The film Boys Don’t Cry portrays the harsh reality of the repercussions that arise from our cultures deeply entrenched devotion to the idea of a two sex system, and our rigid constructions for sexual behavior and gender roles. The movie is based on the real life story of Brandon Teena, a young female-to-male non operative transgender man played by Hilary Swank, who becomes the target to physical threats, harassment, and abuse for her biological sex and sexual orientation. The story takes place in Falls City, Nebraska, where Brandon cultivates relationships with ex-convicts John Lotter and Tom Nissen, and their friends Candace and Lana Tisdel, the latter of which he becomes romantically involved with. Brandon, concealing her biological sex throughout the film by wearing traditional male clothes, compressing her breasts with ace bandage, and deigning to peer pressure and humiliation, illuminates the performative nature of gender roles in mainstream heteronormative society. In order to “fit in” as a male, she must conform and adhere to local constructions of masculinity, and her struggle to assimilate into society reflects the rigid definitions of gender and sexuality that exists in our culture. Although she is able to conceal her feminine identity for some time, previous court summons and encounters with law enforcement soon expose her biological sex, leading to her physical abuse, rape, and eventual death by John Lotter and Tom Nissen.
The film is a tragic story that resonates well with several themes and motifs discussed in class and in readings. The Film’s title alone touches on gender performance; suggesting “Boys don’t Cry” appeals to the inaccurate notion that men, albeit manly men, are not supposed to cry, and are unable to express themselves emotionally due signs of vulnerability and weakness that are often attached to crying. Throughout the film, John and Tom are portrayed as brute, rambunctious, aggressive, and violent men, adhering to typical gender stereotypes. They drink beer, drive around recklessly, and encourage Brandon to participate in their male activities, often resulting in her humiliation and physical pain. In one scene, when asked why she allows Tom and John to drag her around in a truck “dirt boarding”, she responds “I just thought that’s what guys do around here”, indicating her effort to adhere to the performative nature of masculinity. Lana Tisdel, Brandon’s love interest, also demonstrates her adherence to societal constructions of femininity and beauty through her insecurities about her body. Although her physical appearance is perfectly normal, several times throughout the movie she is shown critiquing her body through a mirror; in one scene, she even remarks about not being able to wear her jeans because “they make [her] look fat.”
The adversity Brandon faces to assimilate into male culture, though endowed with a female body creates a sexual identity crisis that she does not know how to confront or express. The frustration that emerges from identifying herself as a male while biologically being a female reflects the rigidity of our construction of sex and gender. Anne Fausto-Sterling challenges our social constructions for sex and illuminates mainstream societies insistence on and acceptance of a male-female dichotomy in her novel “Sexing the Body”. As she expresses, “We have begun to insist on the male-female dichotomy at increasing early ages, making the two-sex system more deeply a part of how we imagine human life and giving it the appearance of being both inborn and natural.” (31) However, the reality is that many individuals in society share similar experiences like Brandon Teena, suffering from being able to fit neatly into this two-fold categorization of sexual identity. The movie also resonates with Adrienne Rich’s sentiments expressed in “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” in which society operates under a required assumption of heterosexuality, denying lesbian existence and denying women of their own sexuality.
Hilary Swank’s gut-wrenching performance and powerful portrayal of Brandon Teena evokes a sharp emotional response regarding the rigid constructions of gender and sexuality in which our society operates, a frustration that many can relate to, regardless of sexual orientation and gender. The reality is that many aspects of our culture are becoming increasingly gendered, imposing performative constraints on how people should behave and express themselves sexually. Even our language is deeply entrenched and embedded in this mentality; referring to Brandon proved difficult as conventional language refers to individuals through “he” or “she”, ignoring those who are neither male nor female, or perhaps, both at once. “Boys Don’t Cry” effectively illuminates the struggle many gays, lesbians, and transgender individuals face in dealing with issues of sexual identity while living in a heteronormative society. Reconceptualizing the category of “sex” and redefining constructions for masculinity and femininity challenges cherished aspects of mainstream American culture, but is necessary in order to move forward to a more equitable and just society.
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