Professor Abbott
LIT 370- 002
4/23/2015
Boys Don’t Cry
As Yoshino explains, the decision of whether or not to come out as homosexual, bisexual, genderqueer, or even transgender isn’t just driven by the individual’s desire to openly be who he or she really is, but also by the negative attitude of society, which can range from physical violence to threats, and in many cases, even death (Yoshino, 57). However, in the movie Boys Don’t Cry, Kimberly Peirce shows that in spite of all the social stigmas that are related to coming out, there are people with a positive attitude, like Lana, who accept and love individuals who belong to the LGBTQ community, and who strive to make them feel more included in society (Boys Don’t Cry).
Kimberly Peirce does a great job informing the audience about the stigma and abuse transgender people have to face from other members of the society through Brandon’s experiences with verbal, physical, and emotional abuse (Boys Don’t Cry). In the movie, Brandon Teena, born Teena Brandon, was a transman from Lincoln, Nebraska (Boys Don’t Cry). While he …show more content…
Peirce shows the audience that Lana actually sees herself having a future with Brandon. She goes to visit Brandon while he is hiding at Candice’s house (Boys Don’t Cry, 1:40:22). Even though at this point she finds Brandon’s gender identity confusing and tends to interchange being a transgender person with homosexuality, she acknowledges that she has romantic feelings for Brandon and wants to go to Lincoln with Brandon and give their relationship a chance (Boys Don’t Cry, 1:43:30). This shows that she is willing to learn about Brandon’s gender identity and accept him the way he is (Boys Don’t Cry, 1:43:30). Through Lana’s willingness to accept Brandon, Peirce gives the transgender audience hope of finding a relationship in which they are accepted for who they are (Boys Don’t