Disciplining the transgendered: Brandon Teena, public representation, and normativity

THE CORE OF THE STORY of Brandon Teena is fascinating enough, and emotional enough, that most people remember its outline with very little prompting. This story was retold repeatedly and widely, in local newspapers, as well as in The Village Voice and Playboy. It has been the subject of a true crime book, multiple web sites, a play, a documentary film (The Brandon Teena Story), a feature film (Boys Don't Cry), and the first on-line Guggenheim art project.l The bare bones of the story, as recounted through mass mediated outlets, go something like this: Brandon Teena (born Teena Brandon)2 was a 21 year old woman who moved from Lincoln, Nebraska, where she had been "living as a man," to the smaller town of Falls City, Nebraska in late 1993.3 While Brandon's move was prompted by a number of brushes with the law based on his tendency to forge checks and use credit cards without permission, it was also a move that allowed Brandon a fresh start with a male identity in a community where he had no history as a woman. In little time, Brandon found a circle of friends and, as he had done in Lincoln, began dating several of the women in that circle, with many of them reporting later that Brandon was the "ideal man." His financial problems continued, however, and Brandon was once again arrested for check cashing fraud. During a court appearance on that charge, Brandon was served with another warrant for a check fraud case in Lincoln. This time, though, the warrant was issued using Brandon Teena's birth (female) name, and he was jailed as a female. It was with this arrest that the Falls City community, including Brandon's friends, became aware that Brandon was "really" a woman.