Teena Brandon was a young woman who used to bind her breast, cut her hair short, stuff a sock into her pants, passed as a man, renamed herself as Brandon Teena, and was later raped and murdered by her friends when her identity was discovered. The movie "Boys Don't Cry," narrates the true life story of Teena (AKA Brandon), which clearly shows that gender and sexual orientation are independent of biological sex. Transgendering and homosexuality are two concepts depicted in the movie that are not accepted in our society. Many times, these concepts will lead to oppression, blatant acts of hatred, violence and lack of support from society towards these minority groups.
Gender breaks the stable and permanent rule of binary opposition of men and women and it opens up the door to a broader understanding of the concepts of femininity and masculinity. Julia T. Wood wrote that "sex is a designation based on biology, while gender is socially and psychologically constructed" (19). By this, she meant that our society uses physical appearance, biologic and genetic traits to distinguish between biological males and females and that gender can be learned and changed throughout our lives by interacting with society. .
Even before we are born, our parents already have expectations of what their little girl or boy will do or be. Many times these expectations fit within society's imposed gender roles. Boys are supposed to not be feminine, be successful, aggressive, sexual and self-reliant while women are supposed to be sensitive, caring, emotional, superwoman and expect negative treatment from others (Wood 79-85).
Gender identity starts with the recognition and awareness that one belongs to one of the sexes. This recognition can be either conscious or unconscious and start as early as your toddler years. As the person develops, their gender identity can either become more defined or sometimes it can become more complicated and even less defined than in their childhood years.
