Brandon Teena

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Brandon Teena

Brandon Teena (December 12, 1972 - December 31, 1993), born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln, Nebraska and known simply as Brandon, lived as a transsexual man.[1] He was raped and eventually murdered[2] in one of the most infamous American hate crimes of the 1990s. Brandon is the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry,[3] which was based on the documentary film The Brandon Teena Story.[4]

Childhood

Brandon Teena was native to Lincoln, Nebraska. Born in 1972, Brandon has been described as a ‘tomboy’ as a child. He was sexually assaulted by a man when he was young and, according to his mother, JoAnn Brandon, she and Brandon sought counseling in 1991.

In high school, Brandon began identifying as male and dated several girls, keeping his anatomical identity a secret. On the occasions that he did reveal his anatomical gender, Brandon experienced prejudice and hostility. Brandon's family had trouble accepting him, partly because he was thought to be a chronic liar. His mother rejected his male identity and continued calling Brandon her daughter. Brandon claimed he was intersex several times, but this was later proven to be false.[5][1]

Living near Falls City, Nebraska

In 1993, after some legal trouble, Brandon moved to the Falls City region of Richardson County, Nebraska where he identified solely as male. Falls City was a small town where homosexuality and transsexuality were not widely accepted.

Brandon quickly gained popularity with several local residents of Richardson County. He soon began dating Lisa Lambert. After breaking up with Lambert, Brandon began dating Lana Tisdel. He also became good friends with John Lotter and Marvin "Tom" Nissen. Nissen was married and had two kids. Lotter was Lana’s ex-boyfriend, and one of Tom’s closest friends. Soon afterwards, an African-American man named Phillip DeVine began to date Tisdel’s younger sister, and he also became friends with Brandon.

On December 15th, Brandon was jailed for forging checks. He was put in the women’s section of the prison. Tisdel, although shocked to learn that Brandon was anatomically female, soon convinced Nissen to bail him out.

Tisdel subsequently questioned Brandon about his anatomical gender, and he responded that he was pursuing a sex change. She continued to be his girlfriend.

Brandon's arrest was posted in the local paper under his birthname, Teena Brandon. His circle of friends subsequently learned that Brandon was anatomically female.

The rape

The situation came to head during a Christmas Eve party, at which Nissen and Lotter became drunk. They grabbed Brandon and forced him to take down his pants in front of Tisdel, to prove to her that Brandon was female. Tisdel looked only when they forced her to, and she said nothing.

Soon afterwards, Lotter asked Tisdel to live with him, and she accepted the invitation. Brandon, who was staying with Tom Nissen, was reportedly terrified of the other young man. Eventually, Tisdel left Lotter and went to Brandon. Enraged, Lotter and Nissen attacked Brandon, and forced him to get into a car. They then drove to an area by a school and proceeded to rape Brandon, in an attempt to prove Brandon’s biological gender. They continued to physically assault him as well.

Although injured, Brandon managed to make his way back to Tisdel, and she convinced him to report the rape, though Brandon had been warned by Nissen and Lotter to remain silent.

Tisdel took Brandon to the police station, where the standard rape kit was assembled. The sheriff at the time, Charles B. Laux, then began to ask Brandon questions about the incident. He seemed especially interested in Brandon’s transsexuality, to the point that Brandon found his questions rude and unnecessary, and began to decline to answer.

After the examination, Brandon left the police station, and the next day, Nissen and Lotter, angry at having been reported and desperate to dispose of the only witness to the rape, once again got drunk, and gathering an assortment of weapons, they went after Brandon. However, they failed to find him, and three days later, the police went to question Nissen and Lotter. However, Laux declined to have them arrested, even though both men had criminal histories.

The murder

During questioning, Lotter denied ever touching Brandon, and Nissen accused Lotter of raping Brandon, but said that he had simply watched. The two continued to search for Brandon, but he had gone to hide at Lisa Lambert’s house. Nissen and Lotter then concretely decided to find Brandon and murder him. Lotter stole a gun from a neighbor, and the two men went to Tisdel’s house, vowing to find Brandon, and kill whoever got in their way. However, Tisdel told them that Brandon wasn’t at her house, and her mother told them Brandon was at Lambert’s home.

The two men left for Lambert’s house and broke into it. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Brandon was. Lambert, however, would not tell them. Nissen however, caught him under the bed, and forced him to stand up. The men then asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she reported that Phillip DeVine was staying with her. DeVine was quickly located, and the men shot and killed him, as well as Lambert and Brandon.

The two men then left, but were quickly arrested and charged with murder.

Trial and sentencing

Nissen quickly blamed the rape and murder of Brandon on Lotter. Later, in exchange for a reduced sentence, Nissen admitted to being an accessory to the rape and murder. Lotter proceeded to deny the veracity of Nissen’s testimony, but his version of events was subsequently discredited. The jury found Lotter guilty of murder and sentenced him to death. Lotter and Nissen both appealed their convictions, and their cases are currently under review.

Other information

At the time of his death, Brandon had neither commenced hormone therapy nor had sex reassignment surgery. However, some note that Brandon had stated that he planned to have sex reassignment surgery.[6] Brandon has sometimes been mistakenly identified as a lesbian woman realizing relationships with women in a way acceptable to the local society, despite his own statements to the contrary.[7]

Aftermath

JoAnn Brandon was furious with Charles Laux, and sued him for failing to prevent the death of Brandon, and in fact, being an indirect cause of it. She won the case, but was only awarded $17,000.

Sherriff Laux was also criticized by other people after the murder for his lack of action and his attitude toward Brandon — at one point Laux referred to Brandon as "it."[8] Nissen testified against Lotter and was given a life sentence. Lotter was originally sentenced to death and spent time on Death Row; his sentence was eventually commuted to life in prison due to a procedural constitutional error.

In 2006, the British duo Pet Shop Boys released a song called "Girls Don't Cry" (a bonus track on UK issue of I'm with Stupid) about Brandon Teena.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Matzner, Andrew. Teena, Brandon (1972-1993). GLBTQ Encyclopedia. Accessed 14 March 2007.
  2. ^ "[[United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit|U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals]] JoAnn Brandon v Charles B. Laux". FindLaw. Retrieved 2006-12-07. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
  3. ^ "Boys Don't Cry". IMDB. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  4. ^ "The Brandon Teena Story". IMDB. Retrieved 2006-12-07.
  5. ^ Ramsland, Katherine. Notorious Murders - Not Guilty? Teena Brandon. Accessed 14 March 2007.
  6. ^ Griffy, Anna M. (4). "The Brandon Teena Story: Chapter 2: Brandon". The Brandon Teena Story. ustice Junction. p. 2. Retrieved 2006-12-07. Teena made her decision for good: she was going to live as a man and began to tell people she was having a sex change operation. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  7. ^ "Brandon Teena Gets Dunne Wrong". Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. 24. Retrieved 2006-12-07. A New Yorker writer does not understand Brandon Teena's transgender identity, and describes him as a "predatory" butch lesbian, referring to him as "her" for most of the piece. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  8. ^ Gabriel, Davina Anne (15). "Activists Protest Violence As Lotter Trial Begins". Retrieved 2006-12-07. Laux has also been quoted as saying "you can call it 'it' as far as I'm concerned" when describing Teena. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= and |year= / |date= mismatch (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ http://www.amazon.com/Im-Stupid-Pet-Shop-Boys/dp/B000FAPFPA/ref=pd_bbs_6/102-0442975-1524138?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1175705545&sr=8-6

The Brandon Teena Archive, Judith Halberstam

External links

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