Born Today in 1972: 'Boys Don't Cry' Subject Brandon Teena

Brandon Teena with Lana Tisdel // AP

Brandon Teena was born today, December 12, in 1972. Teena was an trans man who was raped and murdered in Humboldt, Nebraska. His life and death were the subject of the Academy Award-winning 1999 film Boys Don't Cry, which was partially based on the 1998 documentary film The Brandon Teena Story. Both films also illustrated that legal and medical discrimination contributed to Teena's violent death.

Teena's murder, along with that of Matthew Shepard, led to increased lobbying for hate crime laws in the United States.

 Brandon was born Teena Renae Brandon in Lincoln, Nebraska. His father died in a car accident 8 months before he was born, and he was raised by his mother. JoAnn named him, her second child, after their German shepherd dog, Tina Marie. 

Teena and his older sister Tammy lived with their maternal grandmother in Lincoln, before they were reclaimed by their mother when Teena was 3 years old and Tammy was 6. As young children, Teena and Tammy were sexually abused by their uncle for several years, and Teena sought counseling for this in 1991. 

Teena's family described him as being a tomboy since early childhood; Teena began identifying as male during adolescence and dated a female student during this period. His mother rejected his male identity and continued referring to him as her daughter. On several occasions, Teena claimed to be intersex though this assertion was later disproved.

Teena enlisted in the United States Army shortly after his 18th birthday, and hoped to serve a tour of duty in Operation Desert Shield. However, he failed the written entrance exam by listing his sex as male.

In the summer of 1991, Teena began his first major relationship, with Heather. Shortly after, Teena was first employed as a gas station attendant in an attempt to purchase a trailer home for himself and his girlfriend. His mother, however, did not approve of the relationship, and convinced her daughter to follow Teena in order to know if the relationship was platonic or sexual.

In January 1992, Teena underwent a psychiatric evaluation, which concluded that Teena was suffering from a severe "sexual identity crisis". He was later taken to the Lancaster County Crisis Center to ensure that he was not suicidal. He was released from the center 3 days later and began attending therapy sessions, sometimes accompanied by his mother or sister. He was reluctant to discuss his sexuality during these sessions, but eventually revealed that he had been raped. The counselling sessions ended two weeks later.

In 1993, after some legal trouble, Teena moved to the Falls City region of Richardson County, Nebraska, where he identified solely as a man. He became friends with several local residents. After moving into the home of Lisa Lambert, Teena began dating Lambert's friend, 19-year-old Lana Tisdel, and began associating with ex-convicts John L. Lotter and Marvin Thomas "Tom" Nissen.

On December 19, 1993, Teena was arrested for forging checks; Tisdel paid his bail with money obtained from her father. Because Teena was in the female section of the jail, Tisdel learned that he was transgender. When Tisdel later questioned Teena about his gender, he told her he was a hermaphrodite pursuing a sex change operation, and they continued dating. 

In a lawsuit regarding the film adaptation Boys Don't Cry, this was disputed by Tisdel. Teena's arrest was posted in the local paper under his birth name and his acquaintances subsequently learned that he was assigned female at birth.

During a Christmas Eve party, Nissen and Lotter grabbed Teena and forced him to remove his pants, proving to Tisdel that Teena was anatomically female. Tisdel said nothing and looked only when they forced her. Lotter and Nissen later assaulted Teena, and forced him into a car. They drove to an area by a meat-packing plant in Richardson County, where they assaulted and gang raped him. 

They then returned to Nissen's home where the two men ordered Teena to take a shower. Teena escaped from Nissen's bathroom by climbing out the window, and went to Tisdel's house. He was convinced by Tisdel to file a police report, though Nissen and Lotter had warned Teena not to tell the police about the gang rape or they would "silence him permanently." Teena also went to the emergency room where a standard rape kit was assembled, but later lost. 

Sheriff Charles B. Laux questioned Teena about the rape; reportedly, he seemed especially interested in Teena's transsexuality, to the point that Teena found his questions rude and unnecessary, and refused to answer. Nissen and Lotter learned of the report, and they began to search for Teena. They did not find him, and 3 days later, the police questioned them. The sheriff declined to have them arrested due to lack of evidence.

Around 1 a.m. on December 31, 1993, Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert's house and broke in. They found Lambert in bed and demanded to know where Teena was. Lambert refused to tell them. Nissen searched and found Teena under the bed. The men asked Lambert if there was anyone else in the house, and she replied that Phillip DeVine, who at the time was dating Tisdel's sister, was staying with her. They then shot and killed DeVine, Lambert, and Teena in front of Lambert's toddler. 

Nissen later testified in court that he noticed that Teena was twitching, and asked Lotter for a knife, with which Nissen stabbed Teena in the chest, to ensure that he was dead. Nissen and Lotter then left, later being arrested and charged with murder.

Teena is buried in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery in Lincoln, Nebraska, his headstone inscribed with his birth name and the epitaph daughter, sister, & friend.