This paper explains that, in the film "Boys Don't Cry", Brandon Teena, played by actor Hillary Swank, born a female living
in Lincoln, Nebraska, desires to fulfill the need to fit into her surroundings as a male without any interference or confrontation while living her
transgender lifestyle; from the beginning of the film, this is no easy task. The author states that it is exhilarating to watch Brandon Teena prevail over traditional bedrock notions of femininity, to see him present himself not as a tomboy or "tranny", but as an 'ideal' heterosexual male. The paper reflects that the film proves that gender is
performative, expresses male dominance as well as the power of the phallus and relates that the lifestyle of transgender individuals in rural mid-America is a dangerous one.