Brandon Tina ( born Brandon Teena ); at the birth of Tina Rene Brandon ( Eng. Teena Renae Brandon ; December 12, 1972 , Lincoln , Nebraska , USA - December 31, 1993 , Humboldt , Nebraska , USA ) - an American transgender who became known as a victim of a hate crime . His murder attracted wide public attention to the problem of violence against members of sexual minorities and helped to intensify the struggle to expand the legislative definition of “hate crimes” to the concepts of “ sexual orientation ” and “ gender identity ” [1] [2] . The fate of Brandon Tina served as the plot basis for a number of works of art.
| Brandon Tina | |
|---|---|
| Brandon teena | |
 | |
| Birth name | Tina Rene Brandon (Teena Renae Brandon) |
| Date of Birth | December 12, 1972 |
| Place of Birth | Lincoln , Nebraska , USA |
| Date of death | December 31, 1993 (21 years old) |
| A place of death | Humboldt , Richardson County, Nebraska , USA |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Occupation | |
| Father | Patrick Brandon |
| Mother | JoAnn Brandon |
Content
- 1 Biography
- 2 killing
- 3 Legacy
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
- 6 References
Biography
Brandon was born December 12, 1972 in the city of Lincoln , Nebraska in the United States and was the youngest child of Patrick and Joanne Brandon. Brandon had a sister, Tammy, three years older than Brandon. Patrick, a carpenter by profession, returning from fishing, died in a car accident before the birth of his second child. Brandon received his original name in honor of their family German shepherd, whose name was Tina-Mary. Until three years, Brandon lived with his grandmother until his mother took her children to her. They lived in the Pine Acre trailer park in northern Lincoln. In 1980, Joanne divorced due to alcoholism of her second husband.
The family lived poorly. Brandon and his sister studied first at St. Mary's Catholic Primary School, and then at Pius X High School. His academic performance was average. As a child, Brandon was distinguished among his peers by a mischievous character, collecting soldiers and beer labels. Later, he began to cut his hair short, put on t-shirts and trousers, flatly refusing to wear dresses, spend a lot of time in boyish company, go to the gym. This behavior was disapproved by the teachers of the Catholic school. As a teenager, Brandon had finally begun to realize himself as a guy, and his first dates were with women.
His original name, Tina Rene Brandon, he subsequently changed many times, seeking gender-neutral or uniquely masculine options. In the end, he swapped his name and surname and became Brandon Ray Tina. Brandon had plans to undergo surgery to bring the anatomical and mental gender into line (although hormone therapy was not performed).
In 1990, he wanted to join the US Army to take part in Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East, but failed in exams.
Murder
At the age of twenty, Brandon came to the conclusion that he would live like a man and changed his passport gender . Having forged the documents, he became Brandon Tina, after which he moved from his native Lincoln to the small town of Falls City, where he got a job. There he spent time with friends, fell in love with a local heterosexual girl Lana Tisdale. At Christmas, two of his acquaintances, heterosexual men John Lotter and Marvin Thomas Nissen, having discovered Brandon's anatomical gender, beat and raped him. Despite threats to kill in the event of a statement to the police, Brandon nevertheless filed a complaint about the incident to the Richardson County police, but Sheriff Charles Lowes refused to arrest Lotter and Nissen because of insufficient evidence.
At about one in the morning on December 31, 1993, Lotter and Nissen broke into the house of Lisa Lambert. They found Lambert in the bedroom. Nissen began to inquire from Lambert where Brandon was, but soon noticed Brandon hiding. Lotter and Nissen then killed Brandon, Lambert, and Philip DeWine, who was also in the house at that time.
Nissen accused Lotter of direct execution of the killings. In exchange for commutation of sentence, Nissen admitted his complicity in rape and murder, testified against Lotter. Nissen was sentenced to life imprisonment without the right to release. Lotter was sentenced to death ; by 2018, he filed three appeals, which were all rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Brandon Tina's ashes are buried at the Lincoln Memorial Cemetery. Since his family did not recognize his transgender identity, he was buried under the name of Tina Brandon.
Legacy
| External Images | |
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| Brandon Tina and Hilary Swank in his role (Guys Don't Cry, 1999) | |
- The murder of Brandon attracted the attention of the general public to the problems of the LGBT community and contributed to the intensification of the struggle for their human rights against sexual minorities [1] [2] .
- The life story of Brandon Tina formed the basis for the documentary The History of Brandon Tina (USA, 1998 , directed by Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir), winner of the Berlin Film Festival .
- In 1999, the film “ Guys Don't Cry ” ( USA , dir. Kimberly Pearce ) was released, which received numerous awards ( Oscar , Golden Globe , Independent Spirit , etc.). The role of Brandon Tina was played by Hilary Swank, who was born in Lincoln, Nebraska.
- In 2006, Pet Shop Boys wrote the song “Girls Don't Cry” about Brandon Tina.
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Andrew Matzner, Teena, Brandon (1972-1993) . // An Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Culture (Retrieved May 22, 2011)
- ↑ 1 2 Noelle Howey, Boys Do Cry . // Mother Jones (English) (Retrieved May 22, 2011)
Literature
- Halberstam, Judith. "The Transgender Gaze in Boys Don't Cry." Screen 42.3 (Autumn 2001): 294-98.
- Henderson, Lisa. "The Class Character of Boys Don't Cry." Screen 42.3 (Autumn 2001): 299-303.
- Jones, Aphrodite. "All She Wanted." New York: Pocket Books, 1996. ISBN 0-671-52667-7 A
- Siegel, Carol. " Curing boys don't cry: Brandon Teena's Stories ." Genders 37, 2003.