Brandon Teena was born on December 12, 1972, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Assigned female at birth, Teena displayed gender non-conforming behavior from an early age, his family describing him as a “tomboy” since early childhood. During his adolescence, Teena began to more openly identify as male, soon starting to dress in men’s clothing and showing an interest in women. When asked by his family if he was a lesbian, Teena would respond negatively, claiming that he loved women “the way a man does.” In 1992, Teena underwent a psychiatric evaluation in which it was determined that he was in the midst of a “sexual identity crisis.” He was sent to a local crisis center for three days to ensure he was not suicidal and began attending therapy sessions after his dismissal, often accompanied by a family member. He stopped attending these meetings after two weeks. In 1993, after running into legal troubles, Teena moved to Falls City, Nebraska, where he began to live publicly as a man. He quickly became acquainted with several residents, including Lisa Lambert, John Lotter, Tom Nissen, and Lana Tisdel, whom he eventually dated. On December 19, 1993, Teena once again found himself in legal trouble and was subsequently placed in the female section of the local jail. After Tisdel paid Teena’s bail, she questioned him about his gender identity. Teena stated that he was intersex, a claim he often made when confronted about his gender identity, and was actively pursuing gender affirming surgery. The pair continued to date. Teena’s arrest was posted in the local newspapers, which opted to use his legal name. Teena’s other acquaintances soon learned about his gender identity through the media stories and eventually confronted him about it. A few days later, during a Christmas Eve party, Lotter and Nissen confronted Teena over his gender identity, forcing him to expose his genitals to the others, including Tisdel. Lotter and Nissen, later that same evening, forced Teena into their car and drove him to a meat-packing plant, where they beat and raped him. Teena was then driven to Nissen's home and warned that if he tried to report the pair to the police, they would kill him. Teena was able to escape and make his way back to Tisdel’s home, where she managed to convince him to go to the police, despite the warning. While Lotter and Nissen were taken in for questioning, the local police failed to arrest them, despite ample evidence of their crimes. On December 31, Nissen and Lotter drove to Lambert's house and broke in, demanding to know where they could find Teena. They found Teena hiding under a blanket in Lambert’s bedroom, and the pair then murdered Teena, Lambert, and an acquaintance of Lambert’s. Nissen and Lotter were arrested the following afternoon, despite their attempts to hide the crime. The case slowly became national news, especially after a 1996 Saturday Night Live skit making light of Lotter’s sentencing drew sharp criticism from queer and trans groups. In 1999, Teena’s story was dramatized in the award-winning film Boys Don't Cry, which brought much-needed awareness to the plight of trans people in and beyond the United States. For more on Brandon Teena, see Challenging Gender Boundaries: A Trans Biography Project by Students of Catherine Jacquet.