The Brandon Teena Story
Documentary
1998
United States of America
This documentary focuses on the rape and murder of American trans man Brandon Teena, which occurred five years prior. Beyond the interviewees who misgender and deadname Brandon, and disbelieve his male identity even in death, his rapists and murderers are also interviewed.
Watch.
Jack's Summary:
Brandon Teena was a non-disclosing American trans man who, at the age of twenty-one, was outed as trans by a newspaper. Two of his acquaintances, in response to this information, raped him. When he reported the assaults to the police, they were more interested in his trans identity than the crime, and did not charge the rapists. Following this, the pair tracked Brandon down and murdered him, along with two other people.
From what I remember of this documentary, it was distressing and allowed far too many people to go unchallenged as they degraded, humiliated, misgendered, and deadnamed Brandon, laughing at his masculinity. The men who raped and murdered him are among the cast.
Would I recommend watching this? If you want a raw, confronting, horrific picture of transphobia and violence against trans men... yes, absolutely. If you're wanting anything else... no way.
Entry last updated:
7 Mar 2026