Introduction Boys Don’t Cry is a movie released in 1999; it encompasses romantic drama involving a true story of Brandon Teena. Though born biologically as a female, Brandon identifies as intersexual as well as a male. She engages in a relationship with a young woman; upon discovering that she has biological features of a man, her male counterparts beat and rape her. The men who beat and rape also kill her. The main themes explored in the film include courage, empowerment, identity, and gender. The purpose of this essay is to review Boys Don’t Cry movie. The essay will discuss themes that recur in the movie, especially with regard to gender. In addition, the essay will discuss how the movie helps to uphold or challenge cultural rituals and norms and how it influences the exposure of norms and rituals that may be taken-for-granted (Herz 5-12). Discussion The theme of gender seems to be recurrent throughout the film; the characters in the film represent behavior that is based on gender. Brandon contradicts the understanding of gender in the film. In the town where the movie is set, there tends to be vast gender stereotypes, as well as expectations based on gender. In order to prove that he is a man, Brandon engages in masculine behavior. For example, she indulges in excessive drinking and smoking and engages in fights while drinking. She behaves this way so that people can see him as manly and tough since the male gender can be associated with violence. The gender role performed by Brandon is meant to make her appear as a man. To prove themselves as men, the rest of the characters rape Brandon in order to portray masculinity associated with the male gender (Carroll 298-310). The theme of gender is also presented in the movie since Brandon is in search of identity; she wants to identify with the male gender. The search for identity that Brandon portrays can be associated with the need for sexual fulfillment that may be portrayed by adolescents. She is looking for an opportunity to have sex, and this can be exemplified by the fact that she is searching for women. Her belief is that it can be easy to get a woman, especially if the person pursuing the woman is a man. The identity problem portrayed by Brandon can be linked with feelings of inferiority, which may emanate from being a woman. As a result, she believes that it would be better for her to pretend to be a man rather than reveal that she is a woman (Herz 5-12). The theme of gender is also widely presented in the film through the behavior patterns that Brandon adopts when she leaves Nebraska and goes to Falls City. In order for people to see her as a man, Brandon becomes much tougher, wears masculine boots, and adopts a new hairstyle, which is exemplified by a haircut. This shows her desire to identify with men. Her behavior is influenced by the perception people in her community have about men. People in her community perceive men as tough, rough, rugged, and as people who do not have fear pain. As such, she starts portraying characteristics, which can be regarded as masculine. Brandon goes to the extent of changing the order of her names; she calls herself Brandon Teena while she was initially called Teena Brandon. This c