Boys Don T Cry Sociology

For my writing prompt, I chose the topic of gender. I watched Kimberly Pierce’s Boys Don't Cry because it was based off true events and actually showed the challenging situation where someone's gender expression did not conform to societal expectations present in the year 1993. This movie emphasizes three main sociological concepts: how a person’s biological sex does not always match their gender expression, society fears what society does not understand, such as norms, values, beliefs, and expectations, and how there are advantages of being one gender and not the other as a result of gender stereotypes consistent with American culture. In this essay, I am going to discuss how the concepts play a part in this movie and how they bring up points …show more content…
Because Brandon is not “normal,” the men in their group fear and hate unnatural characteristics. Gender in society is one of the elements that can either be normal or not normal, but the fact is that just since society sets these standards does not mean it is right or wrong. People do not understand this concept, so they just conform to whatever is considered normal to fit in. Throughout Boys Don’t Cry, the sociological theories that a person’s assigned sex at birth is not necessarily their expressed gender, society is afraid of the ideas society cannot comprehend, and one gender has an advantage over the other in society are represented. These three concepts are demonstrated well throughout the movie considering Brandon, being their own person, does not care about what society thinks. These supposed friends, or society conformers, do care what other people think. In the end, Brandon pays the price for not adapting to society, but so do the friends who do conform. The main takeaway of this movie is only you as an individual can help society be more understanding and caring towards everyone. Everyone should live by the golden rule: treat others the way you want to be treated, no matter their race, religion, or