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BOYS DON'T CRY: AN ERIKSONIAN VIEW

The purpose of this paper is to examine the movie, "Boys Don't Cry" from the standpoint of Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development. To this end, the paper first presents a brief synopsis of the movie followed by an analysis and interpretation of its main character and events using the basic conceptual framework of personality and psychosocial development formulated by Erik Erikson. The paper ends with a summary and conclusionary statement.

Based on a true -life character, this movie presents a tale of a girl on the border between adolescence and young adulthood who is living a double life. The main character, Teena Brandon, is a young girl whose efforts to suppress her gender allowed her to successfully pass as a boy (Brandon Teena) in a small middle American town. As a boy, Teena was well liked by women and bonded with a group of male friends. However, when the secret is found out, the life that Teena so desperately wanted to live comes to a brutal and horrific end in rape and murder. In some ways this story is much like the Greek classics (e.g., Oedipus Rex) in which a flawed hero has a friend who turns violent, and there exists some inability on the part of the hero's part to make those choices that allow escape from a bloody destiny.

Eriksonian Analysis and Interpretation

In psychological/psychiatric terms, it can be noted that examination of the behavior of Teena Brandon would probably lead to a diagnosis of "gender identity disorder." This disorder, according to the American Psychological Association (DSM IV, 1994) is marked by a strong and persistent cross-gender identification shown in childhood by:

(1) repeatedly stated desire to be, or insistence that he or she is, the other sex,

(2) in boys, preference for cross-dressing or simulating female attire; in girls, insistence on wearing only stereotypical masculine clothing,

(3) strong and persistent preferences for cross-sex roles in make-be...

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BOYS DON'T CRY: AN ERIKSONIAN VIEW. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 04:49, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1688913.html