Bachelor Thesis from the year 2023 in the subject American Studies - Literature, grade: 1,00, University of Dusseldorf "Heinrich Heine" (Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, Philosophische Fakultät), language: English, abstract: This thesis examines how Western ideals of masculinity are depicted by the characters in Kimberly Peirce's 1999 film 'Boys Don't Cry'. Particular focus is given to the trans-masculine protagonist Brandon Teena, a real life victim of transphobic lethal violence. A diverse set of texts and authors, including Halberstam and Judith Butler, make up the theoretical basis to analysing how different types of masculinity, such as "female masculinity", are created in the film's context. Furthermore, this thesis looks into how heteronormativity is affirmed and resisted in the film, and how violence functions as a tool to uphold hegemonic masculinity and heteronormativity.