Join Us!

For our December meeting, we will have author Marc Adams as a guest speaker. To ensure the evening runs smoothly, we're modifying our menu request. We will not have tables set up for dining, and we're requesting the following menu items:

Items to bring:

Need directions?

Call (216) 691-HELP (4357) or
e-mail Karen at karen_gross@transfamily.org.

Volunteers are needed to help on the present committees and the new ones we will be establishing. We really need your skills and a minor commitment of time. We also need help cleaning up after the meetings. (Thank you to everyone who helped at the November meeting!) Please help us out.

For our December meeting, we are planning to have a quest speaker. We are excited to be joined by the author Marc Adams. The press release below will give you a little background about Marc and the book he has written. He will have his book available for purchase and signing. He's a great speaker and wonderful person. He will be with his partner, Todd Tuttle. Bob and I have heard him twice now and have enjoyed both presentations. I know you will all enjoy hearing his story. Please plan for this meeting and we will dispense with the dinner part and only have finger foods.

In his book, The Preacher's Son, Adams chronicles the story of his life growing up as the son of a fundamentalist Baptist minister. The book weaves its way through Adams’ life and the author writes about his experiences as a student and employee of Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University. The ultimate act of coming out to his family is an especially notable portion of the book.

"I began writing this book ten years ago when I was a student at Liberty College," Adams says. "I wanted to write a book that helped other young men and women caught in the confusion of whether or not to accept their homosexuality. I wanted to let them know that it was possible to change. I wanted to share how I had managed to harness the power of God and change my sexual orientation. Now the book is complete and it bears a totally different message than when I started writing."

"I know many people in the fundamentalist movement, young and old, who are trapped in their closets," Adams continues. "The purpose of this book is to let people know what it’s like to grow up gay in that environment. I hope that I can provide some guidance to anyone who is considering changing their life and coming out. My life would have been so much easier if someone ahead of me had provided guidance."

"This is not a tell-all book about Jerry Falwell," Adams warns. "It’s about understanding myself and my life. I want readers to understand what it was like to grow up under the banner of fundamentalism - my conversion and life as a preacher’s kid, the church services, attending Christian high schools, and attending a fundamentalist college where Falwell and his influence was everywhere. I want them to understand what it was like to work for him, promote his organization and recruit students to attend Liberty. And most importantly, I want readers to feel what it’s like to give up everything just to say, ‘I’m gay.’"

The following corporations deserve your support for their commitments to the GBLT community.

This 2-hour, monthly seminar, is geared towards employers and meeting the needs of their transitioning/transgendered employees.

The information being presented would be of particular interest to Social Workers, Physicians, Nurses, Ministers, Librarians, CEO's, EEO and Human Resource Personnel, Fire Fighters/EMT and Law Enforcement Personnel, Educators, Government Officials, Lawyers, Psychologists, Managers, and anyone who would like to know and understand more about this topic/issue.

Randi Barnabee, is a retired Military Officer, was a Military Civil Rights/EEO Facilitator, received her Law Degree in 1997 and has relocated to Cleveland.

Megan Parsons, is a Fire Fighter/EMT by trade, in her spare time teaches related EMT Courses.

Tim Frost is an outside technician and has a background in Communications.

Dates: Dec 4; Jan 8; Feb 8; Mar 4; Apr 1; May 6; and June 3. (Saturdays)

Time: 9:00am - 11:00am Location: Ameritech, 45 Erieview Plaza, ( At E.9th and St. Clair) (Across from the Galleria Food court) Dayton Room 1-E

Reservations: Call (440) 954-4171 and leave message. "Endorsed by GLEAM (GLBT Employees of Ameritech) and by TransFamily of Cleveland.

TransFam Speaker Bureau is Reforming! Have an interest in reaching out to the community? Want to tell your story? Like to speak in public? Then we need you. The Transfam Speakers Bureau is looking for enthusiastic people to help inform the public on Transgendered issues. Want to find out more? Contact Debra London (email preferred) debxtc@geocities.com or Karen Gross at kategr@aol.com, or call (216) 691-HELP (4357)

SSAFE Coalition has voted to accept TransFamily as one of the collaborative groups. Our name will now appear on all SSAFE brochures along with GLSEN, PFLAG, and Gay Lesbian Center. We need many of you to volunteer to help with their projects. Please call the center (216-522-1999) and Judy Maruszan, identify yourself as a member of TransFamily, and ask what you can do to help. Their biggest project is the annual fund raiser, which is held in either March or April (at the Cleveland International Film Festival). Let's have many of our members available to help with the project. In the fall, there will be a need for many of our members to speak at area schools. Please let the center know if you will be available.

New to our cyberspace community is the TransFamily Spouse List. This list operates through the facilities of ONELIST.COM, as our other lists do. The list is specifically for the spouses and significant others of transgendered individuals and their unique support needs. The list is moderated by Miriam Scott, and contributors include Amity Pierce Buxton of the Straight Spouse Network and author of the book The Other Side of the Closet : The Coming-Out Crisis for Straight Spouses and Families . Subscriptions are approved by Miriam, Karen, Amity, and Christy. Click here to subscribe to the TransFamily Spouse list http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/TransFamilySpouses.

Here are the url's to subscribe to the other email lists at OneList.COM .

• Click here to subscribe to the TransFamily Newsletter list
  http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/TransFamilyNews.
• Click here to subscribe to the TransKids list
  http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/TransKidsFamily.
• Click here to subscribe to the TransFamily discussion group
  http://www.onelist.com/subscribe/TransFamilyofCleve.

Remember, all subscriptions are approved by Karen, to ensure that the list's confidentiality will be maintained. Messages are sent to the list mail box, rather than the individual, and everyone receives a copy of the message. Anyone on the list can respond to a message. If you desire to personally respond to a message, privately and off of the list, please remember to change the email address from the list to the individual's. If you're concerned about getting too many e-mail's from the list, you can subscribe to a "digest" version of this list, which is delivered daily.

Several of us have been toying with the idea of forming a Bible study group, with the object being to help nurture our unique spiritual needs. If you would be interested in such a group, please send me an email at christy_scott@transfamily.org and let me know.

A reminder of what Christmas is..

It was only four days before Christmas but the spirit of the season hadn't caught up with me, even though cars packed the parking lot of our local discount store. Inside the store, it was worse. Shopping carts and last minute shoppers jammed the aisles.

"Why did I come today?" I wondered. My feet ached almost as much as my head. My list contained names of several people who claimed they wanted nothing but I knew their feelings would be hurt if I didn't get them a gift.

Buying for someone who had everything and deploring the high cost of items, I considered gift-buying anything but fun.

Hurriedly, I filled my shopping cart with last minute items and proceeded to the long checkout lines. I picked the shortest but it looked as if it would mean at least a 20 minute wait.

In front of me were two small children - a boy of about 5 and a younger girl. The boy wore a ragged coat and enormously large, tattered tennis shoes jutted far out in front of his much too short jeans. He clutched several crumpled dollar bills in his grimy hands.

The girl's clothing resembled her brother's. Her head was a matted mass of curls. Reminders of an evening meal showed on her small face. She carried a beautiful pair of shiny, gold house slippers. As the Christmas music sounded in the store's stereo system, the girl hummed along, off-key but happily.

When we finally approached the checkout register, the girl carefully placed the shoes on the counter. She treated them as though they were a treasure.

The clerk rang up the bill. "That will be $6.09," she said. The boy laid his crumpled dollars atop the stand while he searched his pockets. He finally came up with $3.12. "I guess we will have to put them back, " he bravely said. "We'll come back some other time, maybe tomorrow."

With that statement, a soft sob broke from the little girl. "But Jesus would have loved these shoes, " she cried. "Well, we'll go home and work some more. Don't cry. We'll come back," he said.

Quickly I handed $3.00 to the cashier. These children had waited in line for a long time. And, after all, it was Christmas.

Suddenly a pair of arms came around me and a small voice said, "Thank you lady."

"What did you mean when you said Jesus would like the shoes?" I asked. The boy answered, "Our mommy is sick and going to heaven. Daddy said she might go before Christmas to be with Jesus."

The girl spoke, "My Sunday school teacher said the streets in Heaven are shiny gold, just like these shoes. Won't Mommy be beautiful walking on those streets in these shoes?"

My eyes flooded as I looked into her tear streaked face. "Yes" I answered, " I am sure she will."

Silently I thanked God for using these children who reminded me of the true spirit of giving."

Thanks to Bob at Grace & Lace

I have been collecting stuff through donations, cleaning, etc. I have a lot of clothing, some baking pans and muffin tins, etc. which I would like to get to those who can use it. If anyone needs anything, please stop over or call to see what we have.

Contact Kateygr@aol.com to let me know. In the meantime, I have also collected a lot of serving pieces that have been left behind and need to find their old homes or new homes:o) So please start collecting your unwanted clothing and bring it to the next meeting. Many others can use what you have no further use for.

Hey folks, we need some input. This family newsletter is for the whole group. Please share! Turn in articles and ideas as soon as possible so that they may be included in the next newsletter. Also, don’t forget to inform us of the date, time and place of upcoming events.

If you have any ideas, articles, poems, etc. for the next newsletter, please get them to Karen or Christy at the next meeting, or calling (216) 691-HELP (4357) or e-mail Karen at karen_gross@transfamily.org or Christy at christy_scott@transfamily.org

Just a reminder that we are still collecting "Before and After" pictures for the collage that Karen is creating. This collage will be used at speaking engagements to "put a face" on the issues of transgenderism. If you would like to contribute your face(s), please give the pictures to Karen.

Our library is still missing many books and videos. If you have borrowed something from the library and did not sign it out, please return them so that we can keep track of our library items and make them available to others. (This includes items that were borrowed before the sign out policy was implemented.) Books and copies of videos are expensive. We want to keep our library stocked and available, so please help by making sure that you sign out and return all items. Thanks.

December

December 1 World AIDS Day events, activities and educational discussions, all day, Health Museum 8911 Euclid Ave in Cleveland
www.healthmuseum.org

December 1 World AIDS Day events coordinated by North Coast HIV/AIDS Coalition;
www.clevelandpride.org/worldaidsday

December 2 TransFamily Of Cleveland, meeting at our usual location. Marc Adams will be speaking.

December 3 Cleveland State GLASA and LAF will host "World AIDS Day'99" Candlelight Vigil and Fashion show at CSU University Center Keva and Auditorium on the corner of East 22 and Euclid. $4 with at least 2 canned goods, $5 in advance, or $7 at the door. Starts at 6pm.

December 5 Holiday Chili Open benefits FACT food bank, at Rockies 9208 Detroit Ave. for more info call 216-651-0518

December 11 "Fruitcakes" a musical celebration of the season by The Northcoast Men's Chorus 8pm at Euclid Ave Congregational Church 9606 Euclid Ave. For tickets or information please call 216-473-8919.

December 12 "Fruitcakes" a musical celebration of the season by The Northcoast Men's Chorus 3pm at West Shore Unitarian Church 20401 Hilliard Blvd in Rocky River. For tickets or information please call 216-473-8919.

December 14 PFLAG Cleveland 7:30 pm at Trinity Cathedral, Euclid at E 22nd St., Cleveland. Info line (216) 556-4317.

December 20 PFLAG Hillcrest/NE OH 7 pm, Nobel Road Presbyterian Church. 2780 Nobel Road, Cleveland Hts., OH. Info line (216) 691-HELP (4357)

December 25 Christmas Day

December 26 BlackOut on The Town Presents: The First Annual Holiday Season Bash @ Club Out 1946 St. Clair Ave.

December 31/January 1 Happy Queer New Year, Welcome Y2K by The Center
www.lgcsc.org/NewYear.html

The organizing committee of True Spirit Conference 2000 invites all gender variant people on the ftm spectrum, and our significant others, friends, families, and allies (soffas) of all gender variations to come celebrate the spirit within. The three-day event will include:

• Spirituality: panels and services, including, creating and working towards your personal vision for the next century.
• FTM and SOFFA health and transition issues
• On site health clinic for breast exams, blood pressure checks, and other health maintenance services
• FTM and SOFFA relationships: partners, family, children, parents
• Special Needs populations: youth, elders, people of color
• FTM and SOFFA law, politics and employment
• Service Providers caucuses and workshops
• Author's Readings and chat sessions: (tentative) Mary Boenke, Cecilia Tan, Raven Kaldera, Gary Bowen, and more!
• Exhibit Hall with information and merchandise
• Art Show
• American Boyz Award Ceremony
• Entertainment and Open Mike
• Our Famous Swim Party!
• And plenty of time for informal networking, parties, and romance
  

Conference registration: Low income or Student (with ID): $40 all times. Regular or service provider:$60 until 1 January 2000, $80.00 thereafter. Children Aged 14 yrs & younger, accompanied by an adult: Free If additional financial aid is required, please contact us. Work scholarships and housing assistance are available on a first come, first serve basis. Hotel Registration: Call 1-800-HILTONS for reservations. Mention "True Spirit Conference to receive Group Rates: Single/Double: $119; Triple/Quad: $139. Until January 30, 2000. After that, rooms are available on a first come/first serve basis. To get this special discounted rate you must mention True Spirit Conference when registering. Free Hotel Shuttle to Local Metro and Restaurants. Other Restaurants are within easy walking distance of the hotel. Nearest Airport: Reagan National Airport. Other area airports are Dulles Airport and BWI: Special transportation arrangements will need to be made from these places.

See the website for more details at www.amboyz.org/TSC/TSC2000reg.html

The 14th Annual The International Foundation for Gender Education (IFGE) National Convention is scheduled for March 22nd through the 26th, 2000 at the Hilton Crystal City in Arlington, Virginia. To make sure you get details about this event when they become available, write to:

Or, you can drop an email to Skristinej@aol.com

Registration fees: Regular $200 (member) $230 (non-member) from 7/1/99 until 12/31/99. Late registration is $250 (member) and $280 (non-member) from 1/1/00 until 3/31/00. Registration includes lunch & dinner (Saturday) and breakfast (Sunday). Non-member fees include membership dues.

The 2000 PFLAG Conference -- which immediately precedes the historic Millennium March -- will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott at 1700 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Arlington, VA. The hotel is located three minutes from Washington, DC and the Millennium March, and five minutes from National Airport. For your convenience, the hotel offers a complimentary shuttle service from National Airport to the hotel. The hotel is also Metro accessible.

Due to the large number of Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender-related activities the weekend of the conference and the Millennium March, we are encouraging our conference attendees to register for the conference and reserve their hotel room now. The hotel has secured PFLAG conference attendees one of the lowest room rates in the area: $143/single, $153/double, $163/triple, $173/quad. These rates do not include the sales or occupancy tax which adds about 10% to the total cost. Please remember these rates are only available to PFLAG Conference attendees. Appropriate measures will be made to ensure that the guests in the PFLAG block are attending the PFLAG Conference. Please be sure to both register for the conference and reserve your room. Call the hotel directly at 800-228-9290, and be certain to identify yourself as an attendee of the PFLAG Conference at the Crystal Gateway Marriott to qualify for this special room rate. (Reservations can be made after May 1, 1999.) The hotel requires that all reservation requests be accompanied by a first-night room deposit or guaranteed with a major credit card.

Register online at www.pflag.org/confreg.html

The World Congress of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Jewish Organizations and New Jersey's Lesbian and Gay Havurah proudly announce that they will co-host HORIZONS 2000, the 16th World Conference of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Jews. The conference will take place from Thursday, July 27 through Sunday, July 30, 2000, at the Woodcliff Lake Hilton, Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

New Jersey's Lesbian and Gay Havurah has been home to the area's Jewish/Gay community for nearly a decade. The Havurah is honored to have been chosen to host this international conference for The World Congress in their 20th anniversary year. It is anticipated that 300 attendees from as far away as Israel, South America and Eastern Europe will participate in this conference in northern New Jersey.

The conference will feature seminars, entertainment, religious services, speakers and schmoozing. For more information, call 1-732-650-1010, write to HORIZONS 2000, P. O. Box 2576, Edison, NJ 08818-2576, send email to conf@njhav.org, or visit us on the web at www.njhav.org

TransFamily is still compiling a collection of gender-friendly services and resources for our membership. This guide will include medical, legal, and psychological resources that have been endorsed by our members, families, and friends. In addition, we want to post other businesses and resources we have dealt with on day-to-day matters, such as stores, restaurants, garages, etc.

The guide will serve as the first practical guide for gay, lesbian, bisexual and `transgender individuals seeking community assistance in this area. It is further envisioned that these businesses will advertise in our newsletter and/or possibly provide us with group support in the communities, in which we live and work.

Before any individual or business can be listed a consent form must be obtained and recorded in our files. The forms will be made available at the November TransFamily Meeting.

We're also looking for some volunteers to help assemble the listings that we have already collected. If you're interested in helping, and getting a sneak peak at the list, give Karen a call at (216) 691-HELP (4357) or e-mail Karen at karen_gross@transfamily.org.

If you have a business venture that you wish to announce or advertise in the TransFamily newsletter and on the TransFamily web site, our new policy is described below.

• A one time, one paragraph announcement for a TransFamily member's business will be run for free.
• To continue advertising in subsequent issues, you will need to supply a business card, or ad copy that will fit into a 2 x 3 1/2 inch space. If the ad material are sent through email, the actual copy and any accompanying images should be sent separately. The copy should be in a TXT file, while logos/images should be either JPG, TIF, or GIF format. Send this information to advertise@transfamily.org.
• The rate for these advertisements are $5 for one issue or $25 for six issues.

TransFamily of Cleveland was founded to provide support and education for transgender persons, their families, friends and significant others. We hope to form an outreach group to promote awareness of transgender persons and their issues through PFLAG and to bring awareness to our school systems, through their principals and counselors, by offering literature, speakers, consultation and support.

One awful truth in this world is that some people will hate what they don't understand. Sadder, some of these people sometimes kill what they hate. The film "Boys Don't Cry" is the fact based story of such a murder, and the events that led up to the committing of this vicious hate crime. It is a powerful film, from a first time director, featuring a cast of very accomplished yet unknown actors, about a subject that will make many people very uncomfortable.

On Christmas eve of 1993, a toothy, handsome 21 year old man, named Brandon Teena, was brutally beaten and raped on the outskirts of Falls City, Nebraska. The crime was committed by two local men that Brandon Teena believed were his friends. He reported the rape to the police, who took minimal action on the crime. The men were called by the police and told to report for questioning. To prevent Brandon Teena from testifying against them, the two men hunted him down. It was New Years Eve. The two men found Brandon Teena and murdered him, along with two other people who were giving Brandon shelter. What had provoked the two men to commit these brutal crimes was that they discovered Brandon Teena was actually a girl named Teena Brandon.

Kimberly Peirce, in her feature film directorial debut, found the true story of Brandon Teena compelling and fascinating. She, and co-writer Andy Bienen, sought out the surviving participants, obtained the rights to their stories, and set about making the film. Without major studio backing, Pierce and her producers assembled a package of financial backing that ranged from individuals on up to The Sundance Institute and The Independent Film Channel.

Peirce was determined to put the story first and set out on a two year quest to find the right actress to play Brandon. Dozens of "names" paraded through her casting calls, but none managed to get a handle on the concept of a girl who believes she's a boy. None, until Hillary Swank arrived on the scene. Swank, whose previous major screen credit was as "The Next Karate Kid" showed up for her audition early, in character. Pierce, who was expecting yet another teen "star," did not recognize Swank until she revealed her identity.

A month before shooting began in Texas, Swank began living in character. She lived as a male 24 hours a day, going out in public as a male, and convincing her Los Angeles neighbors that she was her own brother. On the screen, Swank is so believable that the moments when she must show herself as a female are jarring.

Peirce surrounded Swank with a cast of unknown faces, nearly all New York actors with minor screen appearances but not recognizable faces. In fact, beside Swank, the only name actor in the film performer in the film is Alicia Goranson, from television's "Rosanne" series, as Candace. Chloe Sevigny makes a powerful impression as Brandon's love interest, Lana, the catalyst for the murders. Peter Sarsgaard is unforgettable as the quiet, yet dangerously unstable John with Brendan Sexton III as John's best friend and prison cell-mate, Tom.

"Boy's Don't Cry" does not make a big deal out of Brandon being a transsexual. We're given no background into the struggle Brandon went through to arrive at where we first see him. When his being a transsexual does becomes something played in the center stage, it's usually in his struggle to pass. The primary point where his gender issue come into play is during the police questioning about the rape. The police don't understand and Brandon is at a loss to explain it because of his injuries, fear, and shock over what happened. The brief explanations that do appear are often cut short in dramatic dialog moments.

Actually, the fact that Brandon IS a transsexual is almost irrelevant to the film. The film is more about the poor, white, Midwestern culture of the region; the situations and attitudes that permit homophobia and misogyny to bloom into a bloody hate crime.

A good time in Falls City for these bored teenagers is "bumper-skiing," which is standing in the bed of a pickup truck, hanging on to a rope, and trying to remain on your feet while the driver weaves in and out of high tension wire tower legs. There's also drugs, karaoke singing, getting drunk, and trying to outrun the Police on the region's endless ribbons of asphalt. Beyond that, nothing but dead end jobs and dreams of escape.

Teena Brandon cuts her hair, dons boys clothing, becoming Brandon Teena. He flees Lincoln, and an upcoming court appearance for passing bad checks and other small crimes, for territory where he is unknown. Landing in Falls City, Brandon falls in with Candace, a waitress at a karaoke bar, and her drinking buddies, John, Tom, and Lana.

Brandon is accepted by John and Tom quickly because of his willingness to take a risk and fearlessness in a fight. They nickname him "Little Buddy," and adopt them into their group. Brandon becomes smitten with Lana, who is so bored and strung out that she barely notices him. Eventually, however, sparks begin to ignite between the two.

That's when life begins going downhill quickly for Brandon. John, it seems, envisions Lana as his girl; she wrote to him while he was in the lockup. Her letters kept him going, he says, and he still carries one in his wallet. Lana, however, admits she was only 13 at the time and didn't know what she was doing. She is falling for Brandon.

Brandon however, knows he must return to Lincoln to appear in court. However, while sitting in the court room, Brandon sees the judge melting out a harsh sentence to another youth and bolts again. He steals a motor scooter and makes his way back to Falls City, arriving at night outside the cannery where Lana works.

When Brandon tries to pay a speeding ticket at City Hall, his past returns to bite him. The clerk who processes his drivers license discovers the outstanding warrant from Lincoln. Brandon is discovered, as is his real gender, and his is incarcerated in the women's jail.

Filmographies

Kimberly Peirce

Andy Bienen

Hilary Swank

Alicia Goranson

Chloe Sevigny

Peter Sarsgaard

Brendan Sexton III

Greta Olafsdottir

Susan Muska

The newspaper prints Brandon's arrest in their police blotter, noting Brandon's real name. John and Tom instantly seize upon this as an excuse to exorcise John's jealously over Brandon's affections for Lana. Confronting Brandon inside Lana's house, with Lana's mother as an ally, the pair drag Brandon into the bathroom and pull his jeans off to confirm their suspicions. John and Tom follow this assault up by dragging Brandon to their car and driving him to a deserted location, where they brutally rape and beat him. They return him to their house, where Brandon is permitted to go to the bathroom and clean up. Seizing an opportunity, Brandon escapes the pair by climbing out of the bathroom window.

Brandon eventually makes his way to Lana's house. She tries to help him, but is halted by her mother, who says ,"I don't want 'IT' in here." Eventually, Lana's mother concedes that Brandon's injuries need to be treated and the crime reported. Later, at the police station, Brandon is questioned with a distinct lack of sympathy by the police, who neither understand Brandon's broken explanations of what transsexual means, nor why Brandon would be so viciously attacked.

Brandon returns to Candace's house, seeking shelter as the police call John and Tom to inform them they are to report to the police station the following morning for questioning about the rape. Meanwhile, Lana joins Brandon at Candace's house and enjoy a moment of affection, and make plans for the future. While Brandon waits, Lana returns home to prepare to leave. She is met there, however, by John and Tom. They force her to accompany them, and they arrive at Candace's intending to kill Brandon, believing that if Brandon cannot testify, they won't be convicted.

Brandishing a gun, John terrorizes Candace and her toddler child, while Lana pleads for the pair to leave. As Brandon enters the house from his shelter in the shed, John grabs Brandon, forcing him against a wall. With John's gun under his chin, Brandon tries to reason with John, but Tom's agitation's counter his pleas. John pulls the trigger, instantly killing Brandon. Tom seizes the opportunity to stab Brandon's lifeless body as John shoots and kills Candace.

As the end credits role, one is left with the sense that they've just witnessed a train wreck happen; two trains barreling on towards each other with no way of stopping. Brandon's life comes across as one impulsive, ill-considered mistake after another that finally leads to this ultimate tragic ending that, despite knowing the ending, seems inevitable.

Those looking for insights into the transgendered mind will come away from the film not having much more insight. The insight into hate crimes, however, is powerful and makes the film very important. For those looking for background into Brandon Teena and the crime, the documentary "The Brandon Teena Story" is available on video.

Organizations, health care providers, gender clinics, etc. If you have a web site or e-mail address and would like to have us put a link to you on our web site, please contact Christy Scott at christy_scott@transfamily.org

TransFamily is provided as a service of Pro-Motion Internet Design a division of Pro-Motion Video and Global Graphics Internet Design, . Website design ©® by Rick Cordaro for Global Graphics Internet Design. Original content and design © copyright TransFamily, all rights reserved.