Brandon and Gwen, Atypical Archetypes: The Causes and Consequences of Celebrity Victims of Violence

• In Event: 059 - Regular Session. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies

Abstract

Social movements often focus on “ideal victims” (those seen as particularly sympathetic) or give “typifying examples” (uniquely horrifying cases) in order to gain the most attention for their cause. This set of tactics has significant consequences when utilized within identity-based anti-violence activism, as they influence understandings of what it means to be a member of the identity group and can greatly impact proposed solutions to the problem. This paper examines the causes and consequences of these practices through an exploration of transgender rights activism done between 1990 and 2005 in the United States. I find that two victims, Brandon Teena and Gwen Araujo, are mentioned in activist narratives significantly more frequently than other victims. Their stories become a lens by which activists, journalists, policy makers, and the general public view violence against transgender people. This is notable because these two cases are quite exceptional. If one took them to be representative of the larger social problem of violence against transgender people, one would assume that victims tended to be much younger, lighter skinned, and more often trans men than they actually are. Moreover, one would assume that most violence against trans people is fatal and involves more than one perpetrator. While the uniqueness of their stories may be what caused them to become famous, it has serious consequences as activists, academics, and policy makers develop solutions based on these two cases and trans people shape their lives so that they do not become “another Brandon Teena.”

Author

• Laurel Westbrook, Grand Valley State University