In the new world of sexual politics on the Internet, a man can pretend to be a woman, and a woman can pretend to be a man. Futurist Jean Houston notes: "In chat rooms and MUD's (Multi-User Dungeons) of cyberspace, we push the envelope on the ways gender is constructed and expand the emotional range until the old conventions for interaction between men and women are reformatted into entirely new programs." Of course, gender shifting is easier with the physical anonymity of the Internet. It's more difficult and scary tried in the outside world.

In the true-life drama Boys Don't Cry, Teena Brandon (Hilary Swank in an Academy Award-winning performance) passes herself off as Brandon Teena in the small Nebraska town of Falls City. She wants to put behind her a tawdry past that included arrests for stealing cars and using stolen credit cards. Being Brandon is a fresh start for Teena and a chance to explore the exhilaration of a new life. She also admits to having a "sexual identity crisis."

In Falls City, Brandon finds himself attracted to Lana (Chloe Sevigny), an unhappy teenager who lives with her alcoholic mother (Jeanetta Arnette). Also part of this extended blue-collar family is John (Peter Sarsgaard), an edgy ex-con, and his angry buddy Tom (Brendan Sexton III), who looks like he's ready to explode. Brandon tries to prove that he's a wild man through several escapades with these boozers and brawlers. Lana is swept off her feet by the tender outsider's romantic prowess.

Director Kimberly Peirce vividly conveys the excitement and the danger in Brandon's gender-bending adventure. The screenplay by Peirce and Andy Bienen challenges us to take a hard look at role-playing in our society. Who represents the essential self of Teena/Brandon? Who is playing the role here: Teena as Brandon or Brandon as Teena?

In the end, Brandon's relationship to Lana never has a chance to bloom. It raises the suspicion and then the ire of John and Tom who, blinded by homophobia, are driven by their own needs to play the role of the tough guy. Boys Don't Cry is a devastating critique of the hatred, intolerance, and bravado that lead to violence. It warns us that the "other" is always in jeopardy in contemporary society.