Brandon Teena, born Teena Renae Brandon, (born December 12, 1972, Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.—died December 31, 1993, Humboldt, Nebraska), biologically female individual who lived his life as a male and was murdered by two former friends after they discovered his biological sex. Teena and his story have been at the center of academic and public debates concerning gender and sexuality rights. While it is unclear whether Teena identified as transgender, transgender advocates and scholars have hotly debated the nuances of his story and claimed his embodied experiences as indicative of the continuing struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ)