The Aggressives


Synopsis
This documentary follows the lives of several woman who identify as lesbian and present themselves socially as men. (NR, 2005)


Observations
If there ever was a film to make you question some of your assumptions about sexuality and gender, this is it. Ripe with great quotes and queer conundrums (ha!), this documentary does a stellar job of handling a complicated issue without making the woman seem freakish or mentally unstable. These are women; women just living their lives. Most identify as aggressive butch, with femme-aggressive attitudes. But the splitting of sexuality and gender isn’t simple and that’s reflected here. One of the women says “I’m not a lesbian if I date transgendered people and have heterosexual sex with them.” Wow. Think about that for a second!

I found it curious that all but one of the women in the film were black (one was Asian). Is this perhaps a more culturally acceptable way for some people to come out as homosexual? Is it somehow easier to accept these rough and tumble lesbians than to accept lesbians who make other appearance and presentation choices? This film really drives home the fact that not only are we unique individuals, we also have the capacity to live outside the parameters with which we have been socially engrained. And live happily!

The quality of this film is quite good and the length of the film is exactly right. However, the director made some bizarre choices when subtitling -- occasionally perfectly clear dialogue is subtitled. Go with it. It’s worth it.

Rating:
Amazon's entry for The Aggressives