As part of the continuing dialogue about gender identity and how we define ourselves. Breaking Glass Pictures has just released on VOD the 2005 documentary The Aggressives.
Directed by filmmaker Daniel Peddle it is intimate portrait of six very different young mainly Black lesbians from New York who stress their masculine sides who self style themselves as ‘aggressive’. As one of them crudely explained they are the ones who wear the pants. What truly defines these women from simply being called bull or butch dyke is never really gone into, but each of the interviewees is determined ti take control of who they are perceived.
Peddle is also a Casting Director and started that career by literally spending every day seeking out people who had their own highly individual ‘street look’ . It pays off big time for the cast of his documentary and the striking looking Kisha works as a part-time messenger in masculine attire, and also as a freelance femme model.
Rjaj had her 5 minutes of fame when she was in the Ricki Lake Show talking about how she is perceived, and now loves the fact that she is stopped in the street by fans. She prefers to dress her bulky frame in gentlemen’s attire to impress her latest feminine girlfriend.
Marquise choses to join the Army as it gives her a college education that she couldn’t get otherwise. It would seem a natural fit for someone who straps down her chest and was even been toying with hormones, but once in the services, she realises that maybe she is not cut out to be quite that macho
All of the women are unapologetic about their masculine physical appearance and each one has explicit rules about who does what in bed. Makes for fascinating viewing
Labels: 2019, documentary, gender definition, lesbians
