The Aggressives

Very informative & well-crafted documentary into the lives of NYC "aggressives" - I wasn't too familiar with this term beforehand - but ended up with a wealth of knowledge thanks to this film! Check it out

I agree with one of the former commentators that this is a good movie, but I don't agree with her recommendation that you have to be a lesbian (or in the alternative gender and sexual community either at for that matter) to enjoy this movie. I'm a black Swedish/American 41 yo heterosexual male myself.

The theme of the movie is about six 20-something women of color that identify themselves as "aggressives", a sub-genre in the "butch" category of lesbians. Sort of. Throughout the movie the women try to define what "an aggressive" is, but as often is the case in areas of subcultures, there is no defined or obvious answer.

As the movie moves along you realize that the answer is not at all important, but the stories coming out of the question about what an aggressive is, are. The strength of the this non-storyline movie is the honesty and the nakedness of these young women's stories, and we get a good sense of where they are coming from, what they are going through, and how they deal with the world from their perspective.

They of course all have unique stories and have their own unique personalities which is way more interesting to learn about than elaborating solely on how they express or don't express themselves sexually. Or what (specific) gender orientation they subscribe too. Since we're dealing with quite young women, my guess is that these are things that are prone to change with time as they mature and evolve.

In the middle of the movie one woman says, "being aggressive is basically about who wear the pants in a relationship". Towards the end of the movie however, the same woman says "aggressive - I used to be really excited about that word. Now, just call me Kisha" (her name).

What I get out if it is, don't get too hung up about labels, be who you are, and express yourself in a way that you are comfortable with. A message I think anyone can identify with, especially a person who have ever felt that they are different. Ironically enough, I think most of us have.

I did enjoy this documentary but felt that they did not go deep enough, I wanted more from it. I wanted to see more of the underbelly, more of the life, more of what we don;t see, and maybe more with the girlfriends,etc. Also, they didn't spend enough time with Flo. They spend more time with some, and less with others. The snippets of them at the clubs and showing the fashion show competitions and the "femmes" was interesting. I wish the documentary would have been longer. And maybe going back to see how everyone was doing would have been pretty neat too. Also, more on the DVD special features would have been nice. But overall, I did enjoy this documentary.

I really enjoyed this movie it was very insightful and interesting. It gave a very truthful and honest portrayal of a group of "aggressive" women from what seems like around NY. Being a African American lesbian myself, it was interesting to see how these women lived there lives and handle everyday issues and problems. The word "aggressive" will take on a whole different meaning once you've seen this movie. The only thing about it is the way it ended. You wanted to know more about there lives, maybe here about how they have grown since they started filming. Plus you really didn't hear about this one "aggressive" Flo, but in parts and i feel as if though she would have one of the best back stories. I would suggest this film for any African American lesbian or anyone interested in the life.

I love this documentary. I think that a lot of people are misunderstood in general, especially those who tend to dwell outside of most social norms. I myself, assumed that this was about women who wanted to be been. I guess that's why I didn't watch it for a long time. Needless to say, I was wrong. People automatically assume that lesbians that have more male like ways want to be men, which isn't the case. One girl who identified herself as "aggressive" stated that"... if you're considered to be 'aggressive' in the lesbian community, you have to butch it up a little to compete with the other 'aggressives'." I thought about this and came to the conclusion that everyone, especially in our society competes with the next, women do so with other women to attract men, people compete for jobs, raises and so forth. So I guess it is only natural for "aggressive" women in the lesbian community to compete with each other in order for them to survive among their peers they have to. Another twist on evolution I guess or adaption rather...

Just my thoughts