Director Daniel Peddle spent five years recording the lives of six "aggressives" -- lesbians who strive to be as masculine as possible in lifestyle and appearance. The result is a portrait both enlightening and endearing as we watch each woman come up with her own inventive ways of expressing her identity. From prison to the underground ball scene, where lesbians compete for lead "AG" status, this film reveals a largely hidden subculture.
In a movie that deals with controversial sexual, racial and class issues, the boldest observation is the most basic: that we each have the right to define our own realities, and live comfortably within them.
The fact that all of these women live their not-easy lives with such a guilt-free lack of apology and pride is one of the strongest statements I can think of about how far and positively we've come since Stonewall.
This is a good modern companion piece to the classic Paris is Burning, only this time around the subjects are on the lesbian wavelength. The director did an excellent job at selecting truly compelling people and edits it all (6 years of footage) to make a beautiful and comprehensible timeline of events in these
people's lives. This is a "microscope" doc, like Paris is Burning and Gendernauts, and focuses on people within one small community. Still the things they deal with are universal and the issues of gender and sexuality addressed can benefit anyone in terms of broadening your perspective. The director is very minimally invasive, almost invisible, and the subjects are utterly open and comfortable with the camera. Can't recommend it enough.
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