WATCH: 25 years later, this groundbreaking documentary revisits the lives of masc QPOC
The Aggressives, with the world, a culmination of five years of work, following the lives of a group of queer, masculine-presenting people of color living in New York City.His doc’s subjects represented an array of gender identities, sexualities, and race, from different walks of life, presenting an unapologetic and eye-opening look at the challenges faced by those whose stories are rarely in the spotlight.Twenty-five years after he first began documenting their lives, Peddle checks back in with a number of his subjects in a new feature, Beyond The Aggressives, examining both the impact the initial film had on their lives and how they’ve forged new paths for themselves since.There’s Kisha, a model and artist, who navigates the masculine and the feminine in their work.
Octavio, formerly incarcerated, is now a proud parent and considering gender affirming surgery. Trevon now identifies as nonbinary and has since moved to Palm Springs, where they hope to start a family with their partner Jade.
And Chin is seeking support from the Transgender Law Center after being targeted by ICE for deportation.They were all teens while filming The Aggressives with Peddle in the late ’90s and early 2000s, and there’s inspiring power in the way this sequel shows us how they’ve grown and stepped into their identities, in spite of adversity.Additionally, Beyond The Aggressives involves the voices of queer BIPOC who were, themselves, inspired by the original film all those years ago.
