Probe into gender is put through a Big Brother blender

Here’s what Channel 4 said last night at the start of Genderquake: “In 21st century Britain what it means to be a man or woman is changing.

“It’s never been more confusing to be young, free and single.”

Here’s what I think Channel 4 meant: “Aw man, we still kinda miss Big Brother. Shall we just chuck a load of youngsters in a house together and let them get bladdered?

“We could always dress it up as a serious documentary about gender or summat.”

If you think I’m being overly cynical then I should point out that the “coming up” bit proceeded to tease us with clips of said youngsters boozing, snogging, arguing and getting naked in a shared bath.

That’s not to say discussions about gender were off the table.

It just felt like the people taking part were more interested in getting off their faces. And if it was on Channel 4’s bar tab who could blame them? To be fair, I did learn something about terms such as “gender fluid” and “non-binary”.

Sadly, the main message I took from the first part of this documentary – part two is tonight, followed by a lively studio debate – was an old one:

When you gather a group of people together for a reality TV show the loudest and most confrontational ones grab all the camera time. This leaves the quieter, and potentially more interesting, ones scuttling around in the background struggling to make themselves heard.

Perhaps Channel 4 should create a format which would give those people a voice.

Just leave Big Brother to get on with the job of quietly dying on Channel 5 in peace.