C4 recognises the Genderquake with a season of programmes about gender

17 April 2018

Many of us used to view gender as straightforward; you were born into one of two tribes, pink or blue, and from that point onwards many aspects of how you lived your life were already prescribed. 

Gender roles and gender equality have been challenged every few generations, with campaigns as varied as women's suffrage, shared parental leave, Come Out For Trans Equality, the #MeToo movement and many more.  The gender pay gap is on everybody’s lips and the fight for equality is far from over, and with the Gender Recognition Act under scrutiny, is it not only gender roles but also the very definition of gender that’s being redefined? 

Channel 4 is airing a season of programmes exploring the gender debate - from feminism, gender privilege and sexual violence to gender identity and gender fluidity.  Kicking off the Genderquake season is a two part factual entertainment series looking at gender fluidity and attitudes to gender among a group of eleven young people in Britain today.  In her first UK documentary Munroe Bergdorf explores gender dysphoria and identity as she undergoes life-changing surgery.  No subject is taboo for Riot Girls who take on the gender pay gap, manspreading and pubic hair in a series of pranks.  A collaboration with ballet dancer Sophie Rebecca and spoken word artist Ash Palmisciano  will explore the theme of transition. Sophie is one of the first transgender women to pass the Royal Academy of Dance Examination. Ash is an actor and writer who also happens to be a transgender man. 

Channel 4’s Deputy Director of Programmes, Kelly Webb-Lamb, said: 'The issues around gender and gender identity are some of the most charged and hotly debated of our time.  Through a collection of entertaining, thoughtful and provocative programmes, this season will feature a broad range of inspiring people who add their varied and informative voices to the wider debate.'

 

Genderquake

Although there have always been transgender people, awareness of gender-fluidity has exploded into public consciousness in recent years with an increasing number of young people feeling less tethered to the gender they were born into and the gender roles expected of them.

Genderquake will explore the gender identities being adopted by a new generation of millennials. To get to the heart of the topic eleven young Brits will live together under one roof for one week.  The eleven people come from across the spectrum of gender and sexuality and all have strong – and varied - opinions on the subject. During their stay they will get the chance to get to know each other and explore their differing views. But with such a divisive topic at the heart of their stay, will anyone’s opinions and viewpoints be swayed along the way with preconceptions changed by the end of their time together?

 

 

Genderquake: the debate

Channel 4 will be holding a studio discussion where a wide-ranging panel of guests will look at what gender means in 2018. Is gender in the body or the brain? Should it be easier to change gender? Does gender matter anyway?