The week beginning 14th December 2015 has been an interesting one for the BBC and their representation of gender roles. Milo Yiannopoulous stated, in Reggie Yates's documentary 'Extreme UK: Men at War' (Wednesday 16th, 21:00), that he believes the battle of the sexes has not been this fraught for the last 100 years. Yates's documentary certainly illuminated the way in which Yiannopoulos's assertion could be construed as true, depicting attitudes of the likes of raging misogynist, Roosh V, and men's rights YouTube activist and self-proclaimed 'professional fuck up' (which sounds about right), Josh O'Brien. On the contrary, however, I believe that Yiannopoulos's provides a dangerous overstatement which plots men and women against each other in the name of misguided feminism. Indeed, the most important thing to note about Yates's documentary is the fundamental 'extremist' quality to it and the opinions revealed. Nonetheless, this does not diminish the validity of some of the very real facts portrayed throughout the hour-long piece.

To construct a more nuanced argument, I would additionally like to mention the most obvious opposing piece showing at the later time of 22:00, when mainstream airing has ended, on Tuesday 15th: 'Charli XCX: The F-Word and Me.' Although seemingly a non-issue in terms of scheduling, it is worth highlighting the fact that a documentary led by popular female artist has not been deemed suitable for prime time television like Reggie Yates's more visually 'tame' earlier showing - as argued on Twitter between Charli herself and Roosh V. Indeed, Charli XCX's 40-minute piece is shorter, more typically risqué in its graphics (with copious images of tabloid headlines proclaiming her indecency when a camera catches a glimpse up her skirt on stage), and is criminalised in its title: 'the F-Word.' By refusing articulate the F-Word, feminism is associated with obscenities, thus frustratingly marginalising its value as a movement. Moreover, the use of the 'F-Word' in conjunction with Charli's name silences Charli's female voice by alluding to the Victorian expectation that women's language should be restricted, avoiding 'the F-Word,' and thereby female language should be 'proper'. Charli thus stands as a rebellious figure and this theme is evident throughout the think-piece. This, in comparison with the militant nature of 'Men at War,' reinstates the expectations of a binary between masculinity and femininity.

Interestingly, when attempting to find some screenshots for this post, I was unable to locate an image of Charli looking directly at the camera as though to engage with her audience on a more personal level, but most of the images of Reggie were of this nature. Much like the names of the documentaries themselves, this goes some way in reinstating the dominant/submissive binary which exists between men and women. Unfortunately the content of Charli's documentary, primarily exploring the important difficulties for women in the music industry, is largely unaccessible to an ordinary audience and she fails to address feminism on a larger scale. In addition, as a viewer, I was not reassured that there was any real plan as to what the programme would conclude, if anything. As a result, the female-led documentary posits itself as weaker. This is, perhaps, why Reggie's documentary feels more informed. As a confident yet gentle, approachable male presenter, Reggie successfully avoids coming across as forceful as he tries to negotiate his way through the spectrum of men's rights activists, interjecting with his own feeble opinions following interviews. He is likeable because he refuses to take a side but the few glimpses of his perception align with feminist views - despite his outright stating "I'm not a feminist."

It is at this point that the true problem with both of these documentaries can be identified; neither 'Charli XCX: The F-Word and Me,' or Reggie Yates's 'Extreme UK: Men At War' seem to truly understand what feminism is. For clarification, feminism is the belief in equality between the sexes; the movement historically stems from a women's campaign but feminism has always looked to include the support of both men and women. There is an undoubted divide between the sexes and both documentaries do a good job of reiterating this point, yet (like this blog post) ultimately neither offers much more than an unsatisfying reminder that we have a long way to go. Alas, this small think-piece is not the place to have that sort of discussion either. Next time.