The show's stated objective is to keep it 'as real as possible'. This, as I've already said, is the BBC's mistake; in reality SAS-type selection processes exclude women because they will fail. Civilian political correctness and SAS training do not mix; it's sexist, ageist, disabilist and anti-obese. That's not due to some Grand Patriarchal Conspiracy, it's just brutal physical reality.
ChunkyPickle
"Goodness, that'll teach me for trying to bring some other interest and levity into a serious discussion on why an entertainment program has to exclude women!
Because of course mountains and deserts never have any slippery mud on them, these people haven't been carrying heavy loads this way for hundreds of years collectively and 10s of years individually, of course rucksacks is the only way to carry heavy loads."
I think you need to read your link more carefully.
It suggests possible improvements to peoples' gait based on the walking posture of civilian African women who have been carrying loads on their heads since childhood, not that British soldiers in a combat zone should specifically carry heavy bergens on their head.
ChunkyPickle
"Your point about production staff filtering applications is silly - it's not like they're not already filtering 100s of non-starters, so again, why not give an appropriately trained woman a go, why on earth exclude someone purely on their genitals!"
See my opening paragraph.
AKnickerfulOfMenace
"Puffins has family with relevant experience, Dothey. If you'd stop sneering for a moment, you might've realised that."
Thankyou. I can read. She said they've encouraged her to "have a go". I said same thing. I think you'll find that's rather different from 'you stand a good chance of passing the selection test'.
Blistory
"I understand that the BBC is only replicating an existing selection programme but is it really beyond the intellect of them and the British military forces to realise that a level playing field would be appropriate ?
Expecting women to carry a man's rucksack, a rifle designed by men, equipment designed by men, wearing boots, helmets etc designed by men is not equality. But no, we expect women to fit into a box designed for men and call that equality. Equality in strength requires proportionality not identical measures.
Expecting women to carry 40lbs on kit on a 40mile march might be more equal than expecting them to carry 70lbs or so. And if you design the equipment correctly, they can carry the same items, they would just tend to be smaller.
Forcing women to compete on level terms with men in these situations is not providing anything other than lip service to the idea of equality."
Right. The SAS haven't figured out that you could nearly halve their kit weight with no loss of operational capability in the field, despite decades of practical experience to draw from? Hmmm... I suspect they carry all that kit around because it makes them effective killers, not because they want to keep women out of their little camping club.
TheCowThatLaughs
"Ok so if a woman was on the programme and didn't complete the march, what skin is it off your nose, DoThey?
And it was only fairly recently that women were believed to be unable to do the marathon, and were prevented from entering! Can you believe it?!"
I have no problem with equal numbers of men and women going through the same training processes. As long as, if the type of allowances Blistory has suggested are implemented, no one claims it has anything to do with the reality of SAS-type training, as this show is attempting to do.