Channel 5 documentary - 'Real Wife Swaps'

The figures that are banded about for certain activities are about as accurate as a tribesman's spear in a nuclear war. According to some statistics one in four men cross dress on a regular basis and we in the trans community know this is probably massively incorrect. Other authorities claim one in 20 and this is doubtful too so I don't hold a lot of store by statistics as a general rule. I don't really know how they even start to collate these figures. I think we need a few more episodes of the same to form a more valid opinion of the two venues. Those on here that have been and sampled it certainly give it a good score and it looked very impressive albeit a little bit pretentious. But there are always those that have something negative to say and its a little surprising we have not heard from anyone on here that didn't think it was absolutely wonderful. So, we will see what else comes out of the woodwork, hopefully nothing.

With regard to the children being involved in any shape or form then to me it was a real no no. I know it would be difficult to keep it from them in the situation that was portrayed on the program and perhaps that is why it should be kept away from the home completely. If they want to do anything remotely connected with swinging or their own sexual orientation at least let them do it without the help from the parents and away from any influences. As a transgender support helper and some one who has seen the disastrous results of family members who have seen too much (not in my own case) then I am only too aware of the consequences of knowing too much too soon. Teenagers today have enough to cope with regarding their own sexuality and the stress of studying for college/ Uni, careers and in some cases within dysfunctional family life without any added pressures, just my opinion thats all. It all looks fine on the surface and we think they are handling it in a mature and sensible way but we really don't know what is going on deep down at this tender age. I am aware that all cases are different and some teenagers can cope with side issues better than others but I didn't really see the need to televise the children at all, again just my opinion. I am of the view that they grow up fast enough today, too fast in some cases.

What was nice to see was the clean cut image it portrayed of the swinging scene and in the long run it should prove to be beneficial to the bigger picture of who and what we are. When we scrape away the surface of anything that is secretive and covert we usually find it is never as bad as what we thought, heres hoping the public at large will see this too. I just hope they don't drop any bombshells later on, after all this is Television and worse it is Chanel 5 and not the BBC. Perhaps I'm just being a bit of a pessimist

JudyTV