[Feefs]

Did anyone see this show last night on BBC2? It was on at the same time as Footballer's Wives, which I've decided is rubbish.

This wasn't rubbish, but was fascinating. The had a white middle-class man, who lived in a very white, middle-class town made-up to look black, and a black man from East London made up to look white. The basic idea was to see if and how they were treated differently.

What interested me more, was when made-up as another race, they did things they wouldn't have done before, such as attend events that were attended predominantly the other race. The black to white man went to the dog races, which he'd lived near all his life, but never been to, because black men didn't. He also went to the boxing and had assumed it was only rich white men watching poor black men fighting. These were still predominantly white events, but he realised the people there were not as he'd imagined. He even joined a National Front march and realised that they were more pathetic than something to be scared of.

When the white man became black, he felt he had lots more people staring at him, but he couldn't tell if it was actual racism, or just that he was something of a novelty for the people where he lived.

The black to white man said he could tell people were less threatened by him as a white man. I'd hold my breathe before jumping to any significant race conclusions, because as a white man he looked like someone who'd been bullied all his life, and probably reads lots of second-hand books and The Guardian, and doesn't own a tv. That was not the hairstyle of an intimidating man!

From that, it was hard to tell how people really did treat them differently, or if there were racist motives, but the show demonstrated how with the best will in the world, we make assumptions about other cultures. The 2 people involved seemed to learn most about their own attitude to race, which was really enlightening.

It's on again tonight and I hope it's as interesting. With a bit of luck they might manage to turn the people into the social equivalent of what they were already, so it's easier for them to compare reactions.

If you're looking for something to watch this evening, this gets my seal of approval. 9pm, BBC2

[Kaz]

I watched this last night on your recommendation, Feefs and found it absolutely fascinating.

I was most impressed by the white woman who was made up to look Asian. She really embraced the idea of the programme and learned a lot from her experience. She made a real effort to find out more about the different culture, and by doing so found that she had had real misconceptions about the lives and roles of Asian women in Britain.

The Asian girl made up to look white was a totally different kettle of fish. To me she was looking on the exercise to prove the prejudices she thought she had been experiencing, but IMO they were totally disproven as there was no difference in the way she was treated, whether Asian or white. In fact, the only negative experience she had was when she was made up to look white and had problems getting an Asian stallholder to serve her.

Thanks for letting me know about this programme - I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[Feefs]

I think the Asian girl was possibly a little too young to admit her own fallibilities, as I'm sure I was then. It still made for fascinating viewing. The older lady, and both men the night before fully acknowledged that they had so many prejudices and preconceptions about what they might encounter that they were more open to being proven wrong.

Both shows were encouraging, in that even if racism was suspected, it wasn't rampant. What was so interesting to me was the paranoia that can develop when you are aware of being a minority. It must be so scary, but it makes me question my own attitudes more. I go to Brixton quite a lot, and as a white person I can feel quite self-consious and ultra-aware of myself. I'd always felt quite ashamed of this, because being a minority on a bus doesn't compare with being a minority in your school, work-place or country.

This program has taught me that I need to relax, those feelings are daft, but quite natural. If another ethnic group seems shy, quiet, or surly, it may be because they expect a certain behaviour from me, and I should take responsibility for showing them otherwise.

Another learning point was that all the individuals featured were different. We can't extrapolate from their experiences to the general population, but have to remember that we're all individuals. I hope they do more shows of this type, because I'm sure we could all learn so much more.

It did make me slightly paranoid. A black man asked me for bus advice this morning, and although my advice wasn't wrong, I realised he could have got where he was going by a much more direct route after he'd left. As I gave 100% accurate bus advice to a white woman yesterday (I have an approachable face) I fear comparisons could be made!

[Janette]

Is this programme on again? Have I missed it?