I found this a much more intelligent and thoughtful programme than I expected, and the points Howard highlighted above were ones that struck me as important as well. At one point the presenter was saying how many sides treat this as an artform comparable to ballet, and that is my experience of some sides too. Thinking about ballet, though, while Matthew Bourne's all-male Swan Lake is well known, it seems to have been a one-off, more than a trend setter. I have yet to see mixed wilis in "Giselle", for example, so it is fair to say that formal dance does have a strong gender divide in general - morris is not really exceptional.

I have no objection at all to mixed sides, but I agree with the presenter that there might be more to consider than just my default position that everything should be open to everyone.