After the well-intentioned muddle of Genderquake, and, in particular, the ill-tempered debate that followed, Channel 4 went some way to redeeming itself with the thoughtful and fascinating What Makes a Woman? which followed transgender model, presenter and activist Munroe Bergdorf as she underwent facial reconstruction surgery before picking her way through the increasingly contentious debate as to whether womanhood is defined by gender or identity.

“I do realise some people will think that by having this surgery I’m conforming to a very typical idea of femininity,” admitted Bergdorf. “But I want it not for society but for me.” Afterwards she referred to the event as “truly life-changing” and, as the programme progressed, it was clear that the complicated surgery, which, bravely, was shown in part on screen, had done wonders for her sense of self.

Likeable and charismatic, Bergdorf has run into trouble in the past thanks to her outspoken views on Twitter. She addressed those issues here, stressing that she had learnt from her mistakes and noting that she had been a very different person when she posted them.

Transgender model and activist Munroe Bergdorf on the catwalk at New York Fashion Week

Not everyone was so ready to accept her on her word. The documentary’s most complicated moments saw her interacting with women who refute the idea of self- identification as the main criteria for womanhood. At an event in Bristol furious speakers raged about wombs, men and porn while a meeting with radical feminist Venice Allan was fraught with paranoia about the invasion of safe spaces.

Bergdorf had more luck attending a gender-focus group. Here, she faced the same issues of people questioning her experience, but in a less confrontational manner which allowed for more thoughtful conversations and concessions regarding the age of some of the critics. Although her later assertion that she doesn’t “base womanhood around a vagina, it’s just a body part” will have done little to soothe those who disagree.

The show’s key moment, however, came when Bergdorf travelled to Germany to take part in a ground-breaking piece of research regarding brain patterns. There she learnt that she had "a transgender brain" rather than one that was either male or female. Stressing that she had never claimed to a cisgender or biological woman, Bergdorf noted that “in society we’re given two options and those either relate to being a man or relate to being a woman and in that case, I identify more with the female side.”

It was a smart, sensitive conclusion to a well-made, thought-provoking and intelligent film.