Courtney Act: Accepting my gender identity freed me

Celebrity Big Brother winner Courtney Act has opened up about coming to terms with her gender identity.

The Drag Race star admitted that once she realised that the gender binary didn’t apply, she felt freed.

Speaking to Newsnight host Evan Davis at National Student Pride in London, Courtney said: “There’s a lot of labels and how important they are.

Courtney Act (Student Pride)

“Once we start living in that truth. For example, genderqueer set me free from feeling not good enough as a man.

“It set me free from not feeling valuable enough, strong enough as a man.”

She added: “When I realised my femininity was important and could be celebrated, it laid to rest a lifelong struggle with my gender.”

Courtney Act (Student Pride)

The CBB star became famous friends with former Apprentice contestant Andrew Brady while in the house.

The pair were an unlikely friendship on paper – one a laddish businessman, the other a flamboyant pro drag performer.

Other housemates apparently discouraged the friendship, she said, revealing: “They told me to be careful as I knew what I was doing and that Andrew didn’t and that what we were doing could have a bad effect on his career.”