Drag superstar Courtney Act is charming the pants off the British public following her memorable (sans pants) entrance into the Celebrity Big Brother house last week. In her short time on the series she’s already won immunity, a talent quest and been so well received, people are already tipping her to win.

While Australia has long outgrown the Big Brother franchise, the series is still popular in the UK, producing both a celebrity and regular version. This year offered a point a difference as the series kicked off with an all-female house to celebrate the 100th anniversary of women getting the vote in the UK. Men followed the ladies in later in the week, including Act, a.k.a Shane Jenek.

Following appearances on RuPaul’s Drag Race in 2014, and MTV’s Single AF last year, Shane is taking the opportunity on CBB to educate the housemates — and the wider public — on a range of issues surrounding gender fluidity, sexuality and identity politics.

In particular Shane’s explanation of the spectrum of gender and sexuality is being widely shared on Twitter and Facebook as it’s praised for its simple and logical breakdown of the gender scale.

“I think the tricky thing is that my feeling is that gender does exist on a spectrum,” Act explained.

“I would say it’s like the Kinsey Scale with sexuality from zero to six, where zero is exclusively heterosexual and six is exclusively homosexual. I think that gender’s similar where, if one is female and six is male, I’m probably a four.

“It is more complex cos there is more than two answers and people aren’t used to that. They’re like ‘male, female. Got it’.”

While Jenek is winning fans across the UK, one celebrity housemate who has been drawing controversy is India Willoughby, Britain’s first transgender woman to present the news. Dominating the storylines in the house so far, Willoughby has been criticised for her outspoken opinions regarding drag queens like Act, repeatedly stating she has a ‘drag queen phobia’.

Courtney’s ability to vocalise LGBT concepts with such clarity puts India to shame. She’s fighting for acceptance but is so shut off to other people’s views. She couldn’t even find it in herself to accept a drag queen. Practise what you preach, Hun. #cbb — Joseph M H (@josephmatthew) January 6, 2018

It all came to a head this week as Shane gave co-star Andrew Brady a drag makeover and Willoughby was left visibly shaken. She went on to admit to her housemates that she saw drag queens as mocking transgender people like herself, and later went on to liken blackfaced minstrels to men wearing drag.

Many watching said Willoughby’s views were offensive, however Jenek defended the newsreader’s personal stance, which is pretty remarkable since drag is his bread and butter. So far Act’s presence on the reality show is being praised by viewers, impressed with the entertainer’s attitude toward educating others in a clear, inclusive and non-judgemental way.

Other celebs living in the house include conservative MP Anne Widdecombe, who has been a vocal opponent against LGBTIQ+ rights, including marriage equality. Rather than clash with Widdecombe, the RuPaul’s Drag Race star chose to engage in an open dialogue with the politician over definitions of marriage, which many viewers found refreshing in a reality show where calm conversations often derail into screaming matches.

It’s just dawned on me that #CBB and Courtney Act have done more to educate the UK public on gender issues in a week than the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 have done in years. Which is obviously a giant clusterfuck of a failure. — Carl Greenwood (@carlgreenwood) January 9, 2018

I love how Courtney listens to the other persons opinion, asks questions calmly and nicely and it doesn't turn into a screaming match. Watch this people, this is how interaction should be. #CBB — Garry Walpole (@GJ69) January 7, 2018

In an already landmark season for the show, that for better or worse is exploring the themes of gender roles, stereotyping and overall equality, Act is bringing a much-needed educated and measured perspective.

The kinds of conversations being held surrounding feminism, toxic masculinity, homophobia, transphobia and stigmatisation is a dialogue that’s rarely seen on network television for a mainstream audience. Australia could learn a lot.

—

Tara Watson is a multi-media producer at Punkee, a self-described pop culture absorbent and cat-thropologist.