Breaking barriers
a group of young people move into a house together to learn more about each other’s gender identities
Fashion blogger Brooke, who was born as a boy named Bradley, knew that she was different from an early age.
‘I’ve always known,’ says the 24 year old. ‘My parents have videos of me as a two-year-old boy running around in a princess dress, saying: “I’m a girl!”’
But it wasn’t until Brooke went to an all-boys school that she realised just how different she was to other teenagers.
‘I wasn’t sure if I was trans or gay,’ she explains. ‘I knew I didn’t want to be a man, but I was confused. All of a sudden I started to grow breasts, and I had no adam’s apple or facial hair.’
After seeing a doctor about her symptoms, Brooke was told she has a genetic disorder called Klinefelter syndrome, which means she was born as a boy with an extra X chromosome.
Finding an identity
Brooke tells her story in C4’s Genderquake, in which 11 young Brits from across the gender spectrum share a house.
Looking back, Brooke says her time at school was hellish. ‘The students were horrible to me,’ she recalls. ‘They’d throw food at me or push me over in assembly. The staff would laugh.
‘One teacher kicked me and called me names and another tried to rip my earrings out.’
Emotional healing
Brooke found that sharing her story and hearing what each of her Genderquake housemates had gone through helped her to open up emotionally.
‘Usually, if something’s painful I bury it and pretend that it didn’t happen,’ she explains. ‘But spending time around people with empowering stories really tugged at the heartstrings.’
And during the two-part documentary, we see Brooke bravely going back to her old school to give a talk to the pupils.
‘Some of my teachers were still there,’ she reveals. ‘It was the biggest learning experience of my life, but I’ve finally let go of those demons.’