The Bi Life: Who is Courtney Act? Here’s the lowdown on the show’s host
(The Bi Life)
The Bi Life is a first for UK television, a reality dating show exclusively for bisexual contestants, but who is the show’s host Courtney Act?
Shane Jenek, better known under the stage name Courtney Act, rose to fame in Britain after being crowned winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2018.
Now Shane/Courtney is returning to our screens in October as presenter of a dating show which considers the experience of bisexual or questioning singletons who are attracted to more than one gender.
An Australian native who now lives in London, Shane/Courtney is best known for their appearances in various reality TV shows, but you might recognise the entertainer from her work in pop music and online journalism.
who is courtney act?
CREDIT: E!
Back in 2003, Shane Jenek auditioned for the first series of Australian Idol. Having been passed over by the show’s judges initially, Shane returned the next day as Courtney Act and bowled them over whilst becoming the first queer contestant to appear in a reality TV talent show.
In 2013, Courtney was announced as a contestants on the sixth season of Ru Paul’s Drag Race, ultimately placing as joint runner-up in the series finale. Courtney then went on to release her debut EP Kaleidoscope (which included a collaboration with Jake Shears of Scissor Sisters) as well as modelling for American Apparel and working as a foreign correspondent for the Australian news website Junkee.
On the subject of The Bi Life, Shane hopes that the show will help to shed light on the often misunderstood nature of bisexuality. “A real struggle for a lot of bisexual men is that women struggle with the idea of having a boyfriend who’s also attracted to men. For a lot of women, the idea of a man being attracted to another man is a threatening or dangerous or off-putting idea.”
The same can be true for women who consider themselves pansexual or more questioning in their approach to sexuality. “Women struggle when finding women to date in bisexual relationships.
“The girls have all said it is really challenging to work out whether a girl is gay or straight or bisexual, whether there was interest or they were just being friendly.”
CREDIT: E!
There has generally been a lack of representation for bisexuals in more conventional dating programmes, which hasn’t helped. As Shane remarks, “Bisexual people suffer most from lack of visibility. They’re the largest percentage of the LGBTQ+ community and the least visible and least represented.”
The Bi Life premieres on October 25 at 9pm on E! UK & Ireland.
