By Daniel Welsh

Copyright huffingtonpost

Big Brother fans are showing their support for new housemate Zelah Glasson, after he opened up to some of his fellow contestants about his gender identity in the latest episode of the reality show.

Zelah – a personal trainer and fitness influencer – was one of 12 people who entered the Big Brother house during Sunday’s live show.

During his introduction VT, he shared that he is transgender, but said on his first night in the house he did not want to disclose this to the rest of the group until he was more comfortable with them.

“I don’t really want to mention my transition, just for the first bit,” he said in the Diary Room. “I mean, naturally, that conversation will come up because… if you ask me about my school experience, I went to an all-girls school, if you ask me about the personal training business that I’m trying to build, it’s centred towards trans people and women, it’ll naturally come up.

“But for now, I’m making a conscious decision to not bring it up for a bit, and let people make their first impressions of me outside of my gender identity. Although, I am aware, that I have quite big scars on my chest, and there is a hot tub.”

Zelah then admitted: “I did find myself – probably for the first time ever – feeling a bit self-conscious about my scars, because I know that I haven’t told anyone [about being trans] and they’re very prominent. I did find myself feeling a bit weird in that situation, which is definitely something I’ve never encountered before, because I’m pretty proud of my scars usually, and pretty chill with showing them.”

The following day, Zelah began speaking more about his experience as a trans man, first to Sam and later to Cameron and newcomer Feyisola.

Early on in Tuesday’s episode, Zelah told Sam: “When I was six years old, if you looked at me then, and looked at me now, you’d think I went [straight from] A to B. I looked like a little version of me now, I had the skin fade and everything.

“I was still bullied for being a man in school. There’s always something. And then, when I realised I was queer around 15, things started to get better because I started to be a bit more masculine [but as] time went on, I eventually started to realise, ‘I don’t see myself getting old in this body, no matter how masculine I am as a woman, it’s never going to quite be satisfying’. The biggest thing for me is that I couldn’t picture myself getting old [without transitioning].”

On the current climate for trans people, Zelah admitted: “It’s scary, it feels like all that progress is just back-rolling.”

He then shared that his biggest “issues with bathrooms” occurred before he transitioned, revealing he “once got dragged downstairs by two bouncers in a club” for using a women’s bathroom, claiming he had to “quickly lift up my shirt to show them my sports bra”.

“It’s crazy how people living their lives bothers other people so much,” he added.

Zelah then elaborated more on this during a conversation with Feyisola and Cameron in the garden, in which they discussed the importance of trans-inclusion in conversations about feminism.

During the chat, Feyisola revealed that, as a Black woman with a shaved head, she has felt discriminated against based on the way she presents her own gender identity for not conforming to certain expectations.

After the episode aired, Big Brother fans heaped praise on the show for including these conversations in the episode, particularly in light of the current political climate for trans people:

Since premiering in 2000, Big Brother has crowned two transgender winners, Nadia Almada in 2004 and Luke Anderson in 2011.

Zelah is the second trans housemate to be featured since the show moved to ITV in 2023, after Hallie Clarke took part in the reboot’s first season.

Big Brother airs nightly on ITV2 at 9pm.

Help and support:

The Gender Trust supports anyone affected by gender identity | 01527 894 838Mermaids offers information, support, friendship and shared experiences for young people with gender identity issues | 0208 1234819LGBT Youth Scotland is the largest youth and community-based organisation for LGBT people in Scotland. Text 07786 202 370Gires provides information for trans people, their families and professionals who care for them | 01372 801554Depend provides support, advice and information for anyone who knows, or is related to, a transsexual person in the UK