My name is Brooke Moore and I am not like your “average” transgender woman. I was born Bradley but it quickly became clear that I was unlike other little boys; my love for Barbie and Disney princesses were a bit of a giveaway. The older I got the more I didn’t feel like I fitted in with the other boys and desperately wanted to be treated as one of the girls. Then in my first year at an all-boys senior school, my body started to change.
As I hit puberty I began to develop breasts, I didn’t grow facial hair and my voice never broke. So as you can imagine I stood out like a sore thumb at school. It seemed as if overnight my body had “outed” me. This was a sink or swim moment so I decided to go in every day with a full face of makeup and began to grow my hair. I was bullied terribly but I stood my ground and was determined to live my life for me.
At 16 I left school and changed my name, by this point anyone I met thought I was biologically female. It wasn’t until my early 20s that I found out that my body transitioned itself because of a rare chromosome disorder, Klinefelter’s syndrome. This means I have more X chromosomes than a male typically should have, resulting in me having natural female aspects to my body.
Although my body naturally transitioned itself, it is still very different to biological woman’s body. I have the face and body shape of a woman, natural breasts, a female voice with no Adam’s apple and I don’t grow any “typically male” body hair. But I do still have male genitalia. I know that to some people my body may sound strange or unusual, but to me it is perfect. I have never had an issue with it and I have always loved and accepted it just the way it is
I know many trans women don’t feel the way I do, so I have always thought of myself as lucky to feel so positive about mine. I haven’t undergone any surgery and I can honestly say I’ll never have a sex change operation. Many people have asked me in the past if I would have surgery to “correct” my body, but to me there is nothing to correct. I wake up every day feeling like a woman and have done my whole life. I look in the mirror and see a woman, I leave the house and everyone thinks I’m woman, so who cares what I have in my pants. The only people who that will ever effect are me and my partner. I know my body isn’t what every man is looking for but believe me there are plenty of amazing guys out there who really don’t care about what genitals I have and I’ve been in long term relationships in the past.
I am happy with my body because I feel I wouldn’t be the person I am today if I hadn’t been through the struggles that came with being born in a body like mine. It’s no easy ride and it makes life more complicated at times but I wouldn’t change it for the world, my body has given me strength and courage and made me feel unique and beautiful.
You’ll see me this week in Channel 4’s new series Genderquake. I took part to show that there’s not just one type of transgender woman, just like biological woman, we come in all different shapes and sizes and all have our own struggles and stories. I feel like the media often portrays a limited view on what it is to be trans; over sensationalising surgery and the “before and after” aspects. I’ve never seen a trans woman like me in the media so I’m eager to show that not all trans women are disgusted by their bodies or feel the need to undergo surgery. Genderquake shows the range of people who like me don’t quite fit “gender norms”, who are so happy and proud of who they are even though they may go against the traditional gender roles that society tries to enforce. Life is far too short to spend it unhappy.
Genderquake, Channel 4 at 9pm on Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 May.