Caught in the Act
The great thing about Courtney Act is that she’s not a “dumb blonde”, even if she chooses to act like it sometimes. Beneath Courtney’s wig, Jenek’s brain is working, taking an almost scholarly approach to issues of gender, sexuality, and society that would make him the talk of Britain and eventually the winner of Celebrity Big Brother UK.
Chad Armstrong Sept 17 2022 – thequeerreview.com
Born in Brisbane in 1982, Shane Jenek (aka Courtney Act) published a memoir titled Caught in the Act in 2021. It’s a walk on the wild side of Sydney and Los Angeles with many other cities along the way.
Shane Jenek writes about being a child performer learning to act at an Australian stage school and later transforming into the famous drag queen Courtney Act. He writes, My pronouns, in case you are wondering, are ‘he’ when dressed as a boy and ‘she’ when dressed as a girl – and ‘they’ works however I am dressed!
Courtney became well known on mainstream television series such as Australian Idol, Ru Paul’s Drag Race, Celebrity Big Brother and Dancing with the Stars. Blessed with comedic talent and dancing and singing skills the rise to fame seems easy. It wasn’t.
The author was raised by caring, compassionate parents and he’s very close to both of them. But despite having their unconditional love and full support, he experienced severe depression in his teens.
After leaving his home in Brisbane, Jenek moved to Sydney’s notorious King’s Cross. He writes about experimenting with various illicit substances while living in a small bedsit and trying to make a living. But by sheer strength of will he managed to extricate himself from an escalating drug habit.
The author is now in his early forties and in the writing of his memoir he describes what it was like to grow up conflicted about identity, gender and sexuality. The memoir is told with wit, warmth and flair. Regular asides – titled Courtney Facts – provide biological and psychological facts, anecdotes and social observations.
I got the impression the author is immensely personable. Jenek’s natural wit, warmth and intelligence helped forge the necessary connections to succeed in the difficult world of show business. Early in the piece Jenek formed close friendships within the gay community and was advised and guided by veteran drag queens.
Not all the Courtney Facts are about biology, gender, terminology and destiny. Several snippets are about how drag queens do their face makeup, waxing of body parts, fascinating facts about human hair wigs and the taping of penises prior to a drag performance.
Courtney effortlessly slides from educational facts to reality TV gossip. There are many explicit sexual details but the sex scenes are not gratuitous – they’re simply part of Courtney’s and Shane’s evolution.
Beauty tips and the secrets of her success are explained in Courtney’s Facts with Courtney’s customary flair and wit:
Eyebrows were hierarchical in the Sydney scene: a well maintained and smooth wax job was a badge of honour and skill … it took me ten years and a move to LA to learn that the same effect could be achieved with none of the downsides by using Elmer’s Glue Stick for $0.59 from Target.
One of the stories that made me smile was Shane’s coming out as gay to his parents. He was distressed and terribly anxious about how to break the news and dreaded their reaction. Subsequently he was stunned that after the big revelation his mother texted back with – That’s nice dear.
To Shane’s surprise not only had his parents never suspected he was gay but they’d also known drag queens professionally and socially. His mother, who worked as a beauty technician, had waxed the legs of Les Girls drag queens and enjoyed their company. And his father informed him he’d been to a Sleaze Ball in the 1970’s in full drag. He’d even shaved off his bushy signature moustache. Just for the hell of it.
Caught in the Act is an easy read because the serious stuff is mixed in with showbiz chittychats and true stories of LA showbiz excesses. In the telling of his tale Shane Jenek is not afraid to reveal his mistakes or weaknesses. And he does so in a candid manner laced with humour.
image: book cover Caught in the Act by Shane Jenek (aka Courtney Act). Pantera Press 2022: cover photo by Mitch Fong, cover designed by Alissa Dinallo.