Transgender Bristol teen wins Radio 1 award

Bristol teen Aaren Gielty has become a national inspiration overnight thanks to BBC Radio 1’s Teen Awards on Sunday, at which he took away an impressive-looking gong alongside some of the world’s biggest names in music.

Despite performances from teenybopper deities Little Mix and Justin Bieber to name but a few, the real stars of the show proved to be the three winners of the first ever Teen Hero award, of which Hanham Woods Academy student Aaren was the first.

The 16-year-old was chosen to accept the award after the Radio 1 judges – a panel consisting of the station’s most high profile DJs and personalities – were touched by the “inspiring, moving and courageous” story of his lifelong battle with gender dysphoria.

MASSIVE congratulations to Aaren – winner of our first Teen Hero award https://t.co/yeN5lr033k #R1TeenAwards https://t.co/GfEUgYbeqC

— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) November 8, 2015

Assigned as a female at birth and named Cody by his parents, Aaren went through the first 16 years of his life suffering from depression and anxiety due to the mismatch between his biological sex and gender identity.

Turning to self-harm as a form of release in Year 9, both Aaren and his parents became desperate to get to the bottom of his feelings of “extreme discomfort” in his own skin. 

Aaren received extensive support from a counsellor at school, who eventually helped him to explain his gender dysphoria to his parents earlier this year. 

“I was speaking to the counsellor for a year but actually coming out as male was sudden – it sort of all happened in one day. I was so grateful to him, he really helped me,” says Aaren.

“We felt we’d got the diagnosis and we thought thank goodness, is that all it is? We can work with that, that’s not a problem,” his mum told the BBC.  

On his 16th birthday – March 1 of this year – Aaren’s parents sent a text around the family asking them all to treat their son as a boy from that day on.

Aaren also uploaded a video about coming out to his YouTube channel, which already has more than 200 subscribers thanks to his insightful and honest thoughts about his experiences as a young transgender male.

“Making YouTube videos was just a weight off my shoulders before I came out, because I could talk about my feelings to people I didn’t know,” he told Bristol24/7.

As well as using his online presence to give support to other young people going through similar experiences, the young Bristolian also volunteers at Hanham Youth Club, where he helps out with the younger children and has proven to be a huge inspiration to one boy in particular.

Thanks to Aaren’s courage and maturity in coming out about how he felt publicly, another younger pupil at his school named Leon is now able to use the toilets and changing facilities he feels comfortable with and gain confidence in himself.

Staff at Hanham Woods Academy have also undergone LGBT training, and transgender pupils are able to change their gender identity on the school register and exam papers much more easily.

“My dream job would be to be a youth worker,” says the wise-beyond-his-years teen, who even uploaded a video for parents of transgender children with advice on how to deal with common issues associated with gender dysphoria.

“I’m just glad I can help others who have been through similar experiences, and I hope I’ve done quite a bit of that already.”

For more information, visit www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/24mKhmXjpnYhMqSCWVZTmDk/our-2015-teen-heroes.

Read more interviews here.