Tracey Gordon

**Tracey Gordon** is the main character of *Chewing Gum*. After a lifetime of sexual repression, she decides at twenty-four to pursue liberation and sets out to lose her virginity. Due to her lack of experience, she finds herself in many awkward and humorous situations along the way.

## Biography

Tracey Gordon grew up on the estate and lives with her fundamentalist Christian mother and overbearing sister. After ending her relationship with Ronald, she aims to find her sexual identity with the help of her estate community. *Tracey's ethnic origin is most likely West African.*

## Personality

May be perceived as quirky, silly or awkward as she appears to be on the autism spectrum.

## Relationships

### Family

* **Joy Gordon** (mother) - Tracey has, to say the least, a complicated relationship with her mother. Although Joy loves her daughter, her fundamentalist beliefs lead her to be overprotective, and she is not understanding or accepting of lifestyles other than her own; thus, when Tracey begins to question the values with which she was raised, the two often find themselves in conflict. Tracey cannot tell Joy the truth about her personal life for fear of judgment, and one of their primary conflicts throughout season two stems from Joy's desire to know the truth about what her daughter has been doing and Tracey's reluctance to tell her.
* **Cynthia Gordon** (sister) - The two have been fairly close with one another, though Cynthia has proven herself to be more devoted to their mother's religious teachings than the other. At the time the show begins, Tracey appears to have grown tired of Cynthia and finds her sister's attention annoying. After walking in on Tracey and Connor's attempted sexual encounter at a house party, their relationship slowly altered, as Cynthia disapproves of Tracey's lustful actions. However, Tracey's sexual exploration awakens a curiosity in Cynthia, and she ultimately comes to the conclusion that sex is not a sin. Their strain also came to be when it is discovered that Tracey was dating Connor and had ended things with Ronald without telling her mother.
* **Boy Tracey** (cousin) - Tracey and Boy Tracey are very close and have been since they were very young. When Tracey was four and Boy Tracey was six, the two shared one kiss; however, their relationship is strained greatly as Boy Tracey interprets this as Tracey having a romantic interest in him and tries to initiate sex with her. He has also shown a jealousy towards Connor.

### Romances

* **Ronald** (ex-boyfriend) - Tracey and Ronald had dated for some time. Her mother Joy had shown an extreme liking to him for being of the same faith as the family. Though they had honored to preserve themselves until marriage, Tracey gradually became infatuated with the idea of sex, which eventually drive the two apart, Ronald demonizing her for possessing lustful desires. When the two break up, he sought Tracey's younger sister Cynthia but confessed to being a homosexual.
* **Connor Jones** (ex-boyfriend) - Having encountered him outside their flat, Tracey gradually engaged him in small talk. Meeting at a house party, they attempt a sexual encounter. Since, the two have been meeting and becoming more and more sexual with each other. Eventually, however, Conner became unbearable to handle and after an unexpected house visit, Tracey breaks things off with him. They reconciled when both were kicked out by their respective mothers and lived in a homeless shelter. Once more, they tried to reboot their sexual relationship but split again. Now dating someone else, the two have made awkward interactions in their endeavor to stay good friends.
* **Ash** (previous sex partner) After meeting Ash outside her flat whilst handing out flyers with Ola, Tracey tries to make love to him but ends up finding out that he has “never been with a black girl before” so he said some questionably racist things. She takes a few days away from him but turns back to him when her mother wouldn’t let her return home. Tracey agrees to dress up in an offensive outfit in order t fulfill Ash’s sexual fantasies when his ex-wife comes home with two kids. The wife reveals he does this to many black girls so Tracey ruins his sofa with wine and storms out.

### Friends

* **Candice** (best friend) - Tracey and Candice have been close friends since childhood; on her sixth birthday, Candice gave half her presents to Tracey, telling Esther that "Ugly girls need presents more" and "Me and Tracey are part of each other, Nan, so it's her birthday, too." Candice is far more sexually experienced than Tracey and is usually Tracey's first recourse when she needs sex advice (which is often). Neither is afraid to confront the other if she makes a mistake or does something wrong. The two sometimes fight and refuse to talk to each other, but always return to being best friends in the end.
* **Esther** - Esther is Candice's grandmother, which means that she is also Tracey's grandmother for all intents and purposes. She is very comfortable with her sexuality, talking openly about her sex life, and offers Tracey advice in that area when necessary.
* **Aaron** - While Candice and Esther primarily give Tracey sexual advice, Aaron tends to give emotional advice regarding her relationship with Connor, telling her "Don't be there primarily as a function or a role." Tracey enlists him to prove to Cynthia that Ronald is gay in hopes that this will lead her break the engagement.
* **Ola** - Ola becomes Tracey's substitute best friend when she and Candice fall out, and they continue to be close when Tracey and Candice make up. He is very helpful to Tracey, setting up a fake Facebook page so she can convince Connor she has moved on and is dating Stormzy and pretending to be sick so that she can "heal" him and show her mother she has returned to Jesus. When Candice tells Tracey she cannot come visit Aaron's parents with her because "three's a bit of a crowd," Tracey invites Ola to come so that they can be a "proper crowd."
* **Karly Raven and Kristy Raven** -