Chaz Bono: I'm Enjoying Life as a Man
Credit: Angela Weiss/Getty Images
In Chaz Bono's first interview since first announcing in June that he would undergo a sex change, the child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono says that after 40 years, he is finallly enjoying life as a man.
See photos of famous family feuds
Bono, formerly known as Chastity, tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview airing Thursday and Friday, that the ordeal was "a long process going back almost a decade."
According to Bono -- who first came out as gay at 18, which caused mom Cher to reportedly flip out -- the most difficult step he had to take was, "finding the courage not to worry about what other people would think of me so much."
He also says he "got clean and sober in 2004 and I couldn't have done this before that."
See photos of today's top news stories
Bono has been undergoing a female-to-male sex change and gender reassignment surgery since March, and the process has already had significant physical changes on his body, which he jokes is like "literally going through puberty."
"It lowered my voice," he tells Entertainment Tonight. "Fat redistributes, muscle growth, hair growth, sex drive increases... I shave about once a week now."
When it came time to have surgery to have his breasts removed, he told Entertainment Tonight that "it was a relief."
See Cher and other stars as Barbie dolls
Now, at 40 years old, he has no regrets about his decision.
"I always felt like the male from the time I was a child," he says. "There wasn't much feminine about me. I believe that gender is something between your ears, not between your legs. That is something I discovered in the early '90s. It was just a long process of being comfortable enough to do something about it."
He adds: "I want to still feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a male body and not wait until I am an old man."
Tell Us What You Think
165Chaz, what courage this took and BRAVO to you for doing so. I am a Lesbian, formerly straight from a long term relationship. And in reality, the only thing that really matters is that you are happy with YOUR OWN journey on earth. God bless
Wow. I grew up in Bible Belt Ohio and I am fine with Chaz. Saw him interviewed. He seems intelligent, reasoned and nice. He's coping with the hand he was dealt. That's no more or less than what I have to do ever day. I have no ill feelings toward him and can't imagine what horrible (imagined) pain he's inflicting on others. They know his truth. They know how he feels. If they really have issues, they need to get over them and enjoy him for the nice person he seems to be.
DEAR GOD,isnt this child, aware of all the problems she has taken on, and all the people she will hurt in the process of trying to become something she physically should not be? CHER is embarassed but loves her daughter, not this farce of a male thing. I AM A LESBIAN, and proud to be a woman, in love with other women. I do not now, nor have ever longed to be the other gender, nor wish to have another woman with me, that wants to be a man. WHY??? Oh, who am I to wonder about other peoples thoughts? Let her/him be, just dont expect me to accept the IT she became.
Chaz will look better once his hairline recedes to male and he gets more facial hair. He still needs to lose the weight tho. T can really screw up your heart as it is (T makes the muscle grow bigger, as it does all of the other muscles) and I know a few transmen who've died of sudden heart attacks.
I'm SO VERY PROUD of Chaz. He has Glowing Smile ! Congratulations MAN ! You da MAN ! I only wish I could muster that kind of courage.
to each their own. the only person who should judge is the one upstairs. be nice
I am disgusted by the amount of hateful, rude comments being posted here. I guess we haven't really come very far from the vast amount of discrimination against various groups throughout history. Personally I applaud Chaz's courage for going public with such a decision. It's difficult to struggle with something like gender identity - which medical science says is not something you can simply pick and choose at will, to all of the people claiming science is against transgendered individuals. Honestly people need to look at their own lives and all of the things someone else could pull out of it as 'immoral' before they go around judging someone for something like this.
If you really believe in whatever it is to believe in, it's your own thoughts on what's going to happen to her. But, seriously, it just gets on peoples nerves when you automatically make afterlife assumptions. Honestly, it's not up to you and you really won't have an affect on it.
get real, you think a good f#ck by u will fix it. roflmao...well that would mean if you had a good F#ck by a man you would turn gay. Come on get out from that rock and get some common sense.
this is so gross! How embarrassing for Cher. You know she wants to disown him/her/it.
Gave me the old puss.....lol I will fu%k the sh*t out of it.
She can't change her chromosomes, so it is really useless to even try. No matter what she does...science will limit her complete change, so how can you feel male without completion?
a person who thinks this is gross isn't necessarily religious. look, she could'nt make it as a female. She was fat and unattractive. She did drugs because she's never been happy with who she is. I doubt she's happy as a "man" also. I think she's never known who she really is and masqueraiding as a man isn't going to enlighten her.
Who are you to judge what's "gross"? Get comfortable in your own body so you don't have to make yourself feel better by judging other people. This is none of your business. People are not coming up to you to tell you they think you're ugly. And you are. Keep your useless "thoughts" to yourself.
Amen to A, my experience religious types are anything but "Christian" like. If he is comfortable and happy. It is no one else business. Get a better hobby
Chaz is saying God made a mistake in him being born a female. If God says you are a female, you are a female. The Devil is putting these ideas in people's minds. Chaz will pay for it in the afterlife.
she was born a woman,always will be. no matter what they do to themselves.
I remember watching her in the 70's in the Sonny & Cher show too bad she was a cute kid I'm not trying to be mean but I think it's disgusting
Gross
Amen, Moonchild. Amen :]