From Chastity to Chaz: Bono Speaks Out

(CBS)  In June, Chastity Bono, daughter of entertainers Sonny and Cher, shocked the entertainment world by announcing that she was becoming a he.

Now, in his first interview, Chaz Bono, as he now calls himself, speaks to "Entertainment Tonight's" Mary Hart about his transformation, his famous family and the struggle he's gone through since childhood.

"I have to tell you that I was really quite moved with my time with Chaz. His honesty, thoughtfulness and warmth not only impressed me, but it helped me understand this very serious choice he's made," Hart told Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith.

According to Bono, 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."

America first met Bono on "The Sonny and Cher Show" as an adorable, little blonde girl with pig tails.

Now 40 years old, and almost 15 years since coming out as gay, he is beginning to live life as he wanted to for a long time, as a man. He says the complete transformation will take four or five years and involves surgery and hormone therapy.

Along with a gender reassignment surgery comes facial hair.

"I shave about once a week now," Bono told Hart. "So it's not, certainly not thick. It kind of started to come in like peach fuzz," which he said was a thrill to experience.

The hormones have dramatically changed Bono's voice, which was a slight adjustment for him.

"It does it in stages, so, no. I'm literally going through puberty," he said.

Bono is currently creating a book and a documentary chronicling his journey into manhood.

The surgical process started already for Bono.

"It has. As a matter of fact, Chaz just recently underwent cosmetic surgery to have his breasts removed," Hart explained. "And I asked him about if it was difficult. He said, no, actually it was a relief."

Interestingly, Bono's changed voice sounds a lot like his father, Sonny, commented Smith.

"You know, Harry, you're absolutely right. There is a similarity," Hart added. "Chaz did tell me, however, that this process is a four- to five-year process and he thinks his voice will get increasingly deep.

"So, you know, the whole experience has been remarkable for him and the one thing he did tell me is that he said, 'you know, my outsides are finally beginning to match my insides.' I mean, he said 'I feel more like myself than I ever have felt.'"

[Metaspherz]

So what if she/he (aka Chaz) is shaving or her/his voice is deeply masculine, or that she/he walks like a man? And, yes, it does matter what's between the ears but no amount of hormone treatments will change the fact that genetically she/he will always be female. She/he will always have XY chromosomes despite a lifetime of gender changing operations. Science may never advance to the point where it's possible to reverse genetics--unless the entire body is reduced to genetic material and rebuilt from scratch. By then so
Therefore, most of us will always refer to Ms. Chaz as she/he.

[Metaspherz]

The same Evolution that has contributed to the developement of larger brains in the human species--allowing for understanding and manipulation of the universe--is also responsible for making it easy for humans to accept their delusions as being normal. Essentially, I blame Chaz's sexual identity confusion on evolution of the brain. Specifically, that part of the brain which creates strategies to overcome obstacles and other challenges--the survival instinct. Whatever one dislikes or perceives others to dislike in one's self-image might be so undesireable and embarrassing that it requires either change, a lifetime of denial, or acceptance. We mold our inner thoughts, like clay, slowly over time to fit whatever shape that we think we'll like better. Sometimes we adapt to our delusions despite prevailing attitudes to the contrary. When we reinvent ourselves, we either expect others to approve or we choose to ignore their disapproval. The 'thinking makes it so' mentality has deluded many fine minds into accepting aberration as 'normal.' The aberrant thinkers want everyone to change their minds as well. If the majority conforms to the same delusion it's made more real. It therefore becomes the norm. In a herd of zebras even the finest Arabian horse looks abnormal. Some gender confusion is normal in us all, of course. But usually we outgrow it. We adapt to the prevailing norm NOT as a precaution but as an imperative to fit in with our peers. It's possible for us to mold ourselves into that which we desire, especially if we obsess about it. Despite living in the Space Age, as a species we aren't any smarter than those early **** sapiens that discovered that pointy sticks kills animals easier and that cooking their meat in fire makes it tastier. Someday science may well have developed the technology to alter human DNA and genetic material so that gender might be adjusted on demand to fit 'what's between the ears.' But until then we're all stuck with that which we're born with. Heck, one day science might even be able to adjust the size of a certain male appendage to fit 'with that which is between the ears.' IMHO, I think that nature makes far too many errors anyway. It wouldn't hurt if humankind could do something about the fact that our ears, noses, feet and bellies all continue to grow throughout life. However, that one particular male appendage is shrinking with age. Now reversing that trend is an aberration I can live with! As such it certainly deserves the full attention of every scientist to remedy. If not for aberrations the entire human species might never have 'accidentaly' developed into our current form. For better or worse, as a species, we are all here as a result of errors commited by nature. But by and large nature has gotten most of it all correct. Too bad our bigger brains haven't evolved enough to accept that nature just might have known what it was doing in the first place when it made us either male or female....

[barbaram99]

toldyouso21..Yer right dear lady. I I know yer a highly educated going by yers I have read. Yet I am sure Mr Bono is aware of the wt issue. Some meds and health issues cause some to be over wt. I could not gain over 100 lbs until I went thru menopause. I very littlr and my wt is now 150. I am legally blind with C/P caused by the Dr at birth. I am 55. Mr Bone still has mannerisms of a female. I have met trans wowomen and 2 trans men..I go by a person's voice. Their voice tells me their gender as a rule. I hsd to learn tones in the voice.
I went on the net to see what the transgendered have to do to change their body. Sorry the female to male operation made me sick when I saw what they have to do. It is barbaric. Mr Bono has to know that he can't change his mind as once it is done. He will have to live with it. I could never do it. Us ladies are XX and the gents are XY. Thansgendered are what they were given at birth. They can't change XX in to XY in the case of the person at the centre of thid article. i am fully female. I do noy understand why a lady would would want to become a man. I just don't.

[hmmIwonder]

If I were born a starving little person somewhere in Africa, I wouldn't have any of these worries.

[armyoftwelve]

Hee-hee. You got that right. How do you spell freak???????

[duskay13]

I have a question.

What happens now, lets say Chasity had a lady lover, does that lover now leave Chaz because now she is a he and she (the lover) wants to be with a woman? Does that make sense.

[stryker54]

sick puppy

[toldyouso21]

genetically, "he" will always be a "she". Science has not yet learned how to manipulate life on a molecular level to that point yet. On the other hand, now that Chastity has taken the first steps to becoming "Chaz" maybe she can head to the gym and drop a lot of weight, it would be a shame to learn that after all of this and 5 years later, he/she/it is still unhappy because whether science recreates him/her /it on the outside, that whatever ails him on the inside still exists. With obesity, the saying goes: "It's not what you are eating, it's what's eating you". Good luck Chaz--hope this is part of what you were really seeking, but if not--get rid of the excess fat, underneath you may find that a lot of your unhappiness was not gender related so much as body related.

[saturn05]

You are way off base. If Chaz has all of the proper surgery, he can have his gender changed to a male. And you are being so disrespectful of the weight issue. You don't think a person knows the difference between gender issues and depression over weight issues? By virtue of your arguement, I believe you are an ignorant moron by the comment you left, thus cut the fat from your small brain and maybe some actual gray cells well help you be a better person.

[denise_1900]

You're able to alter the outside, but you can't alter the inside. She was born a female; she had surgery to give her the outward appearance of a male.

Regardless of what she looks like on the outside, she will still be a female (XX) and never an 'XY'; her genetic material, chromosomes, DNA, remains the same.

[lyndar2]

My heart goes out to Chaz! What kind of pressure growing up having gorgeous body Cher for a Mom and a name like Chastity. Hope he lives out his life in happiness.

[AttentionDeficit]

lyndar: i suppose she could have realized that Cher's gorgeous body likely had medical help getting there

[lyndar2]

My heart goes out to Chaz! What kind of pressure growing up having gorgeous body Cher for a Mom and a name like Chastity. Hope he lives out his life in happiness.

[USMC-Mom]

Not the kind of man I would go out with.

[isabel36-2009]

The real question is: Is she a lesbian in a man's 'clothing' or a woman trying to be a man and likes women?

[denise_1900]

A woman that looks similar to a man that likes women. My point of view she is a manly-looking lesbian.