Chastity Bono's Sex Change: Cher's Daughter Transitioning To Male

People:

Political and social activist Chastity Bono - the only child of entertainers Cher and the late Sonny Bono - began undergoing a sex change shortly after her 40th birthday on March 4.

Read the whole story: People

Comments

[Rynox]

She believes in life after love.

[hoosier96]

What do you mean "transitioning"? She's already there based on the photo.

[JFD8]

That the child of a famed music pair
Was a girl clearly caused her despair;
With time and with money
She's finally Sonny
And the gowns she is willing to Cher.

News Short n' Sweet by JFD8
http://twitter.com/JFD8

[rudyinbama]

Clever.

[kbkw54]

If Chastity wants privacy then why would she come out and announce her surgery?
She was born a woman and she will always be a woman.

[proggirl]

You don't' get to decide who someone else is. That person does.

[SparkyAdams]

Not really.

Claims != Reality

[OkieIntellectual]

Wow, how nice of you to impose your personal standards on another human being.

[HowSoonIsNow]

I am sure HE is announcing it as the changes will become visible soon after starting T. Perhaps he also wanted to educate people on transgenderism/transsexualism.

[JHCT]

Speaking as a transgendered man, I applaud Chaz for taking the steps he needs to take to feel whole. I'm sure that it was a difficult announcement to make, as he will be subject to the rude, inconsiderate comments of people who are too filled with hate to make room for understanding.

When someone is transgendered, they are addressed from that point as their preferred gender. As in, "I wish Chaz all the best in HIS transition. HE deserves privacy and respect."

He is new in his transition; he will not have had surgery yet. He must live as a man, change his name, and start hormone therapy before going under the knife.

Gender is what's between your ears. Sex is what's between your legs. I was, like Chaz and all of the other transsexuals who live in your midst, born with the wrong accessories. And I have a right to correct that WITHOUT persecution, harrassment, or fear of any form of violence or retribution.

Chaz has the right to respect. He and his mother made the announcement so people would not make snarky comments when Chaz suddenly has a beard. I'm sure that it will, as well, open people to INTELLIGENT dialog about gender and people's right to happiness. I know that, before I transitioned, I was miserable. Now I'm happy. I have a wife who adores me, and the respect of my family and friends. And no one -- unless I tell them myself -- knows that I'm

[JHCT]

Oh jeez. Last word cut off.

Transgendered!

[HowSoonIsNow]

Thanks for that post, JHCT.

[lianmolive]

Second that! Chaz made the announcement ultimately because other people are incredibly judgmental.

Congratulations JHCT. How long have you been a man? Bet it wasn't easy.

[lianmolive]

JHCT-
I do have questions about notions of gender, which maybe you can answer or direct me to a good site and even a good book. Question: while there are biological differences between the sexes (and yes some gender "doings" are directly related to biological differences), gender differences are not static, are ever-evolving and also superficial. I've heard transgendered females say they always wanted to wear dresses and paint their nails, you know all the stuff most girls do. But these are social constructs. I remember at age 7, the boys were NOT allowed at our "nail painting" table, directed by female aides. In Plato days, men wore dresses (robes). Make-up for only women is relatively new. If women suddenly stopped with these social constructs or men took these up, would Transgendered Women / Men still desire such?

And I'm not referring to any sexual aspects.

I hear many people say that women/men do this or that because they are this or that, not taking into account religion and culture. 20 years ago we thought chest hair on men was attractive... 10 years ago to present, we see men waxing their chests. How many times have I heard "God intended women to have hair on their heads, but no where else on their bodies." Well I could go on and on... do you know what I'm getting at?

[lianmolive]

uh... how about to give voice to a struggle some people can relate to... how about shattering notions of stereotypes... or to simply "come out" so as to have self-freedom, self esteem, and dignity?

Oh, and let's not forget... to fight ignorance.

Your comment reminds me of why many victims remain quiet... because once they "announce" something, they won't be left alone. So are you implying a person cannot announce, admit, declare something publicly if they want privacy? Example, a person announcing cancer, is it justifiable for there to be an ONGOING media blitz because it was announced or explained to the public?

[Kristen777]

I wish her well and peace in her life.

[bokiluis]

My thoughts are with you Chas and I wish you well through this difficult, but, transformative process.
Life is too short not to be true to what is truly your calling.

[cinemaven]

I wish him well. It must be so difficult having to live your life in public when you were born to it instead of choosing it.

[zenwhenicanbe2]

i've get a childhood friend who's sister is going through this.......... it's just really difficult for her..i mean him... and "his" entire family. They've had about ten years to get used to it but asking people to change the pronoun they grew up with is pretty challenging. It just takes a long time to get used to... a long time.

[AKAM80THEWOLF]

My sister-in-law's brother had a sex change operation to become a woman. My Christian parents didn't act very Christ-like when talking about the new 'her'. I'm a very open individual and it did take me just a little bit to adjust to the new situation. I don't know how it is with other people who undergo the surgery, but she did not force the pronoun change on anyone, and never once asked anyone to use it or corrected someone when they actually used 'he' or her former name.

I'm just reminded of all the negative comments my Christian (I am not Christian) family made about how my nephews had to be around 'it'. She takes better care of my nephews and sees them more often than their own fathers, and they accept her with open arms.

[dirigentin]

We used to have someone at our church who I'm pretty sure was in the transitioning process from male to female (s/he never really explained); aside from not being able to pinpoint it (he or she? we can't tell), people at church welcomed this person with open arms. S/he was quite active in several activities, and is missed to this day.

[lianmolive]

Did you know Iran actually supports sex changes? And we say they're completely backwards!

[HowSoonIsNow]

Ten years and they still cannot use the correct pronoun?

That is their decision to winningly ignore his stated gender identity.

It isn't about how challenging it is for THEM; imagine the challenges HE grew up with knowing that his appearance did not match whom he knew himself to be.

[cloudmaker]

Good for you Chastity. I hope the change makes you happy and fulfilled. Allow me to
suggest a new name: Chase.

[LintLass]

Actually, apparently Chaz is the thing, at least for now. :)

[thenorthshore]

is the photo

a before or

an after

[american-dolt]

perfect

[madfigs]

That's the current photo. If he starts taking testosterone, you will be able to see the difference in a few months... facial hair and the face itself will become more masculine. It's actually pretty amazing what just some hormones will do.

[PuddinPie]

I think thenorthshore is being facetious.

[stonelaw]

Ok, I have to ask, and I mean no disrespect to anyone - but other than testosterone, it would seem other things would be involved in turning a woman into a man or man into a woman. The "other" things would seem more medically possible in a man to woman thing - but, assuming its more than testosterone, how can they do it?

Again, no disrespect intended.

[Charlesfoster]

LOL

[Vurz]

Good for him! I wish him nothing but the best.

[juliaizen]

Personally, I find having to define myself by my gender, anatomy, race, religion, etc., to be oppressive. I have always felt myself to be "human." We are all a marvelous mixture of so many things; sometimes I play at being a "man", other times a "woman"; but, I am always "me", and that is all I have ever wanted to be. Having myself surgically altered, will not change that. If Chaz wants to pretend to be a "man", I totally support her, but regardless of her genitalia, she will always simply be "Chaz", which is, and has always been, wonderful.

[massthreat]

Good for him. Gender is a whole different game from sexuality, but both are the latest-last frontiers for broad social acceptance. If you don't understand either, think before you speak, and then go read. If you have a problem with him surgically bringing himself more in alignment with who he wants to be, or feels himself to be, you should also take a good look at your likely unblinking acceptance of his mother's multiple (endless) cosmetic updates--that is what they are--simply cosmetic. And this is far more.

[dlpcs]

This is a very sensitive subject.

Imagine having to go through this process publicly? It takes a very brave person to go through gender reassignment surgery, but knowing you will be doing it while all the tabloids will be waiting in the wings for any bit of gossip, that takes a lot of strengh and courage.

I wish Chaz, and his whole family, the very best.

[Carolab]

Why not?