Chastity Bono is becoming a man!
Chastity Bono, civil rights advocate, journalist, author and musician, is in the early stages of changing his gender — transitioning from female to male, TMZ has learned.
Bono, the child of legendary entertainers Sonny and Cher, began the process earlier this year, shortly after his 40th birthday.
“Yes, it’s true — Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity,” confirmed Bono’s publicist, Howard Bragman.
“He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his loved ones. It is Chaz’s hope that his choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue, just as his ‘coming out’ did nearly 20 years ago.
We ask that the media respect Chaz’s privacy during this long process as he will not be doing any interviews at this time.”
Maybe I’m naive, but how exactly does one transition into a male? I know how you transition from male to female – but you can’t exactly GROW extra parts, can you??
June 11th, 2009 at 12:27 pm
Yes you can, they make a skin graft from the thighs and form a zylindrical “organ”, they can somehow expand the sensitive tissues and form the into a bell end and all that, and it doesn’t look too bad, I saw it in a documentary.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
I watched a documentary along the same lines as well. Two words – ‘PLASTIC SURGERY’, we can buy almost anything we want now a days.
June 11th, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Or they use hormones, that grow the clitoris. I seen that way on a documentry as well
June 11th, 2009 at 2:14 pm
What, your gender is defined by what’s between your legs? If a guy loses his penis in an accident, does he lose his “man” status??
June 11th, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Becoming?
June 11th, 2009 at 4:18 pm
With all the things going on in this world how about if CNN tries to get back to publishing “News”? Who the hell cares if someone changes their sex? I realize there are those groups who agree and disagree but why is this on your front page (or even on your site). This if for the Tabloids, People, Us, and all the other rags that think publishing the lives of others is “news”. Maybe tomorrow you can do a follow up to your Adam Lambert story again telling us more about his coming out? that was real news. OPEN YOUR EYES…it was clear he was gay…you did not have to publish that one either. Find something news worthy and leave the crap reporting to the crap reporters.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:20 pm
I thought she was a man decades ago.
The only real drawback to Chaz’ decision? His own mother will now want to date him. Ick.
June 11th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
hahaha
June 11th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Is this really news worthy? Nice agenda. Trash.
June 11th, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Mainstream news coverage of gender identity issues almost always shows fundamental misunderstanding of the issues. It’s true of the press and true of the blogs. I’ll be interested to hear Chaz speak for himself.
As for “becoming a man”, consider that what people think of as “sex change surgery” is coming to be known as “gender confirming surgery”
June 11th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
No matter What you folks say, perversion is perversion.
Chastity Bono (That IS her name, and her “Chosen Gender” notwithstanding) is STILL Female. Just like that “Pregnant Man” who is REALLY a Woman, Chastity Bono IS FEMALE.
Her father must be spinning in his grave. And Judgement is near for this perv.
June 11th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Well, the process takes a long time. First there\’s the living as the \"target\" sex for a year – this is for the psychological part, which has never made any sense to me – then there\’s the hormonal therapy, which for females-to-males (FTM) – it\’s the extra testosterone (we make a little bit of it ourselves naturally) that does the hormonal changes – like muscular density, body hair, and voice change – also where the \"roid rage\" comes from but not like body builders but still enough to notice a difference. At first they start with pills and then graduate up to injections which they must maintain for the rest of their lives. Okay, then there\’s the surgical procedures – the easy one is the double mastectomy and then (and sorry, I\’m not familiar with them using grafts from the thigh) there\’s the abdominalplasty – same thing as a tummy-tuck only instead of tossing, it, they clean it up, thin it out and roll it up to create a tube. That\’s one aspect – this is the twig. They just attach that and the patient then must endure a fairly difficult recuperation period (which may be why they started using thighs, but like I said…I had not heard of this personally) – anyway to get the berries, they insert plastic forms (same material for chin implants) into the outer labia. Of course, there\’s a total hysterectomy – don\’t need the uterus and ovaries screwing up the hormone system – and there you have it. The clitoris does enlarge on it\’s own but the size is not really enough to produce visual satisfaction (did I say that kindly enough?), so they use the tissue from the graft to incirculate the clitoris to create a sheath. Does it get hard? Not by familiar standards, but there are several methods to utilize (as simple as using multiple condoms) to generate enough rigidity for um…penetration. Is there ejaculation? Not in the traditional sense, I would imagine it would be something more like what it was as a female – clitoral orgasms rather than the stronger uterine contractions. …
Okay – so I know that it\’s on your mind about Male to Female – the process is in \"reverse\" – same beginning process, but with the hormones, Estrogen and Progestrone are increased (guys make a little bit of this naturally) so that eventually, the cartilage softens where the Adam\’s Apple used to be (it doesn\’t go entirely away but to the point of not being noticeable), the vocal chords tighten and create a higher pitched voice than before, and body hair decreases but electrolysis is required for complete. The male breast may become a little more pronounced with the hormone therapy but augmentation is used to create rounded female breasts – the giveaway though is the smaller nipples and that can\’t be changed. The gonads are removed and the penis is virtually turned inside out to create a sheath resembling a vagina.
Here\’s the things that a transsexual cannot fix – for FTMs – they tend to be on the small-ish side, avg height for women is 67 inches. The bone structure tends to be a more delicate for girls and that\’s hard to hide. An Endomorphic somatic type – which is common in women (a pear shape) does not change with hormone therapy – so Chaz will have to watch for that – keep the weight down and watch the hips…
As for MTFs – the height and bone structure tend to unfortunately give them away. A Mesomorphic body structure (The \"Y\" figure)can be mistaken as an \"Apple\" shape but the large hands, size 13 shoe and 73\" height, usually cause the Male to Female to not blend in as best as they would hope.
So having explained all that – the Pregnant Man, Thomas Beatie, is a FTM but did not have the hysterectomy and penile construction done. With his female reproductive system still intact, he was able to conceive and bear children in the fairly normal fashion – thus, the debates regarding whether Beatie is a Pregnant Man or a female with double mastectomy on testosterone therapy. It all falls onto how you wish to respect or honor their wish – my thinking, if it looks like a guy, then it\’s a guy – doesn\’t bother me any.
Hopefully I answered more questions than created – as for the psychology behind this – I can\’t answer that, I just know the medical stuff.
June 11th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Wow, Mezbit… thank you.
As for CWB… you are a fucker, and Judgement day is waiting for you too you asshole.
June 11th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
I’m sorry.. I’m not anti-gay or anti-GID or whatever, but I still think you’ve gotta be kidding yourself if you think chopping off your balls or wedging something into your vagina is going to make you a man or woman. Why can’t people just be happy as a masculine woman or as a feminine man? It’s not good for the body to do all that surgery and it still doesn’t REALLY change anything. I mean fine, I’ll call you a “he”, Chaz, if that’s what you want, but you’re not a guy. You were born female, just as I was.
June 12th, 2009 at 12:23 am
Are you fucking kidding? becoming a man? Is, was, looks like, doesn’t like, and dresses like….. A MAN. This IS NOT NEWS. New Headline: I saw a bear shit in the woods…
June 12th, 2009 at 1:24 am
I’m really confusedddd …
SHE is a lesbian. If she changes to a man, she can’t exactly BE a lesbian too? Right? So then she also can’t say she’s “gay” because as a man, that would mean he likes men. But she doesn’t like men, he likes women. So now he’s not a lesbian and he’s not gay, but he’s still a homosexual, so to speak.
**brain explosion**
June 12th, 2009 at 6:29 am
She might start by losing the lip gloss!!
June 12th, 2009 at 7:37 am
Cut, dice, splice all you want. Every cell is still xx, making every cell female, making the organism female. Any change with plastic surgery still contains a fake organ made of xx cells- female. Sex changes feed on people with emotional and social instabilities to take their money. It is a complete hoax that mutilates the body of a person who has already had their life mutilated by abuse and tragedy.
June 12th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Ok, so why is everyone making this into such a huge deal? sexual identity is a PERSONAL thing. No one has the right to judge other on who they choose to love. As for people dissecting Chaz, He identifies as a straight man. He has probably felt uncomfortable in his body his whole life and has finally decide to make the outside match the inside. NO ONE has the right to judge. If there was something a regular person could do to make them feel more comfortable in their skin, no matter what is was, i’m sure they would do it. Chaz is a transman. Wake up people, its 2009, get over it.
June 12th, 2009 at 8:55 am
I think it’s great and I certainly think it’s news worthy. There are a lot of kids that struggle with these issues of feeling as though they don’t belong in they’re own body. What a confusing and lonely feeling! So to have a public figure going through what they are and speaking up about it instead of hiding is wonderful.
June 12th, 2009 at 10:09 am
I think it’s all a publicity stunt. Now he will be able to legally marry in CA.
June 12th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
My grandson is 3. Already he knows he is in the wrong body. His parents have done a lot of research and help him – so he is loved. Many are shunned by parents or told they are bad. He chooses male clothes in situations where he knows it is the norm and dresses as a princess at home where he is accepted. He’s already learning how to address this issue so he can be comfortable and pay attention to being a child and I assume, when he is older, he will choose to live as a female. He has taught us all so much – love, acceptance, wisdom – even humor as he jokes about what to wear and where! Chaz and others..thank you for the steps you have taken to allow my grandson to follow on the path you made. I hope all here and everywhere can accept that gender is on a continuum and is biologically based.
June 12th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
To all you who feel the need to express that this ‘isn’t news-worthy’…you are readying a gossip site-isn’t that the whole point? Get over it and read something else if you don’t like it.
As to his decision-rock on…for doing it and for sharing it. Maybe his decision will give someone else the courage to follow his/her heart.
(…and a small side note-yes, plastic surg. can ‘gain’ you almost anything but this process…eek! doesn’t sound easy! Kinda makes me thing someone wouldn’t just do it for publicity…just sayin’…)
June 12th, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Cher must be totally heartbroken and Sonny would have possibly never wanted life this way with his daughters decision
What happened to Chasity, The little innocent girl with blond hair that made the Sonny and Cher show as famous as ever in the 60s and 70s
Chasity I wish youd reconsider but will still respect your decision.
Cher well wishes979936
June 13th, 2009 at 5:09 am
I could care less that he’s transitioning, I’m more concerned with the fact that he choses the name Chaz. Ugh.
June 13th, 2009 at 6:10 am
How to explain…
It’s a lot more complicated than most people think. For 59 people out of 60, everything matches. Chromosomes, genitalia, endocrinology, neurology. And most of those who have anomalies are asymptomatic, or nearly so.
For 1 in 1000 though, the anomalies can be pretty darned spectacular.
One of them is transsexuality. Cross-gendered neurology, compared with most or all of the rest of the body. There’s often other Intersex conditions too, maybe 1 in 10.
Chaz was born a boy with a feminised body. He’s tried living as a lesbian for 40 years, but lesbians aren’t men, and he’s a man. Now he’s getting his body made as consistent as it can be.
That’s it.
See, for example:
A Sex Difference in the Human Brain and its Relation to Transsexuality by Zhou et al.
Male-to-Female Transsexuals Have Female Neuron Numbers in a Limbic Nucleus by Kruijver et al:
fMRT zur Diagnose bei Transsexualität geprüft (An Examination of the use of fMRT for diagnosing Transsexuality) (ArzteZeitung, 2006)
A sex difference in the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus: relationship to gender identity by
A. Garcia-Falgueras A and D.F. Swaab.
Male-to-female transsexuals show sex-atypical hypothalamus activation when smelling odorous steroids. by Berglund H, Lindström P, Dhejne-Helmy C, and Savic I.
And so on and so on. As Prof Ecker MD said recently at the APA annual conference:
“We spoke for 2 1/2 hours on why cross gender identity was a normal inherited variation of humans. We showed how Transgender Brains think, smell, and hear like the opposite sex.
…
My greatest personal compliment came from Frank Kruijver, from Holland, whose research of the human brain in TSs started it all. He thought we have taken his work very far in our understanding of the human brain.”
The only decision Chaz made was whether to continue trying to pretend for other people’s benefit, or to act with integrity and align the rest of his body with his neurology.
A lot of people will disapprove of that, as it makes them feel uncomfortable that such situations can exist. It’s a good job they don’t research some other Intersex conditions, such as 5alpha-reductase-2 deficiency or 17beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase-3 deficiency. People with either of those get a natural sex change from female to male. Which can either cure or cause transsexuality.
As I said, it’s more complicated than people think.
June 13th, 2009 at 9:16 am
So after the change will s/he like women or men? It seems that the homosexuality will be somehow lost on the operating table.
June 13th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
She’s not only becoming a man. She’s becoming Lou Pearlman, she’s putting the bands back together. Backstreet Boys and N’Sync revival tours! Hell yeah!
Plus on a more serious note, anyone who thinks plastic surgery makes a woman a man is a complete moron.
If you dont understand genetics and dna, let’s put it this way. A man genetically has a Y chromosome. She will never have a Y chromosome. She will always have an XX chomosomal makeup meaning she will always be a woman despite what the brainwashed liberal tards may tell you. Sure theyll come up with some twisted logic to say gender is not all about dna. But, it actually is.
Gender is determined by genetics. Not b/c a woman shoots up steroids and has breast reduction surgery and an adadicktomy procedure done to fool people.
Sad this money isnt going to feed starving children instead she is so concerned about what others perceive her as, she wants them so desparately to believe that she’s an ugly obese male.
As far as I can tell, she’s never accomplished anything except contribute to global warming and feeding her face with Cher’s money.
Here’s to having obesity and diabetes catch up to this waste of food and life.
June 16th, 2009 at 7:42 am
naming your child “Chastity” may have had a damaging effect on her/him. Can you imagine growing up with a name that means “to abstain from sex?” Maybe that had someting to do with the penis envy??? Name your children someting normal, it helps them identify positively with themselves, it is their NAME and they are identified by it for cripes sakes!
June 16th, 2009 at 7:02 pm
I\\\\\\\’m not tripping on the transition thing. Way to go Chaz.
But since when has Chaz been an author, journalist, and musician? What?????
How about big fat trust fund baby huey.