April 19, 2010
Chaz (Formerly Chastity) Bono in Final Stage of Gender Transitioning
Steve Weinstein READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Chastity Bono had always lived her life in the public eye. As the daughter of the prototypical '60s hippie couple, she was born while her parents were headlining a hugely popular TV variety show. Chastity's father later became the mayor of Palm Springs and then a popular GOP congressman. (Stepmother Mary Bono now occupies the same seat in Congress.) The mother, of course, is one of the most singular gay icons as a singer, actress, and all-around party gal.
Now Chastity is in the final stage of transitioning from the former "she" to "he." The musician and LGBT rights activist made headlines a year ago when she announced that he planned to change genders.
The Telegraph, a British national newspaper, is reporting that Chaz, as he is now known, appeared at the GLAAD Awards in Los Angeles over the weekend.
"Wearing a suit and tie and with cropped dark hair, he was accompanied by a woman believed to be his girlfriend, Jennifer Elia," the newspaper reported. Now 41, Chaz has undergone sex-change surgeries. His appearance has consequently changed.
"Gender is between your ears, not between your legs," he told a TV interviewer last fall. " I've felt male as far back as I can remember. As a child it was really clear. I felt like a boy."
His celebrated mother expressed support for her child's decision. Chaz Bono came out to her family first, and then to the world in the Advocate. Since then, she has discussed coming out in two books, as well as a memoir. Her transition began in 2008.
Steve Weinstein has been a regular correspondent for the International Herald Tribune, the Advocate, the Village Voice and Out. He has been covering the AIDS crisis since the early '80s, when he began his career. He is the author of "The Q Guide to Fire Island" (Alyson, 2007).
