Chaz Bono First Interview: As a Man

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 finally enjoying life as a man.

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.”

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.”

Read More at US Magazine

Cher’s daughter Chastity Bono sex change: changing gender from female to male

The daughter of Cher, Chastity Bono, 40, is reportedly having a sex change in order to transition from female to male.

Publicist Howard Bragman said:

“Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity,” Bragman said.

“He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by 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.”

Transitioning typically involves hormone therapy, and sometimes - although not always - includes surgery.