Cher's Daughter Transitioning From Female to Male

[Nova]

According to numerous reports....Sony was very accepting of Chaz / Chastity's coming out. Cher had a major problem with it and asked her to leave the house. It wasn't until Chaz / Chastity came out publicly and became an advocate for gay rights that Cher came to accept it. Ironically, Sony Bono was a republican in California and while he accpeted his daughter his political party did not.

You're right about the process, but I don't believe it took that long for Cher to see the light. Per Wikipedia, Chastity came out to her parents when she was 18: that would be about 1987. She didn't come out publicly until 1995 (although she was first outed by a tabloid in 1990).

Wiki quotes a source saying Cher said she "went ballistic for a few days."

Wiki and other sites also say that while Sonny Bono accepted his daughter when she first came out, they later became estranged over their respective political work and weren't in contact when Sonny was killed.

 

[Nova]

None of my transgendered friends were raised in Hollywood or around men who dressed like women!

Am I the only one who remembers the 70s!?

Sonny and Cher were rock stars, as was Cher's second husband, one of the Allmann Brothers.

I'm not saying Sonny and Cher were bad parents, but I'll bet "men who dressed like women" was the least of what the kids saw. :woohoo:

(And, of course, none of it made them gay or transgendered.)

 

[SeriouslySearching]

If having a little tiny penis makes her happy...who are we to judge?!

 

[ziggy]

My best to him. It's a serious decision and there is so much to go through. You know transgender people must want/need it bad. I hope it all works out and that once done, it was the absolutely right decision.

I'm sure it's much harder on the family because in a sense, the other person is dying, never to be seen again in a sense. I can't really imagine.

 

[Nova]

My best to him. It's a serious decision and there is so much to go through. You know transgender people must want/need it bad. I hope it all works out and that once done, it was the absolutely right decision.

I'm sure it's much harder on the family because in a sense, the other person is dying, never to be seen again in a sense. I can't really imagine.

Well put, ziggy. But isn't that true of all our children in some sense?

At some point, they announce who they really are and we mourn the death of whatever dreams we invented for them.

Our culture is obsessed with rigid ideas of gender, so of course a gender change is huge, to the individual and his/her loved ones. But our children never turn out exactly as we imagined they would. Nor should they, if they were raised well.

 

[Nova]

Are we sure that Chaz intends to transform surgically?

While researching his coming out, etc., I found one site where a transgender expert cautions that the vast majority of transgenders do not completely alter their physical bodies. They simply change their names, dress, etc. to conform to the gender that is true to them.

 

[BeavisMom62]

Are we sure that Chaz intends to transform surgically?

While researching his coming out, etc., I found one site where a transgender expert cautions that the vast majority of transgenders do not completely alter their physical bodies. They simply change their names, dress, etc. to conform to the gender that is true to them.

But wouldn't that make her/him a transexual?

 

[Nova]

But wouldn't that make her/him a transexual?

I wasn't sure either and had to look it up. Wiki seems pretty up-to-date:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transgender



If I understand what I read, transexuals are those who get the surgery (or are preparing to do so); "transgender" can mean a lot of things, but generally refers to some disagreement in the individual's perception vs. public perception and/or biological sex.

So if Chaz is using the terms in the same way, announcing a transgender identity and a transition to male may or may not mean eventual surgery.

 

[ziggy]

Well put, ziggy. But isn't that true of all our children in some sense?

At some point, they announce who they really are and we mourn the death of whatever dreams we invented for them.

Our culture is obsessed with rigid ideas of gender, so of course a gender change is huge, to the individual and his/her loved ones. But our children never turn out exactly as we imagined they would. Nor should they, if they were raised well.

In a sense, yes, however even when you have that vision of the 10 year old little girl who messed up her nail polish the first time and then you see her when she's going off to college, you still see much of the same girl, even though you've lost the sweet little 10 year old forever. Seeing a man would yield little of the memory of the girl. Much harder. And giving up our images of what our children might become is hard, yes, but you want their lives to be good and for them to be happy and sometimes that is the epitomy of love - selfless. Hard as it will be, I'm sure Cher will always love him and support him.

I don't think we're gender obsessed. I just think that the majority of men and women, boys and girls are different and that their gender is the reason. We see very boy traits in most boys no matter how many dolls we have them play with when they are young. They still pick up a stick and pretend it's a gun.

Nature and humanity are mostly very gender specific. Have you ever tried to manually fertilize a blossom to bear a fruit? There's a male part and a female part, both absolutely necessary. I don't think we just dream up these natural differences. Everyone hates the idea of "normal" because it is not PC, but there is such a thing.

I think you mean to say that we put too much emphasis on what I'm calling normal and that when something is other than, it's bad. We should not label something as bad because it is different.

In cases where people don't fit into one or the other, we don't tolerate it because we don't "get it". I really do feel for these people and know in my heart they aren't doing this on a whim.

Understanding what it takes to get to this point is important. We may never "get it" but we can certainly accept that they must have this need and be kind.

Now be nice, because I'm pretty sure I'm a drag queen trapped inside a woman's body

 

[oh_gal]

Taking my post out, because I think it's already been addressed/asked.

 

[cornflakekid]

I'm not sure how I feel about this, for or against. It seems strange to me, like becoming a whole new person regardless of sex change. Does one get a new birth certificate? How does all that work legally? Just curious, not trying to be funny.

I wouldn't know how to feel about this if it happened to someone in my family. Do I suddenly tell everyone my sister is my brother or my daughter is now my son. I think it would take a great deal to accept, not only for the family, but the family has to deal with their friends that might react negatively. I think the person deciding to do this should really think through not only the impact on themselves, but on the people who love them.

 

[Elphaba]

I think that in some states all that it takes is the removal of the breast to be able to ask for a legal change of sex... so at the very least, Chaz has either gone under the knife or is planning to, to remove the breast. (The female genitalia can be coaxed into a viable male sexual organ, with hormone therapy)

Birth certificate: California issues a new birth certificate for a change of sex, where as states like Alabama just amend the birth certificate. I think Chaz is a resident of CA, so he will get a totally new birth certificate.

Bravo to him... and yes, once he is legally male, he can legally marry a woman.

I remember when he came out, Cher didn't take it well but Sonny accepted and supported Chaz. ( Cher is one of the most loved icons in the gay community, to which she embraces... I can imagine that it had to hurt Chaz that while Cher embraced the gay community, she had a hard time dealing with Chaz being gay). I was glad to hear that Cher finally came around... no matter what sexuality your child is, they are still your child and have the same heart and soul that deserves unconditional love.

 

[lizzybeth]

(snipped) I was glad to hear that Cher finally came around... no matter what sexuality your child is, they are still your child and have the same heart and soul that deserves unconditional love.

While it was difficult when my friend told me that he was transgendering (is that a word?), I felt the same way. It was the same person I knew and loved on the inside.

 

[lizzybeth]

(snipped)

I'm sure it's much harder on the family because in a sense, the other person is dying, never to be seen again in a sense. I can't really imagine.

Another statement I agree with. Even though I accepted it, and I know it's the same person inside, I still miss my Frank. It's hard to know that I will never see him again or hear his voice. It doesn't mean I don't love this person.

 

[daisy.faithfull]

Last I heard, Cher was sending out new birth announcements saying "It's a Boy."
I too wish Chaz luck and an easy transition.

Hi azwriter,

Do you remember a couple years back maybe there were some transgendered people were having a hard time with one of the clubs out here? I can't remember exactly what the issue was, but at the time I knew a woman who was tg and from what she said there is a huge tg activist community... I don't know if we've ever had a celebrity transgender activist... Chaz will probably be picking up that sword. (Really no pun intended!)

Anyway, best of everything the Chaz and to Cher as well! It is a very brave thing he is doing, especially with the media attentions etc.

 

[January.]

To each their own...

 

[cornflakekid]

Last I heard, Cher was sending out new birth announcements saying "It's a Boy."
I too wish Chaz luck and an easy transition.

Cher did actually blog about this on her myspace page

 

[1000Sparks]

Chastity is still Chastity...not chaz...and not a male

A person has to be screwed up royally to have a surgery like this.

being a homosexual is a totally different story.

 

[cinsbythesea]

Chastity is still Chastity...not chaz...and not a male

A person has to be screwed up royally to have a surgery like this.

being a homosexual is a totally different story.

Some people genuninely feel they were born in the wrong body/sex. I worked in a large hospital in SF where they did transgender assignments and it was heartbreaking to listen to these people and the pain they suffered from early ages- feeling like they were a boy when they were born a girl or vice-versa. They also have to go through extensive psychological counseling before any gender reassignment is done - if they were "royally screwed up" the reassignment more than likely wouldn't take place. You have to be psychologically adjusted to make such a radical decision for yourself and then be able to live with it.

We did have one patient - out of the many that I dealt with - that was just heartbreaking. He really did have some issues - he was born a male - went through the gender reassignment to become a female and once a female decided that he wanted to be male again. You could just feel his distress and his inability to live with himself in either gender. I often wonder what became of him.

 

[DollyPardonMe]

Some people genuninely feel they were born in the wrong body/sex. I worked in a large hospital in SF where they did transgender assignments and it was heartbreaking to listen to these people and the pain they suffered from early ages- feeling like they were a boy when they were born a girl or vice-versa. They also have to go through extensive psychological counseling before any gender reassignment is done - if they were "royally screwed up" the reassignment more than likely wouldn't take place. You have to be psychologically adjusted to make such a radical decision for yourself and then be able to live with it.

We did have one patient - out of the many that I dealt with - that was just heartbreaking. He really did have some issues - he was born a male - went through the gender reassignment to become a female and once a female decided that he wanted to be male again. You could just feel his distress and his inability to live with himself in either gender. I often wonder what became of him.

Yeah, This is what I just don't understand :waitasec: My daughters friend at work was dating a police officer. He decided he wanted to become a female. So he went through the surgery (ouch) which I hear was painful, he was miserable...NOW, he is a female and loves women, so he considers himself to be a lesbian :waitasec: :waitasec: I would think the problem would be more of a psychological one that would require years of therapy before getting surgery And with Chaz wanting to be a man and Cher's son with Greg Allman wearing woman's clothing maybe it's just a highly dysfunctional family thingy!