Chastity Bono's Coming Out again . .

[DGoddess]

It was roughly 20 years ago when this precious little girl who appeared with her famous parents on their weekly variety show came out of the closet and announced she was a lesbian.

Now he has announced he's undergoing the transitioning to become a male. The news media is in a frenzy over this news.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090612...eoplemusicbono

Personally, I think the biggest recipe for happiness is being honest with oneself and being comfortable in one's own skin.

If Chaz (as Chastity prefers to be called now) is happy and has the courage of his convictions to live his life as he chooses, then I'm happy for him.

[tabbyblack13]

I am happy to see someone with some notoriety not afraid of speaking out. From what I understand many people undergo transitions and are discriminated against. If it makes him happy then there should be no issue.

[the_std]

I can't really see anyone but the "GOD SAYS IT AIN'T RIGHT!" crowd having anything bad to say about this. He's becoming who he really is, and that's that.

[daleduke17]

Allow me to ask: who cares?

She's not even a celebrity. Why does the world give a shit if someone wants to have a sex change? It doesn't concern anybody. This is what is wrong with society. Society gives more of a damn about the daughter of a singer having a sex change instead of more important things.

[PepperElf]

daleduke - ROFL

good point.

bout the only time ive ever cared about a "celeb" getting a sex change was when i was just bored and went to wikipedia to look up a female musician i listen to... only to go "what the heck? who's this guy?... o wow, this is interesting" and frankly... i cared mostly cos i wanted to hear his new voice after i heard about it.

[Boozy]

An FYI: Transgendered individuals should be referred to by their preferred gender. So in this case, everyone should be using the pronoun "he" when referring to the person formerly known as Chastity Bono. This applies even in cases where the surgery hasn't been performed yet, or may never be performed. He is now living as a man and identifying as a man, regardless of the equipment he has.

[BlaqueKatt]

Allow me to ask: who cares?<snip>
Why does the world give a shit if someone wants to have a sex change?

Who cares? Those that are discriminated against by society due to being transgendered themselves.

why does the world "give a shit"-because someone who people look up to(yes there are people who admire Cher), can accept their daughter becoming their son, maybe someone who has been holding back who they really are can feel confident enough to be themselves.

At my call center I worked with 3 transgendered individuals-one MTF post-op, one MTF pre-op and one FTM pre-op. The MTF pre-op was forced to quit due to harassment for using the women's restroom. Yes some of the other women were "uncomfortable" and complained to HR. They told her she had to use the men's room, she then got flak for that because she wore dresses-that poor girl was reduced to tears on more than one occasion-there were exactly two of us that stood up for her, everyone else called her a "freak". She was 18 and one of the most friendly, outgoing, kind, and sweet girls you would ever want to meet(plus she had gorgeous long blonde curly hair-she let me braid it on lunch breaks), but no one could get past their gender issues. And no it was not L's issues, she knew who she was.

[Greenday]

I'm with daleduke. Why is this news? She wants a sex change? Go for it. But there's thing to talk about that's actually important. Like the war that's being completely ignored. Prop 8. Stuff that greatly affects the country.

[JuniorMintz]

But there's thing to talk about that's actually important. Like the war that's being completely ignored. Prop 8. Stuff that greatly affects the country.

On a related note, how unfair is it that Chaz can *finally* get married to his partner, but only after undergoing a major medical procedure?

Good thing he comes from a wealthy family. What of those who can't afford to have the same treatments?

[AFPheonix]

I'm with daleduke. Why is this news? She wants a sex change? Go for it. But there's thing to talk about that's actually important. Like the war that's being completely ignored. Prop 8. Stuff that greatly affects the country.

Why not? Surely today's media can carry multiple stories.

Most every cause usually needs someone with some pull to stick up for them, and although Chaz is a C-list celeb at best, he can at least put a very human face on a segment of society that isn't always well understood by the general public.

[daleduke17]

Why not? Surely today's media can carry multiple stories.

Most every cause usually needs someone with some pull to stick up for them, and although Chaz is a C-list celeb at best, he can at least put a very human face on a segment of society that isn't always well understood by the general public.

The problem I have with it is that the media is making this their main focus. She isn't even a D-List celebrity. What's her claim to fame? Singing on a television show a handful of times 30+ years ago and attempting to lose weight on a "reality" TV show.

On a related note, how unfair is it that Chaz can *finally* get married to his partner, but only after undergoing a major medical procedure?

If the area they live in still does blood tests, I don't think so. As long as the DNA shows the person is female, it would still be a same-sex marriage.

Good thing he comes from a wealthy family. What of those who can't afford to have the same treatments?

Then they don't get the procedures done.

[AFPheonix]

That's funny, a visit to several main news sites including Time and CNN have the Iranian election as the top story. I didn't even see Chastity's name on the front page at all. Hell, it wasn't even top news on What Would Tyler Durden Do, currently the top story on there is Megan Fox being single.

What media are you watching?

[Rubystars]

She will never truly be a he, regardless of what kind of surgeries happen. It will just be a woman with mutilated genitalia. Why people refer to this as changing the person's sex, I have never been able to figure out. Her sex will not change. She will just have a doctor mutilate her to appear more male.

[BlaqueKatt]

Why people refer to this as changing the person's sex, I have never been able to figure out.

they don't, Genital surgery is often referred to as "sex reassignment surgery", genital reconstructive surgery, or gender reassignment surgery. Differences in terminology can depend on the preference of the surgeon or recipient, or the nature of the surgery involved. Some consider “sex change surgery” to be disrespectful.

From WIKI



Transsexuals can have difficulty maintaining employment. Most find it necessary to remain employed during transition in order to cover the costs of living and transition. However, employment discrimination against transpeople is rampant and many of them are fired when they come out or are involuntarily outed at work. Transsexual people must decide whether to transition on-the-job, or to find a new job when they make their social transition. Finding employment can be especially challenging for those in mid-transition.


gender has nothing to do with biological sex-it was originally a linguistic word only.

gen·der

1 a: a subclass within a grammatical class (as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (as shape, social rank, manner of existence, or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms b: membership of a word or a grammatical form in such a subclass c: an inflectional form showing membership in such a subclass2

a: sex <the feminine gender> b: the behavioral, cultural, or psychological traits typically associated with one sex.

[JuniorMintz]

If the area they live in still does blood tests, I don't think so. As long as the DNA shows the person is female, it would still be a same-sex marriage.

I was married in the same state and we were not required to have our blood tested. To the best of my knowledge, those states that *do* require blood testing/physicals do so mainly to screen for STDs. http://www.usmarriagelaws.com/search...ts/index.shtml

Then they don't get the procedures done.

Well, yeah, that was kind of my point. How is it fair that a person can only marry their partner if they undergo major surgery like gender reassignment, but not if they are unable to do so?