Three Cheers For Chaz

Like most people my age, I loved The Sonny and Cher Show. Sonny was the foil to Cher's wisecracks, and Cher was stunning. Love her or hate her, you couldn't take your eyes off her. It was a special treat when little Chastity would join them to close the show, usually in Sonny's arms. The perfect, happy family, Hollywood style. Fast forward to today, and Chastity is now Chaz, having undergone gender transition surgery. A writer and activist, and strangest of all to me, a contestant on Dancing With the Stars.
Let's back it up a little. After years of being outed by tabloids, Chastity came out in the cover story of The Advocate in 1995. Although she had already told her parents she was a lesbian, making it public didn't sit well with her father, now a Republican Congressman, nor her mother, who enjoyed her own status as a gay icon. Sonny and Chastity were said to still be estranged at the time of his death in 1998. Cher eventually rallied 'round her only daughter, becoming a proud mother in the Gay and Lesbian community.
Which brings us back to Chaz. To have the courage to undertake the long, arduous, painful process of gender reassignment is amazing to me. To be a public figure, and the child of such famous parents, it must have been twice as hard. To already be under public scrutiny and have the guts, or should I say it? the balls to become the person you know you were meant to be takes more strength and courage than I'll ever have. It angers me that "Christian Family" groups are protesting ABC and DWTS for having Chaz on the show. One spokesperson actually said the bible says transgender people shouldn't be on the show. I didn't know the bible even mentioned Dancing With the Stars! All this while hiding behind the name of Jesus. Did Jesus not make Chastity Bono? Did Jesus not make gay people? If you don't want to see him on DWTS then change the channel. Don't know what to tell your 5 year old about it? How about NOTHING! Or if you must, how about that Jesus ( or whomever ) made and loves us all? This bright, caring soul has written a book called Family Outing, which helps our children understand that they are not freaks and that they are not alone. He, and yes, he has earned the pronoun, wrote a new book about this journey. If it helps someone, great. If you don't care to read it, please don't! If he feels fulfilled, is finally comfortable in his own skin, if he's happy, good for him. It's his face he sees every morning in the mirror, no one else's. More power to him!