It was the fastest anyone has ever come out trans. Within moments of TMZ’s June 11 announcement, emails, text messages, tweets and retweets zipped the news around the globe: Cher’s daughter Chasity Bono, was transitioning from lesbian to male.
Introduced as a toddler on The Sonny & Cher Show and appearing on a People cover by age seven, Chaz Bono is the first person to come out trans after growing up in front of the camera. In doing so, he may have catapulted transgender people into the territory Ellen DeGeneres took lesbians with her, “Yep, I’m gay,” cover of Time magazine.
The kind of public life Bono has led cements the connection we feel to celebrities; and grants them greater impact on American perceptions and values than a dozens of everyday activists.
He is the first pop culture figure to come out as a trans man and he’s doing it in classic celebrity style: having a publicist release a statement (thus thwarting tabloid rumors and controlling spin) and then retiring to a private retreat to complete his metamorphosis.
Through spokesman Howard Bragman, Bono has said he hopes his “choice to transition will open the hearts and minds of the public regarding this issue.” And there’s a good chance it will, despite concerns about how his coming out is being reported.
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