newjerseynewsroom.com

BY LIZ BARRETT

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

When the person born Chastity Bono announced Thursday that he is in the process of transitioning from female to male — via hormones and surgical procedures — jaws dropped about Sonny & Cher's *daughter* undergoing a sex change. But it really is not so much a change as a correction.

Chaz Bono already is a man; the female-to-male transition is just a matter of housekeeping. The parts of his brain that define gender identity are (and always have been) male, but the sex organs of his body are female.

It's only natural that he would want to live his life as the person he was born to be. In a statement issued to TMZ, Mr. Bono's publicist confirmed:

"Yes, it's true - Chaz, after many years of consideration, has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity. He is proud of his decision and grateful for the support and respect that has already been shown by his 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."

TMZ also reported that Mama Cher has known about the gender reassignment process for quite some time and fully supports it.

Haters already are spewing misinformed self-righteous indignation all over the Internet, characterizing gender reassignment as some sort of immoral perversion. They are wrong. Period. This has nothing to do with morals. The only thing *wrong* here is a genetic mixup.

We salute Chaz Bono for having the courage to undergo such challenging procedures. We're proud of him for pursuing legal recognition of his true gender once the transition is complete. And we hope he will give a strong, true voice to a part of the human family that has been silenced for far too long.