Chaz Bono “felt like a boy”

Chaz Bono “felt like a boy” as a child.

The 40-year-old – whose parents are Cher and Sonny Bono - was born as a girl called Chastity, but is currently in process of becoming a man. In Chaz’s first live interview since starting the gender reassignment process eight months ago, Chaz revealed he has always felt he was born in the wrong body.

“To me, gender is between your ears, not between your legs,” Chaz said on US TV show Good Morning America. “I've felt male as far back as I can remember. As a child, it was really clear. I felt like a boy.”

In 1995, Chastity publicly announced she was a lesbian. Chaz is currently in a relationship with Jennifer Elia, and admits his sexuality is something it has taken him years to fully understand.

He said: “A lot of female-to-male transgender people end up doing a stint in the lesbian community because it just kind of makes sense. At 13, 14, I was real clear at that point that I was attracted to women. So I was like, 'I'm attracted to women, I am a woman, I guess I'm a lesbian.’

“Who you're attracted to has nothing to do with gender identity. A lot of people find that really confusing but they're two completely different things.”

The gender reassignment process will take four or five years, but Chaz is adamant he has made the right decision. “Just an incredible hurdle was the idea that I wasn't going to be able to do this privately like most people can. That took me a really long time to get over. And then, it was about dealing with the people in my life and how it was going to affect them. And finally, it came down to realising that I've got to live my life for myself and life is short and life is precious,” he said.

“At this point, nothing scares me. I'm living the life that I've always wanted to live now, and that's amazing.”