By San Diego Gay and Lesbian News
LOS ANGELES -- Chaz Bono has been known most of his life as Chastity Bono; many of us first got to know Chastity as the cherubic, adorable little girl in frilly dresses, paraded out at the very end of every Sonny and Cher show during the mid 70's.
Through the media, the world then followed Chastity after her parents divorce, her travels growing up with her superstar mother, through her very public outing as a lesbian, her mother's surprising reaction, and her father's very tragic death.
After coming out, Chastity became a tireless advocate for LGBT rights and even became the spokesperson for the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) for a period of time.
What the world didn't see all those years, was what was really going on behind the scenes, inside Chastity's personal and very private world of angst and unhappiness.
Just 18 months ago, Chaz Bono emerged, becoming the world's most famous transgender person. In the past 12 months, he has elected and gone through partial gender reassignment surgery.
Now he is telling his very personal but triumphant story.
His story on film
"Becoming Chaz" documents the transformational journey of Chaz Bono, from a woman to a man; a man who can finally live his truth and be his most authentic and best self. The film follows Chaz's recent emotional and physical gender transition, which in many ways was a more difficult process for those around him.
The documentary premieres Tuesday at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) - check your local cable provider for the correct channel. The documentary is produced and directed by Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, for World of Wonder Productions.
Immediately following the 1 1/2 hour documentary is "The Doc Club with Rosie O'Donnell." The one hour program will feature Rosie, who will interview Chaz, but also lead deeper discussions which will further explore the documentary, as well as the extreme lengths Chaz (and others like him) had to go through to become his truer self.
His story in words
Chaz has also written a book about his transition, aptly called "Transition," and he will be doing a book-signing sponsored by Book Soup in Los Angeles, on Wednesday, May 18th.
"Transition" tells his complete story, from the early days as the well-known female off-spring of internationally known parents, what he felt but couldn't tell them back then, his very public coming-out in his 20's, and his eventual acceptance and emergence as a transgender person. The book also offers unprecedented detail in both words and pictures, of his transition from female to male.
The event will take place at Renberg Theater, 1125 N McCadden Place, Hollywood, CA 90038. The Renberg is one of the facilities that belong to the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center.
To attend the signing, you must buy a book online HERE. You will get your book, as well as an admission ticket for the event for one price.
You can learn more about Chaz at his website.
About OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network
A joint venture between Harpo, Inc. and Discovery Communications, OWN: OPRAH WINFREY NETWORK is a multi-platform media company designed to entertain, inform and inspire people to live their best lives. OWN debuted on January 1, 2011, in approximately 80 million homes on what was the Discovery Health Channel. The venture also includes the award-winning digital platform, Oprah.com. For more information, please visit OWN.
About OWN Documentary Club
The OWN Documentary Club aims to engage audiences in the same manner that Oprah’s Book Club significantly changed the reading habits of the country, and was created to spotlight cinematic documentaries that inspire and entertain. Rosie O’Donnell is a collaborator for the OWN Documentary Club, selecting key films and hosting specials that inspire deeper conversations.
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