Chaz Bono: "Gender is something between your ears, not between your legs"

In a candid interview with "Entertainment Tonight" (which aired last night, with a second part tonight) Chaz Bono revealed more about her decision to undergo female-to-male gender reassignment surgery last March. The 40-year-old offspring of Cher and Sonny Bono (formerly known as Chastity) told the show:

"I always felt like the male from the time I was a child. There wasn't much feminine about me. I believe that gender is something between your ears, not between your legs. That is something I discovered in the early '90s. It was just a long process of being comfortable enough to do something about it."

He also disclosed that it took getting sober in 2004 to give him the courage to go through with the operation.

Since the sex change, his voice has lowered, he's grown muscle and his sex drive has increased, Bono explained.

On having the procedure at 40: "I thought it's now or never. I want to still feel vibrant and be able to enjoy my life in a male body and not wait until I am an old man."

According to People mag, Bono loves being a man, and it's true, he seems happier than ever (certainly happier than all of those years of sulky pictures at Cher's side). And feeling happy and comfortable in one's skin is something we can all applaud.