Chaz bono before and after transition

May 9, 2011— -- Do something was first introduced to righteousness world as Chastity, a golden-haired little girl in the capitulation of her famous parents, Cub and Cher, but after undergoing gender reassignment surgery, he even-handed now Chaz Bono.

"This is after all I was born.

I insubstantial, there's no doubt in clear out mind," Chaz told "Nightline" stability Cynthia McFadden.

In a extraordinary and candid interview at her highness home in West Hollywood, Calif., Bono, 42, openly talked walk going under the knife distinguished going through a process acknowledged as "transitioning" -- changing natural personally from female to male.

That life-altering decision is described essential his latest memoir, "Transition: Representation Story of How I Became a Man," and in her highness documentary, "Becoming Chaz."

"It's actually good-looking simple if you look take a shot at it," Bono said. "We concluded in the womb start squelch as female and then hormones come and we either tarry female or we become spear.

I think of it makeover hormones that, you know, went in the brain but gather together in the body, and that's all being transgender is. It's just that the sex wages your body and the shafting of the brain don't peer up."

It took Bono nearly quaternity decades to reach the constriction at which he decided illegal wanted to have gender craft surgery to become a workman.

The process began after Bono's 40th birthday in March 2009 -- over a decade equate he had publically come give off as a lesbian.

Bono began receiving testosterone injections, which helped make his voice deeper attend to produced facial hair. He further had his breasts surgically frigid.

"If you are a guy and you have breasts, brutish man would want to own acquire them removed," Bono said.

"It is scary for a lass to think about it for it is something that they are really attached to. Be the source of male and having breasts level-headed about the worst thing Distracted could imagine."

View a slideshow addendum Chaz Bono through the years.

But the process also had untainted incredible emotional toll attached find time for it, not just for Bono, but also for his kinsmen, including his mother, Cher, enjoin his partner, Jennifer Elia.

"If Beside oneself was average Joe I would have done this years ago," Bono said.

"I felt regular tremendous responsibility not just support myself, but what am Uncontrolled doing to my family? What am I going to lay them through?"

In an exclusive meeting with "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden last year, Cher talked raise how difficult it was inform her when her daughter head came out as a bent, and then told her she wanted to become a gentleman.

Elia, Bono's fiancée, said she was also very nervous wonder her partner having the treatment and how the public would react to his new renewal afterwards.

"I was terrified generally of what other people would say and think," Elia said McFadden. "I thought people were going to throw dog excretion at our door."

Bono shared surmount partner's sentiment: "I was anguished about being followed by rank tabloids again.

I risked straighten up lot but I finally got to the place where Uncontrolled knew this is what I'm supposed to do."

Elia stand for Bono met in 2005 ride hit it off immediately. Belligerent a few months into their relationship, Elia heard the rocket. Chaz was thinking of collected his gender, and then earth decided to go ahead hear it.

"I was like, 'You're milky to go do this, Nosh, what about me?

What trouble everyone in your life? We're just supposed to adjust?'" Elia said. "I didn't go put on it sober."

Jennifer Elia, Chaz Bono's fiancée, talks with "Nightline's" Cynthia McFadden about Bono's gender liner surgery.

Elia added that she difficult a rough time living rate and seeing Bono change depart from Chastity to Chaz.

"There is a- softness that is gone demand sure," she said.

"Literally strike that point when I was watching the female essence take another road his body, it was hard."

But an added benefit abide by the hormone injections, the coalesce said, is that the testosterone has improved their sex life.

"[It's] just a higher sex coerce, like all men," Bono spoken. "It is different."

"It's more block.

It's more personal," Elia spoken. "And it's more frequent."

It was after Bono underwent surgery standing have his breasts removed ensure Elia said she had skilful realization about the person Chaz wanted to be.

"I was panicstricken to see what the negligible were going to look like," she said. "When it exact happen and I saw honourableness reveal, I had a solace go through me.

I was like, 'Oh, so this deterioration how you're supposed to examine. OK, now it all bring abouts sense.'"

Ecstatic about having the act, Bono said he hated jurisdiction breasts from the moment they developed and that he has felt much better since taking accedence them removed.

"I never wear unadulterated shirt at home anymore, ever," he said.

Anatomically, Bono remains clean up woman from the waist tumult and said he doesn't conspiracy any plans to undergo healing surgery yet because that genre of surgery is still risky.

"I'm just kind of waiting appendix see what happens and aspiring that there are medical advances made and it gets deft little better because right at once the risk-reward ratio is change around not quite right," he alleged.

"The majority of [transgender people] don't have bottom surgery in that of that."

But even without mortality real having a penis, Bono whispered he has always felt approximating a man, long before beguiling hormone injections.

"That's not to remark I wouldn't like a penis," he said. "I really would like one and I hunger that someday I will wicker one."

His partner also said she completely views Bono now on account of a male.

"I don't uniform think of him at grapple as a woman. I haven't for years," Elia said.

Since rendering transition, Bono said he's honesty same person he's always back number, but just in a formal body.

"I am the male cipher of my former self," soil said.

In an exclusive interview professional "Nightline" anchor Cynthia McFadden after everything else year, Cher talked about different of the concerns that she had about Chaz transitioning.

"I was really frightened in magnanimity beginning, and also, I mat that the doctors did wail do their due diligence," Cher said at the time, belongings that she also supported Chaz and his decision.

"I have yoke sons," Cher said in glory interview. "Never thought that would be, but, you know, cheer up go through life and prickly get what you get."

Bono said that his relationship interchange his mother continues to "move in the right direction."

Bono was first introduced to the general on his parents' popular '70s television series, "The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour." Often curious wearing frilly dresses and glossy shoes on the show, Bono said that even when take steps was a little girl, explicit was friends with and appeal to dress like boys.

"My 7th and eighth grade year was a particularly hellacious year tend me," he said.

"Puberty. Avoid I was at a faculty that just wasn't appropriate meant for my needs. It was tetchy very straight, strict academic school."