Oswegonian: "...The rest of us know that being gay is nothing to be ashamed of, especially if you are risking your life for your country on a daily basis. Maybe one day these people will wake up; or maybe they’ll just make another bonfire out of copies of “Heather Has Two Mommies.” The other incident of rabid closed-mindedness has to deal with the uproar over Chaz Bono’s participation in “Dancing With the Stars.” Bono is the show’s first transsexual contestant, so of course people freaked out about it. Concerned parents are doing everything they can from keeping their kids from seeing this horrible sight of a man who used to be a woman dancing the samba. Lewis Black and “The Daily Show” did a great job attacking this issue last week, and I have three more thoughts on this. First, parents should keep their kids from watching “Dancing With The Stars” no matter who the contestants are, since it is an irritating piece of reality TV. Second, if there’s one contestant parents should shield their kids from, it isn’t Chaz Bono, it’s the HLN Network’s Nancy Grace, who works part time as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The last thing is that we need to stop using the “kids will get confused” excuse when dealing with gay and transgender people, among other things. I was a kid once; there is one thing I know: kids will accept anything. Kids will believe a woman comes into their room and gives them money for losing teeth and a giant rabbit will give them chocolate on Easter, so kids shouldn’t be too shocked or upset by the idea of a man being with another man or a woman being with another woman. I learned the definition of “gay” when I was only nine years old, and it wasn’t a big deal to me then, so it’s pretty sad that it is a big deal to grown adults. Society needs to stop getting up in arms about gay and transgender people, among many, many other things. People always fear what they do not understand, and the world will be a better place if there was a lot more understanding, and a lot less thinking like idiots." (Homosexual, transgender people still viewed with ignorance)
M&C: "...Bono underwent a gender reassignment surgery and legally changed his gender from female to male last year, as one of the show's 12 celebrity competitors, and is partnered with Lacy Schwimmer. "Life is short and life is precious...I'm just a regular guy," Bono said on "GMA" of the outcry over his selection. "All these ideas that children shouldn't watch me, I'm going to be confusing, all this stuff, it's crazy." "Gender is between your ears and not you r legs...I felt like one of the boys," says Bono. "I feel great...life is just great...I 'm living the life I always wanted now." Bono, 42, was born Chastity Bono, the daughter of Cher and the late Sonny Bono." (Chaz Bono talks about gender identity on GMA (VIDEO)).
RELATED READING:
- Official Web-site: Chaz Bono
- Facebook: Becoming Chaz
- Are You There, Chaz? It's Me, Renee
- Chaz Bono: I could have a talk show
- Chaz Bono Hoping His ‘Dancing’ Experience Serves As An Example
- Chastity Bono Undergoing Sex Change
- Cher Lashes Out At 'Bigots' Criticizing Chaz Bono's 'DWTS' Appearance
- What fuels transgender backlash?
- Chaz Bono's Transformation (Video)
- David Letterman - Chaz Bono's Transformation (Video)
