CHAZ BONO

When I realised I was transgender I was so afraid of what my transition would do to everyone else in my life and how they would react to it and would I be rejected?

For me, it was never a question of whether or not I was transgender. It was a question of what I'd be able to handle transitioning and having to do it in the public eye. One of the issues that was hard for me to overcome was the fear of that.

I came out around 25 publicly.

People who don't have gender dysphoria aren't going to catch it by watching me dance on television.

I don't have the luxury of doing things privately.

Being self-supporting is important to me.

Parents have to understand: if your kid isn't you, don't blame the kid.

I always felt like the male from the time I was a child. There wasn't much feminine about me.

I've waited my whole life to be able to have body hair - but I never thought I'd have back hair. But what are you going to do, right?

I felt like one of the boys. My friends were boys. In school I related to boys.

I absolutely believe in assimilation. I don't believe I'm any different from straight people. My wants and needs are the same as theirs. I don't look at sexual orientation as that big of a deal. It's just an orientation.

In school I related to boys.

Deep down, my mom had long suspected I was gay... Much of her anger and hurt came from her sense of betrayal that she was the last to be told.

When I was really little, it was very clear to me that I felt like a boy, and my friends were all boys.

I'm just a regular guy. All these ideas that children shouldn't watch me, I'm going to be confusing, all this stuff, it's crazy.

I confused gender identity with sexual orientation. Your gender identity is about who you are, how you feel, the sex that you feel yourself to be. Sexual orientation is who you're attracted to.

I had felt uncomfortable as a woman my whole life.

I thought, transgender people are much worse off than I am. That's why they're willing to risk everything to be who they are. But the older I got, the harder it got to stay in my body.

When you transition, everyone kind of has to transition around you.

I always wanted to shave. It is a very natural process. For my birthday I got a lot of shaving stuff.

I feel so much more comfortable that I've ever been. I've felt male as far back as I can remember.

I've been an activist in the LGBT community for a long time. I think nothing's changed, I'm just a little bit more focused on the 'T' now than I was on the 'L' or the 'G.'

Gender is between your ears and not between your legs.

As you get older it's more confusing. Suddenly, there's more pressure to fit in to your assigned gender.

I feel really good, I feel like a man now, and I'm really happy.