Arts & Entertainment
Inside Chaz’s ‘Transition’
Despite flaws, Bono bio an engaging, uplifting read
The face in the mirror is yours.
Yes, you recognize that chin, the eyes that droop when fatigued, the mouth that’s etched parentheses around itself, as if to enclose something you said.
That’s your hair. Those are your ears. That’s your nose.
It’s you there in the mirror – the outside you – but inside, well, what you see isn’t what you know. In the new book “Transition” by Chaz Bono (with Billie Fitzpatrick), you’ll read what it’s like to feel like you’re in the wrong body, and how a tiny Hollywood darling became a man.
On the wall of his home, Chaz Bono has a picture of himself and his parents, taken when he was a toddler. They all look happy, Bono says, but he doesn’t remember that day, or much of his childhood.
What he does remember, though, is that he always felt like a boy, even though he was the daughter of Sonny and Cher.
Bono says that, as a child, he dressed in boy clothes as much as possible and answered to a boy’s nickname. He played with boys at school and his best friend was a boy. Nobody thought much about it, he says. That’s just the way it was.
Puberty was rough and Bono came out as a lesbian, but something still wasn’t quite right. He didn’t identify with women, gay or otherwise, and distant feelings of masculinity colored his relationships with them and with his family. Still, he lived his life as a woman: falling in love, starting a band, buying a house, and trying to stay out of the public eye.
Bono’s father seemed supportive of his lesbianism. His mother had trouble with it.
But happiness eluded Bono and he turned to drugs to cope with the frustration. By then, though, he thought he knew what he needed to do.
On March 20, 2009, he says “I drove myself to the doctor’s office… I felt only confident that what I was doing was right.”
“After all the years of fear, ambivalence, doubts, and emotional torture, the day had finally come. I was on testosterone, and I have never looked back – not once.”
Author Chaz Bono says at one point that he was never very good at transitions. He did a pretty good job at this one, with a few minor bumps.
“Transition” is filled with angst, anger, sadness and pain, topped off with wonderment and joy. It’s also repetitious, contains a few delicately squirmy moments, and its occasional bogginess is a challenge for wandering minds.
For wondering minds, Bono is quick to defend and explain away his family’s reluctance to accept his gender reassignment, but he’s also willing to admit to being hurt by it. Still, contentment and awe shine forth at the end of this book, and readers will breathe a sigh of relief for it.
If you can face the slowness that crops up in “Transition” now and then, you’ll find it to be a pretty good memoir. For you, it’s a book to put your hands on.
Photos
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride Parade
Senior living and healthcare organization holds fifth annual march at Falls Church campus
The senior living and healthcare organization Goodwin Living held its fifth annual Pride Parade around its Bailey’s Crossroads campus in Falls Church, Va. with residents, friends and supporters on Thursday, June 12.
(Photos courtesy of Goodwin Living)
You’re going to be on your feet a lot this month.
Marching in parades, dancing in the streets, standing up for people in your community. But you’re also likely to have some time to rest and reflect – and with these great new books, to read.
First, dip into a biography with “Marsha: The Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson” by Tourmaline (Tiny Rep Books, $30), a nice look at an icon who, rumor has it, threw the brick that started a revolution. It’s a lively tale about Marsha P. Johnson, her life, her activism before Stonewall and afterward. Reading this interesting and highly researched history is a great way to spend some time during Pride month.
For the reader who can’t live without music, try “The Dad Rock That Made Me a Woman” by Niko Stratis (University of Texas Press, $27.95), the story of being trans, searching for your place in the world, and finding it in a certain comfortable genre of music. Also look for “The Lonely Veteran’s Guide to Companionship” by Bronson Lemer (University of Wisconsin Press, $19.95), a collection of essays that make up a memoir of this and that, of being queer, basic training, teaching overseas, influential books, and life.
If you still have room for one more memoir, try “Walk Like a Girl” by Prabal Gurung (Viking, $32.00). It’s the story of one queer boy’s childhood in India and Nepal, and the intolerance he experienced as a child, which caused him to dream of New York and the life he imagined there. As you can imagine, dreams and reality collided but nonetheless, Gurung stayed, persevered, and eventually became an award-winning fashion designer, highly sought by fashion icons and lovers of haute couture. This is an inspiring tale that you shouldn’t miss.
No Pride celebration is complete without a history book or two.
In “Trans History: From Ancient Times to the Present Day” by Alex L. Combs & Andrew Eakett ($24.99, Candlewick Press), you’ll see that being trans is something that’s as old as humanity. One nice part about this book: it’s in graphic novel form, so it’s lighter to read but still informative. Lastly, try “So Many Stars: An Oral History of Trans, Nonbinary, Genderqueer, and Two-Spirit People of Color” by Caro De Robertis (Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. $32.00) a collection of thoughts, observations, and truths from over a dozen people who share their stories. As an “oral history,” you’ll be glad to know that each page is full of mini-segments you can dip into anywhere, read from cover to cover, double-back and read again. It’s that kind of book.
And if these six books aren’t enough, if they don’t quite fit what you crave now, be sure to ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for help. There are literally tens of thousands of books that are perfect for Pride month and beyond. They’ll be able to determine what you’re looking for, and they’ll put it directly in your hands. So stand up. March. And then sit and read.
Baltimore Orioles Pride Night will be held on Wednesday, June 25 at 6:35 p.m. at Orioles Park at Camden Yards.
Festivities include immersive Pride decorations, pregame music, crafts, face painting, Pride merchandise, and more. The first 15,000 fans will receive an Orioles Pride jersey. Tickets are available on the Orioles’ website.
Nine trans activists arrested outside Supreme Court
Norton reintroduces bill to ban discrimination against LGBTQ jurors in D.C. Superior Court
PHOTOS: Goodwin Living Pride Parade
More books for Pride month
Baltimore Orioles Pride Night set for June 25
Supreme Court upholds ban on transgender care for minors
Juvenile arrested for anti-gay assault in D.C.
‘Lou’s Legacy’ to make TV debut next week
More than 15K people attend Baltimore Trans Pride
