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"In Chaz Bono&amp;apos;s first interview since first announcing in June that he would undergo a sex change, the child of Cher and the late Sonny Bono says that after 40 years, he is finallly enjoying life as a man.\r\n\r\nBono, formerly known as Chastity, tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview airing Thursday and Friday, that the ordeal was &amp;quot;a long process going back almost a decade.&amp;quot;According to Bono -- who first came out as gay at 18, which caused mom Cher to reportedly flip out -- the most difficult step he had to take was, &amp;quot;finding the courage not to worry about what other people would think of me so much.&amp;quot;He also says he &amp;quot;got clean and sober in 2004 and I couldn&amp;apos;t have done this before that.&amp;quot;\r\nSee photos of today&amp;apos;s top news stories\r\nBono has been undergoing a female-to-male sex change and gender reassignment surgery since March, and the process has already had significant physical changes on his body, which he jokes is like &amp;quot;literally going through puberty.&amp;quot;&amp;quot;It lowered my voice,&amp;quot; he tells Entertainment Tonight. &amp;quot;Fat redistributes, muscle growth, hair growth, sex drive increases... I shave about once a week now.&amp;quot;When it came time to have surgery to have his breasts removed, he told Entertainment Tonight that &amp;quot;it was a relief.&amp;quot;\r\n\r\nNow, at 40 years old, he has no regrets about his decision. &amp;quot;I always felt like the male from the time I was a child,&amp;quot; he says. &amp;quot;There wasn&amp;apos;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 &amp;apos;90s. It was just a long process of being comfortable enough to do something about it.&amp;quot;He adds: &amp;quot;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.&amp;quot;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-body/news/chaz-bono-im-enjoying-life-as-a-man-20092910>