X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Chaz Bono sat down with Good Morning America to discuss his new life as a man, and even though he's going through gender reassignment in the public eye, he seems to be handling it quite well.

Bono, who is eight months into his transformation tells GMA, "This was a very difficult decision to make, but it was the best decision I've ever made. I feel great ... I feel so much more comfortable that I've ever been. I've felt male as far back as I can remember."

Click here to watch the video of his interview with GMA

Chaz Bono was born Chastity Bono, and he says he always identified more with boys. "I felt like one of the boys. My friends were boys," he said. "In school I related to boys ... As you get older it's more confusing. Suddenly, there's more pressure to fit in to your assigned gender."

Bono has received hormone treatments that have caused his voice to deepen, and he's already at the point where he can shave his face. While the whole process is a very private matter, Bono says he knew it was what he wanted. "Then it came down to realizing that I have to live my life for myself and that life is short and life is precious." Looking back, Bono said, "it would almost be easy to say, 'Why did I wait so long to do this?'"

Click here for all of X17online's Chaz Bono stories

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Chaz Bono is set to be honored by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation with its Stephen F. Kolzak Award. Bono helped Dancing With the Stars earn the award for outstanding reality program by being the first transgendered contestant.

The award is presented annually to a prominent media figure that has made a difference in promoting equality and acceptance. Although the honor has been handed out to gay, lesbian, and bisexual honorees, it has yet to be given to a transgender recipient.

"Chaz has opened the door for countless others, reshaping the way Americans think about transgender people today. His bold leadership in sharing his story as a transgender man, as well as his tireless work to secure equality for every American, embodies the values of GLAAD's Stephen K. Kolzak Award," president Mike Thompson said in a statement.

Bono has long been an LGBT advocate, even earning himself nominations for three Emmys for his 2011 documentary Becoming Chaz, which captured his transition from female to male.

Presenters of this year's awards include Betty White, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Joshua Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, and Molly Shannon, among others. The show will take place April 21, and the event raises nearly $3.5 million for the group every year.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Chaz Bono is set to be honored by the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation with its Stephen F. Kolzak Award. Bono helped Dancing With the Stars earn the award for outstanding reality program by being the first transgendered contestant.

The award is presented annually to a prominent media figure that has made a difference in promoting equality and acceptance. Although the honor has been handed out to gay, lesbian, and bisexual honorees, it has yet to be given to a transgender recipient.

"Chaz has opened the door for countless others, reshaping the way Americans think about transgender people today. His bold leadership in sharing his story as a transgender man, as well as his tireless work to secure equality for every American, embodies the values of GLAAD's Stephen K. Kolzak Award," president Mike Thompson said in a statement.

Bono has long been an LGBT advocate, even earning himself nominations for three Emmys for his 2011 documentary Becoming Chaz, which captured his transition from female to male.

Presenters of this year's awards include Betty White, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Joshua Jackson, Ellen DeGeneres, and Molly Shannon, among others. The show will take place April 21, and the event raises nearly $3.5 million for the group every year.