Stop the presses: Chaz Bono is shaving!

October 28, 8:57 AMTransgender & Transsexual Issues ExaminerMatt Kailey

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Chaz Bono

AP Photo/Dan Steinberg

It should come as no surprise that Chaz Bono makes news and blog headlines whenever he makes a public appearance, agrees to an interview, or mentions that he is shaving once a week — which he will apparently discuss tomorrow night, October 29, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

Now, those of us who have transitioned from female to male know a couple of things:

1. Of course Chaz Bono is probably shaving by now. This fact does not surprise us or get us all giddy with excitement.

2. This fact probably does get Chaz all giddy with excitement. Starting to shave is a huge deal for most trans guys, because it is a significant marker in the process of transition, and it is a significant marker of maleness.

This public fascination with Chaz Bono’s transition is probably a very positive thing for trans guys as a whole, although some — those who wish to assimilate quietly into the mainstream male community — no doubt wish that it wasn’t such a cause for Internet news and chatter. But it will continue to be so, because Bono is a high profile celebrity, made even more so by this transition.

The positive thing that will come out of it is that public will actually be privy to the changes that testosterone causes that generally make us (trans men) invisible to the rest of the world.

Chaz Bono will continue to shave — more frequently as time goes on. Those who watch the interview tomorrow night will also no doubt see that his voice has dropped.

Bono is a large man, and whether he loses weight or not, his body shape is likely to change with the addition of some upper-body muscle mass. If he is genetically programmed for male pattern baldness, he may start to shed some hair.

There are many visible changes that the public will see in Bono that will constitute a large part of his transition. Any surgeries that he has in the future will no doubt be thoroughly reported and discussed, but it is the testosterone that will make his manhood increasingly apparent to the public eye.

While I have to smile and shake my head in wonder at the public obsession with Chaz Bono’s whiskers, I am also thrown into a bout of nostalgia — my own memories of constantly checking the mirror, watching and waiting for those facial hairs to appear, and then experimenting with razors to figure out how to make myself presentable once they did show up.

So I’m happy for Bono in his progress. He is surely happy with his various milestones as well. And even though he may prefer to transition privately, that’s not going to happen, so we might as well get used to the fascination with all things Chaz and be grateful that the wider population is finally learning that trans men exist.