Are you still a Lesbian when you become a man ?

I remember faithfully watching the Sonny and Cher show, debuting in 1971 as a summer replacement series, returning to prime time later that year because it was an immediate hit. But as all good things must come to an end, by the third season of the show, the marriage of Sonny and Cher was falling apart, and so did the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour.



During their marriage they had one daughter, Chastity Bono, born March 4, 1969. I really never heard or saw much of Chastity after the Sonny and Cher show, except in the early 1990's when rumors began flying she was a lesbian. She eventually was outed by Star Magazine in January 1990, which Chastity denied. However, in April 1995, she voluntarily came out to the world and is now an advocate for human and gay rights.

Earlier this week, a spokesman for the now 40-year old says he "has made the courageous decision to honor his true identity" and began the sex-change process earlier this year. Odd that she is now being referred to as a "HE", so does that make her an ex-lesbian? What do we call her...him? And just how do you get a penis anyway: donor? sew it on? a rib?

Sex reassignment surgery, also known as gender reassignment surgery, gender-change surgery, or sex-change operation, is a term for the surgical procedures by which a person's physical appearance and function of their existing sexual characteristics are altered to resemble that of the other sex.

The phalloplasty operation which is the gender change operation from female to male is the most demanding and difficult operation in the field of transsexuality.

It is the most expensive and fraught-with-danger surgery, building an entire penis out of your flesh. Phalloplasties are created from the patient's own skin- usually from the inner forearm or the thigh. Essentially, the skin is rolled and blood vessels are hooked up to keep a healthy flow as the skin heals together, forming an attachment. It creates something similar to- but also significantly different from- a biological penis.

Metoidioplasty is when the female takes the male hormone testosterone, their clitorises begin to grow in size and length, even growing a tiny 'head' like a biological penis. Though it varies, the new penis, often called a 'neophallus', can reach up to three inches, though it's more often only one to two.

Urethral lengthening is possible, which extends the urethra through either the neophallus or the phalloplasty so that they can actually pee through their penises the way that biological men do, rather than still from their 'vaginas'.

If you're going to get a penis, why not testicles, too. A scrotoplasty is possible, where surgeons take the labia and stretch them around small, round silicone implants, to create a ballsac and non-functioning testicles.

A Masectomy is required for the removal of breasts.

As interesting as this is, I chose not to include surgical pictures, they were just too damned gross, so instead, following is a picture of Chastity as a woman:



And here's how I suspect she will look like after the surgery:
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