Popular Reality TV

Since Chaz Bono was announced as one of the cast members on Dancing with the Stars 13, there’s been a lot of freaking out. That’s because Chaz used to be Chastity, and the T part of LGBT is the least-familiar and arguably least-accepted type of person among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. And that’s why it’s important that he was cast and people are now talking about this, even if they’re doing so ignorantly or jokingly. Cher has defended Chaz as a result of him being “viciously attacked” online, including on ABC’s own message boards . And this morning, Chaz’s partner, So You Think You Can Dance alum Lacey Schwimmer, told the Johnjay and Rich radio show, “The fact of the matter is, he’s a full man, in every shape or form. Everybody should just get over it and accept him and accept him as a human being … he’s so brave and its really good to be a part of it with him,” she said, according to Radar . That Chaz is partnered with a female shouldn’t freak anyone out, beca...

Tonight, Oprah’s new network OWN debuts its Documentary Club by airing a documentary film from the producers of RuPaul’s Drag Race that follows Sonny and Cher’s child Chaz Bono’s transition from female to male. Becoming Chaz debuted at Sundance earlier this year and is directed by World of Wonder’s Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato, and its television debut on OWN at 9 p.m. ET will be followed by a one-hour special and discussion about the film called The Doc Club with Rosie O’Donnell at 10:30. Chaz’s memoir, Transition: The Story of How I Became a Man , is also out today. The film is about the person formerly known as Chastity Bono as he transitions to life as a man, a journey he takes with the support of his lesbian girlfriend Jennifer Elia, and which includes everything from hormone treatments to the removal of his breasts. While gay and bisexual people have been part of nonfiction TV and film for years, stories of transgendered people are far less common, just as being transgender...