Chaz Fans

Local transgender advocates applaud Chaz Bono's appearances on Dancing With the Stars.

By Meg Sneed

Chaz Bono

Dancing With Chaz Local transgender advocates say Bono's appearance in TV dance competition helps their cause

Local activists say that Chaz Bono is helping to promote the visibility of transgender individuals by being a contestant on the TV show Dancing With the Stars.

"The greatest thing holding back transpeople has been stereotypes and false caricatures that most people take to be accurate because they have never met any of us," said Erica Keppler, a local transgender activist.

"Having a real celebrity who people will get to know will make great strides in making us appear human and not merely cartoonish," Keppler said. "It's a vital step in the progress of any minority group that has been lacking in the advancement of transgender people."

Bono became one of the highest-profile transgender people in America when he announced his female-to-male transition in 2009.

Bono, 42, was born to music superstars Sonny and Cher, and first took the stage as a youngster on his parents' hit show Sonny and Cher Show. Then known as Chastity, the little girl stole viewers' hearts with kisses at the end of each episode.

When Dancing With the Stars announced that Bono would be cast in the show's 13th season, viewers began to weigh in on what they thought about having a transgender man on the prime time Emmy nominated show.

The Bono family

OneMillionmoms.com, a conservative online activism group, told ABC that its members would not watch the show. "This is going to be very confusing for children, and should not be included in their cast," the group said in a statement before the season started on Sept. 19.

But transgender individuals are happy to see one of their own in the spotlight.

"Chaz choosing to be on this incredibly popular show has certainly brought forth a lot of controversy and negativity in the mainstream audience," said Michael Brown, a local transgender man. "But I believe he is simply showing the world that trans people are just that — people. With the same wants, and needs, and desires, and goals that any other people have."

For the transgender community, Bono on Dancing with the Stars is comparable to what Ellen DeGeneres did for the gay community when she came out, according to Julian Melson, a transgender man.

"Ellen was someone Americans loved, she was in our living rooms, and made us laugh," Melson said. "When she came out people were torn, they felt like they knew her, and society began to shift.

"America watched Chaz grow up, they also feel like they know Chaz, and with Chaz transitioning in the public eye society is shifting again," Melson said.

Almost 40 years after appearing on his parents' show, Bono took the stage again, this time with professional dance partner Lacey Schwimmer. Bono has impressed viewers as soft-spoken, with a big smile and showing vulnerability. Despite low scores from the judges, viewers embraced Bono by voting to save him from elimination in the early rounds.

"It's made me realize I'm really glad I'm doing this, because America really needs to see this," Bono told ABC News. "You know, it just kind of shows why for me it's important to be on the show, because so little still is known about what it means to be transgender. And there's so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have."

Before his transition, Bono came out as a lesbian in 1995 and wrote two books on the subject, Family Outing: A Guide to the Coming Out Process for Gays, Lesbians and Their Families and The End of Innocence. Bono is also the subject of a documentary film, Becoming Chaz.

Dancing with the Stars is broadcast at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday on ABC. -E