Chaz Bono Opting For ‘Risky’ Penis Construction Surgery

Last year, Chaz Bono briefly discussed the lack of options for trans men in regards to penis construction when he appeared on HBO’s Real Time With Bill Maher.

As of now, it appears surgery to create male genitalia is not nearly as sophisticated as the type used to construct female genitalia in male-to-female trans patients. But Rolling Stone confirms that Bono- perhaps the most famous trans man in America- “will finally be able to afford to get himself a penis” and that the surgery is expected to occur “within a short while.”

Bono’s publicist Howard Bragman spoke to ABC about the former Dancing With the Stars star’s plans, and said that while the surgery isn’t guaranteed to be a success, his client plans to give it a go:

“It’s true, it’s something he will consider at the appropriate time. But it’s not something that is imminent and not something he believes will make him a man. He feels comfortable with his own masculinity. Gender is between your ears and not between your legs. And he knows it’s an imperfect surgery and that he will either get something small with some feeling or something normal that doesn’t have any feeling.”

The two options currently available are a phalloplasty- when flesh is refashioned from another area into a penis- or reshaping clitoral tissue into a micropenis. Cost is a major concern when it comes to constructing genitals for trans people- vaginal reconstruction runs about $20,000 (which is not cheap), but phalloplasty can cost from $50,000 to $75,000, making the procedure prohibitively expensive for most trans people.