Some people say that nothing that's ever happened to you is lost; it's always accessible somewhere. In a sense, that's true for actor, author and LGBT activist Chaz Bono. But in another sense, he says, it's not.
Speaking with Oprah for an interview on "Oprah: Where Are They Now?", Chaz opened up about how presenting as female in his past has impacted his relationships with women.
"I definitely have a very different perspective than a lot of men, because I got a closer look at women for many years," Chaz says. "[But] "I don't think I understand women particularly better. Not the emotional side that we [men] don't get, that we are just, like, scared of."
This lack of understanding, he says, has always been a part of his relationships with women, even prior to his transition.
"Even before, [I] would find myself in relationships doing something that I had no idea what I'd done that really upset my girlfriend and I didn't know why, in the same way that men do," Chaz says.
“At this point, I really feel just like a 46-year-old man who got here in a slightly different way than most men do.”
This disconnect can seem perplexing to people who believe Chaz "lived life as a girl" for so many years. While some transgender individuals take offense to that phrasing, Chaz offers a fundamental correction to anyone who would make such a claim.
"It's not offensive, but it would be wrong," Chaz says. "I didn't live my life as a girl. I lived my life as a male inside a female body for a long time."
Now, however, he says he's finally comfortable in his body and being able to present as his true self.
"At this point, I really feel just like a 46-year-old man who got here in a slightly different way than most men do."
"Oprah: Where Are They Now?" airs Saturdays at 10 p.m. ET on OWN.
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