Cher is getting a lot of press lately because of her upcoming movie – ‘Burlseque‘. Today, she opened up to Parade Magazine and talked about how challenging it is to accept that her daughter Chaz Bono now wants to be referred to as her son.

On when she first heard about Chaz wanting a trans-gender operation:

“When Chaz first told me about wanting a sex change, I had a really hard time with it,” Cher says. “We talked about the transgendered thing intermittently for years. She was unhappy. Plus, she was doing drugs. [Chaz was addicted to OxyContin]. I believed that once she stopped drugs, she would have a much better life and put the transgender idea on the back burner.”

But after getting sober in 2004, Chaz became more determined than ever. “She said to me, ‘If I’m ever going to do it, I’ve got to do it now. I’m 40,’ ” Cher recalls. “I went, ‘If you’ve got to do it, dear, you’ve got to do it.’

Chaz must have been so grateful to have a mother who supporting the decision. In May, Chaz’s gender and name were legally changed. Cher says it was tough to accept.

“When I realized she was going to do it, it was rocky for me. I thought, What will the press do to her? What will they do to the two of us together? It’s going to be the biggest nightmare that will not stop. But the press was kinder than I thought they would be.”

In the end, Cher says that Chaz is still her girl.

“It’s hard, ’cause she’s still my girl. But she has an inner strength and she’s a courageous person—she believes what she believes. She and her girlfriend came over for dinner last night. All of us were there, my boyfriend too.”

After 40 years it must be hard to switch up pronouns. I’m sure Cher eventually will start referring to Chaz as a HE, but you can’t blame the slip-ups. The gender switch is still so very new comparatively speaking.

Photos by FAME