Chaz Bono -- Today I'm a Man, Baby

Chaz Bono is now a man ... legally and otherwise.

Cher's newly-minted son showed up to court today in Santa Monica, where a judge granted Chaz' petition for a gender and name change.

According to documents filed in March, Chaz underwent an "irreversible surgery" on September 23, 2009 to change his "sex characteristics from female to male."

In the docs, Chaz's doctor said, "Chaz Bono has completed his gender reassignment surgery."

It's like a transgender Bar Mitzvah!