CHERRY GRRL
BACK TO
MARGARET CHO		 Interview: Margaret Cho and the Role of Political Correctness in Performance + Equality

November 1, 2010 · Print This Article

By Marcie

I caught up with Margaret Cho, fresh off Dancing With the Stars, prior to her Harrahs Entertainment presents 2nd Annual OUT in AC Queens of Comedy show, for which she teamed up with the phenomenal Sandra Bernhard on 30 October at Caesars Maximus Theatre. Like her partner in crime in this performance, Cho’s methods of performing entail a direct engagement with notions of political correctness. I’ve never seen her live before and was in for a treat: she’s a wonderfully dirty girl, joking about her adoration of her poop (as in, feces) and her obsession with c*ck (bio or bought).

In our Q&A below, I ask her about her career, past and present, her thoughts about political correctness, and that controversial New York Times Magazine interview.

CherryGRRL (CG): Professionally, what’s going on for you right now?
Margaret Cho (MC): I’m in the middle of a big tour where I am doing standup comedy and some songs from my new album, Cho Dependent. I am also writing songs now for my next album, and trying to find some time for [sleep].

CG: What’s the modus operandi of the Cho Dependent Tour?

MC: I want to tell a bunch of new jokes!

CG: How excited are you for the Atlantic City Halloween event with Sandra Bernhard?! Have you performed with her before? (If so, what was the experience like?)

MC: I love Sandra. I haven’t worked with her since I did a taping of the A-List, which was a comedy series in the 90s. She is amazing, and I am big fan of her comedy and her music.
CG: Regarding Dancing With the Stars… Do you feel, like the rest of Gay America, that your flamboyant dress resulted in you getting da boot?

MC: I don’t want to think my out and proud stance was the reason why I was eliminated, because I don’t want to visualize a country that is homophobic, however, that was probably the reason, but really it doesn’t make a difference to me. I am always going to stand up for gay rights, especially when we are in crisis, as we are experiencing now with the tragedy of gay teen suicide.

CG: I enjoy your comedy because it doesn’t just shirk its culturally prescribed “responsibility” to political correctness, but it blatantly mocks it. So, a two-pronged question: How do you utilize (even if it involves a forceful crushing of) political correctness in your shows? And, second, how do you think society’s urge for political correctness has affected us and how people engage with one another?

MC: I think political correctness sometimes can be a silencing of minority voices and a kind of oppression unto itself. I am all about honesty and moments of great truth and finding that in my work.

CG: A quick follow-up: how do you think political correctness in culture has affected the fight for LGBT legal equality?

MC: I think that there needs to be more fighting for equality than politeness, and that political correctness has helped somewhat in our struggle for civil rights but we need more action to make it happen.

CG: I read the New York Times Magazine piece on you last year, in which you reveal that you’re married to a man but live a totally queer lifestyle. What have been some responses that you’ve encountered from that piece, particularly from the LGBT community?

MC: There’s a lot of curiosity there, but I am bisexual, and wasn’t a virgin when I got married. Who is these days?! Many of my friends identify as queer and have partners who identify as straight. My identity still remains queer though. I will always be who I am, regardless of who I am with!

To get the latest info on Margaret’s whereabouts, see her website: www.margaretcho.com.