Besides being a bad-ass bitch, I idolize Margaret Cho for a myriad of reasons.

I love Margaret because she is a fierce feminist and GLBTQ activist. Margaret is constantly advocating for equality on all levels.

I enjoy Margaret because she is funny, bold, and provocative. Whether it’s on screen or on stage, with words or funny faces, Mrs. Cho always incites a riot of laughter on an array of subject matter.

I adore Margaret because no matter what size jeans she’s sporting or how much her weight fluctuates, she embodies beautiful. In Cho’s eyes, there is no template for beauty, and she encourages every gal to embrace their bodies- tall, thin, fat, or short.

I dig Margaret because she loves body art. As another huge fan of ink, I appreciate how Cho validates tattoos as sexy and feminine and an empowering form of self-expression.

I respect Margaret because she is a minority woman who voices her politics, who isn’t afraid to talk about race, class, gender, sexuality or anything taboo. In fact, if it is taboo, then she is definetly talking about it, and so few people dare to challenge convention like she does.

Most of all, I heart Margaret Cho because she is Queer with a capital Q, a lover of women, men, transgenders, transsexuals, and genderfucks.

Before Margaret introduced me to “queer” as identity, I never knew how to define my sexuality, much less choose an orientation. I wasn’t straight because I was attracted to women, especially of the butch persuasion. I wasn’t a lesbian because I was still attracted to men. I hated using the term “bisexual” because binaries are so…well, binding. And let’s not even mention my affinity for transfolk.

Needless to say, I am not an either/or kind of girl, and I’ve searched our everyday lexicon for so long for a word, a way to express my love for/attraction to all people, all genders. When I heard Margaret speak a few years ago about being queer, it hit me like a ton of rainbow-colored bricks. A (married) woman who liked gay/straight/trans boys and girls? That’s what I was- a big queer chick like Cho!

For Margaret, there simply was no way to define her- or others like her. People like us couldn’t pick a team to play for, and dared to fall in love regardless of the genitalia at hand. Nothing fit better then “Queer”, an all-inclusive, non-gender discriminating sexuality impervious to categories, labels, or types. When Margret announced to the world that she was a queer woman, I felt like I found a famous sister in the struggle, like I was baptized with the holy spirit of queerness.

Margaret Cho expresses queerness in all her endeavors. She expresses queer in her speech, in her style, in her stage antics, in all aspects of this sometimes surreal life. From acting in movies like Bam Bam and Celeste to hosting the “True Colors” tour to starring in her traveling show “Beautiful” and now in her new VH1 reality series The Cho Show, Margaret Cho illustrates the triumphs and troubles of a queer woman. She is an unapologetic, modern -day sexual outlaw in this Wild West world.

Did Margaret create “queer” as identity? No. Did her sexy ass claim and celebrate it as her own? Yes. And for that, I learned to look in the mirror, love the space I take up, love the skin I’m in, love my crazy queer self.

“The Cho Show” airs on VH1 on Thursday nights, 11pm.