Margaret Cho at ZaniesThe Cho-sen One
Tracy Moore

Why is it that funny men get a hall pass from having to be conventionally attractive or athletic, but funny women are still forced into the same thin fuckable-lady outfit, whether it fits right or not? “I wanted to get tattooed over my whole body instead of plastic surgery,” comedian Margaret Cho told The View recently in explanation for the arm and thigh tats she’s sporting. “So then nobody would even notice my wrinkles—they’ll be like, ‘Oh my God, where’s that turtle going?” She was joking, but the joke was on her once. In the ’90s, Cho was told by TV execs that she was too fat and “not Asian enough” to play…herself. The show, All-American Girl, was canceled anyway and replaced with the apparently fashionably fat Drew Carey Show, and Cho kicked off a decade-long battle with anorexia, bulimia and some rude awakenings about the kind of female beauty that’s valued in TV Land. But Cho is still a success story—she’s stumping on her sixth comedy tour, Beautiful, and her Lifetime show Drop Dead Diva (their most-watched dramatic series) was just picked up for a second season. Not to mention that Cho championed LGBT awareness before LGBT awareness was cool, practically invented the term “fag hag,” and is living proof that the only criteria for funny ladies should be—gasp—that they’re funny. Look for her musical stand-up record Guitarded next year, as well as some preview material this weekend