It is important to note that there are people, who are NOT gay, who fight for YOUR gay rights! That's right. They deserve recognition and praise from us, so don't mistreat your fag hags, because the good ones would stand between you and a gay-basher, taking off her heels and putting her dukes up to protect you.
I have decided to use what little "celebrity" I have through this blog, to educate those who maybe, don't know about the people who work so hard to bring joy, peace, change in our world. This will include important people in politics, pop culture, gay rights, publications, and local small town heros. I think that you should have a respect for those who fought and still fight for you, even though they may not actually know you...but how can you, unless you KNOW what they did. So here you go. My contribution to awareness.
I couldn't think of anyone more deserving to be the first person in the Tutorial. She is phenomenal, caring, open and free to the world, she is unique, she is funny, she is an icon. She is the one and only...
Margaret Cho
Margaret Cho is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and as of 2008, recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race and sex. In acting terms, she has played more serious parts, such as that of John Travolta's long-suffering FBI colleague in the action movie Face/Off.
She has also directed and appeared in music videos, and has her own clothing line. She has frequently supported gay rights, and identifies herself as bisexual. She has won awards for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of women, Asians, and the LGBT (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgendered) community.
Cho's comedy routines are often explicit. She has covered substance abuse, eating disorders, her bisexuality and obsession for gay men, and Asian-American stereotypes, among other subjects, in her stand up.
ALL AMERICAN GIRL:
In 1995, ABC developed and aired a sitcom based on Cho's stand-up routine. The show, All American Girl, was initially feted as the first show where an East Asian family was prominently featured.
Cho has expressed subsequent regret for much of what transpired during the production of the episodes of the show.
* After network executives criticized her appearance and the roundness of her face, Cho starved herself for several weeks; her rapid weight loss, done to modify her appearance by the time the pilot episode was filmed, caused serious kidney failure.
* The show suffered criticism from within the U.S. East Asian community over its perception of stereotyping. Producers told Cho at different times during production that she was "too Asian" and, that she was "not Asian enough". At one point during the course of the show, producers hired a coach to teach Cho how to "be more Asian".
* Much of the humor was broad, and at times, stereotypical portrayals of her close Korean relatives and homosexual book-shop customers.
The show was quickly canceled after suffering from poor ratings, and the effect of major content changes over the course of its single season.
Following the show's 1995 cancellation, Cho became addicted to drugs & alcohol. As detailed in her 2002 autobiography, "I'm the One That I Want", in 1995, her substance abuse also degraded a performance in Monroe, Louisiana, that she was booed off the stage by 800 college students.
Cho's career and personal life were challenged after the cancellation of the show, but Cho eventually sobered, refocused her energy and developed new material. In 1999, she wrote about her struggles with the show in her first one-woman show, "I'm the One That I Want." Cho then released her book of the same name, and the show was filmed and released as a concert film in 2000. Her material dealt with her difficulties breaking into show business due to her ethnicity and weight, and her resulting struggle with and triumph over body image issues and drug and alcohol addiction
The poster for her first one-woman show (and film), I'm the One That I Want, featured her holding her arms out as if gripping a steering wheel but with her index finger extended, an allusion to a long joke she tells involving the rides home after using digital rectal stimulation while performing fellatio in order to expedite her partner's orgasm.
Cho also became well known for portraying her relationship with her mother in her work, particularly in imitating her mother's heavily accented speech. Her depictions of "Mommy" became a popular part of her routine.
Cho's material often features commentary on politics and contemporary American culture. In addition to her shows, Cho also developed an additional outlet for her advocacy with the advent of Margaretcho.com and her daily weblog.
A substantial segment of her material and advocacy addresses gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues. When San Francisco mayor Gavin Newsom directed that San Francisco's city hall issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in San Francisco in 2004 (until reversed by the state supreme court), Cho started Love is Love is Love, a website promoting the legalization of gay marriage in the United States.
Cho has also been outspoken about her dislike of current President George W. Bush. She began to draw intense fire from conservatives over her fiercely anti-Bush commentary; a live performance in Houston, Texas was threatened with picketing. Although protesters never showed up, she held a counter protest outside the club until security told her she had to go inside.
In 2004, Cho was performing at a corporate event in a hotel when, after ten minutes, her microphone was cut off and a band was instructed to begin playing. Cho claims this was because the manager of the hotel was offended by anti-Bush-administration comments. Cho's payment, which was issued by way of check directly to a non-profit organization, a defense fund for the West Memphis Three, initially bounced but was eventually honored.
In July 2004 during the Democratic National Convention, Cho was dis-invited to speak at a Human Rights Campaign/National Stonewall Democrats fundraiser out of fear that her comments might cause controversy. In November 2005, she campaigned to pardon Stanley "Tookie" Williams, an early Crips gang leader, for his death sentence for four murders. On December 13, 2005, after exhausting all forms of appeal, Williams was executed by lethal injection at San Quentin State Prison, California.
She emceed the multi-artist True Colors Tour, which traveled through 15 cities in the United States and Canada. The tour, sponsored by the Logo channel, began on June 8, 2007. Headlined by Cyndi Lauper, the tour also included Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Gossip, Rufus Wainwright, The Dresden Dolls, The MisShapes, Rosie O'Donnell, Indigo Girls, The Cliks and other special guests. Profits from the tour helped to benefit the Human Rights Campaign as well as PFLAG(Parents & Friends of Lesbians And Gays) and The Matthew Shepard Foundation.
On January 25, 2008, Cho officially gave her support to Illinois Senator Barack Obama for the nomination on the Democratic ticket for the 2008 U.S. presidential race. After Republican Presidential candidate John McCain announced his running-mate, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska, Cho said of Palin, "I think [Palin] is the worst thing to happen to America since 9-11." ....OH SNAP.
AWARD WINNER:
* In 1999, I'm The One That I Want won New York magazine's Performance of the Year award and was named one of the Great Performances of the year by Entertainment Weekly.
* In 2000, her "E! Celebrity Profile" won a Gracie Allen Award from the American Women in Radio and Television organization acknowledging its "superior quality and effective portrayal of the changing roles and concerns of women."
* In 2000, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) awarded her with a Golden Gate award and described her as an entertainer who, "as a pioneer, has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity."
* In 2001, she was given a Lambda Liberty Award by Lambda Legal for "pressing us to see how false constructions of race, sexuality, and gender operate similarly to obscure and demean identity."
* In 2003, she received a "Justice in Action" award from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.
* In 2003, she was given an Intrepid Award by the National Organization for Women.
* In 2004, she was awarded with the First Amendment Award from the American Civil Liberties Union.
* In 2007, she won for Outstanding Comedy Performance in AZN's Asian Excellence Awards.
* April 30, 2008 was declared "Margaret Cho Day" in San Francisco, CA.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
* I'm the One That I Want (2000)
* I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight (2005)
She is an amazing woman who has been through her own personal struggles, professional struggles, and political struggles, and still managed to become an icon. For anyone who thought she was just some funny asian chick who has been on TV a time or two, you have just been SCHOOL'D...boom.
