Hey Cho, Where You Goin’ With That Gun In Your Hand?

Ever since that fateful Friday, April the 6^th 2012, one haunting image has pursued me continuously. It has etched itself indelibly into my mind, rising up when I shut my eyes at night and refusing to leave when I open them each morning. I am, of course, talking about Margaret Cho’s ass cheeks.

I was excited at first as I sat in the Bailey Hall auditorium, waiting for the show to begin. My previous exposure to Margaret Cho had been almost exclusively from her cameo appearances on 30 Rock as the late Kim Jong-il (“North Korea. Everything’s sunny all the time always. Good time. Beach party. Back to you, Avery”), but I had heard so much about her that I knew I just had to be there.

The performance did not disappoint in the least. Topics covered ranged from marijuana-laced Listerine strips to a rather elaborate comparison between the rice paper coating of White Rabbit candy and foreskin. Also in the mix were more serious issues such as the “fontroversy” recently caused by the first run of promotional posters using a racist, orientalist font and sparking a debate on Cornell’s campus.

Openly bisexual and a proud self-proclaimed “fag hag,” Cho also dedicated a large part of her performance to the queer community, speaking about the friends she lost over the years, some to AIDS. At one point a huge pink, feathered, and bedazzled sign saying “BE OUR HAG!” was lifted by a group of Cornellians sitting near the front and handed to the comedian. Visibly moved, she asked if they were sitting there waiting this whole time for her to say the word “hag.” The whole thing was like a lovely, particularly queer version of the Secret Word from Pee-Wee’s Playhouse.

In her comedy, Margaret Cho skillfully treads a line between the political and the personal. She mines pain (including her own history of body issues and addiction) as well as joy for humor in a way that is thoroughly irreverent, yet simultaneously nurturing of the communities whose member or ally she considers herself to be.

A particularly bold and refreshing moment came about halfway through the show when Cho spoke about her recent abortion, ending with a call to action. She vocally expressed the sentiment that not enough women feel empowered enough to discuss abortion with each other and to help each other overcome the shame and stigma that many still attach to the act.

Another particularly powerful moment came as she lifted her shirt, undid her pants and turned around, displaying the tattoos all over her body, especially on her rear, to the entire audience. Following this, she vocally encouraged the audience to be proud of whom they are and to not let others shame us or the bodies we inhabit. The entire segment was especially moving in light of Margaret Cho’s own struggle with body issues and eating disorders. It stands as a perfect example of her ability to shock and amuse while daring us to flip our presuppositions.

After all, this transgressive, pants-less comedian shaking her butt at the audience is the one making more sense and showing more responsibility than the so called respectable society that had lead her and countless others to hate their bodies simply for who they are. Maybe that is something to be shocked by, but maybe we have been trained to be shocked by the wrong side.