and i’m here to warsh your vagina

i have peculiar and particular tastes. i have moody reactions to recommendations. i generally despise what’s popular, especially things that are getting a lot of self-congratulatory media buzz. i very often invent reasons for not liking popular shows/artists/trends… you’ll never find me wearing a jean jacket, i still can’t bring myself to watch friends or seinfeld and don’t even get my started on the faux hawk.

when friends started ranting and raving about comedienne margaret cho a few years ago, i was immediately turned off. from my friends’ descriptions, she sounded like another minority comic taking advantage of racism and throwing it back at the audience. i’ve never been impressed by black comics who spend half their routine making fun of black people [because they can] and the other half of their routine making fun of white people [because they can]. i didn’t warm to the idea of a korean-american comic making slanty-eyed jokes and chopstick references and exploiting cultural stereotypes.

after much prodding, though, .gregiño convinced me to watch her dvds and i was pulled in immediately. i loved her. i loved every word delivered by her sharp tongue and sharper wit. i suppose my preconceived notion of what she was all about was technically right, but i immediately felt that margaret was much more than a comic—that there’s an intensely intelligent, politically-motivated, culturally-aware freedom fighter inside.

on tuesday, rob, .marcos, .gregiño, atif, wes and i found ourselves are her new state of emergency show, here in london. was had the best seats in the house, and were at eye-level with the ultimate fag hag, ms. cho. [cliché warning] i laughed so hard i cried, i laughed until every muscle in my face was sore, i laughed so hard my bladder was about to explode.

the genius of margaret cho is not her delivery, or her material, or her subject matter… the power she has comes from the authenticity and intelligence behind her routine. it’s more than just comedy, it’s political activism, a fight for social equality. for gays, for straights, for minorities, for americans, for overweight, for the oppressed, for the cheated, for asians, for outsiders, for divas, for freaks, for anyone who’s felt excluded from the cool kids.

her new london show is a perfect mix of ~`classic’~ margaret material [the usual korean, fag hag, overweight jokes], combined with her brilliant analysis of current affairs [bush, gay rights, moveon.org] -and-, as icing on the cake, subtle, very subtle calls-to-action, to fight for marriage equality and getting rid of the death penalty and many other topics which lazy, fun-loving gay homosexualists should get themselves concerned with.

after the show, we ambushed her as she left the theatre. as is always the case with celebrities, there was a huge disconnect between who we thought her to be and who she is. or, rather, we already know so much about her, and consider her to be a great friend, like we could easily, immediately hang out and have a blast. but to her, we’re just gay boys 65,123 to 65,129 that she’s met in her life, more adoring fans thinking that we are her new best friends.

we posed for photos, made some awkward jokes about london life, .marcos plugged himself, i plugged the magazine and then it was all over. i’d love to hang out, i’d love to laugh about life, love, london with her. i’d love to get her as a columnist for Qr, i’d love to have her over for christmas dinner.

margaret cho is performing through january 1 at the new players theatre in london.