Margaret Cho could be the Suicide Girls' Den Mother. She's sporting some gorgeous Ed Hardy body art that winds around her waist, she's bumpin and grindin in her hot new burlesque show, and she loves naked tattooed women.
The comedic diva has won numerous awards for her human rights advocacy work including the Intrepid Award from the National Organization for Women, making feminism even foxier than bra burning. Her funny yet consciousness raising books and DVDs, like Assassin and I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, have inspired fans to stand up against the eroding of civil liberties and defend the First Amendment.
Consider this Q&A a political act: in exercising their rights to free expression, two tattooed women shoot the shit about stripping, favorite porn films, and bleeding for art.
Read more about Margaret Cho through her fabulous blog, and more about her Ed Hardy tattoo on Needled.com.
Photos by Forbes.
Marisa DiMattia: First, I wish I could've made it to LA to see your burlesque, belly dance, and comedy show. Sounds fabulous! I'd love to learn more about it and any future dates planned.
Margaret Cho: The show is called the Sensuous Woman, and it is my baby. We do a regular show every third Wednesday at El Cid in Los Angeles, and then we are doing some dates here and there. We have Largo in LA on 0ct 14th, then the Plush Room in San Francisco on Sept 26th....Many more to come.
MDM: What is it that attracts you to burlesque?
MC: I love to watch women, and the few men that do "boylesque," invent and reinvent themselves with dance, costumes, music, and theatrics. Burlesque nowadays attracts the most creative and innovative artists...it's incredibly fun! I love dance, and coming from a belly dance background, I have a lot of appreciation for bumps and grinds. I also love the whole variety show aspect, putting together amazing performers to create a huge night of entertainment...it's the best!
MDM: I also know so many heavily tattooed women and "alternative" beauties perform in burlesque shows. Is there something about burlesque that attracts performers that don't follow the stereotypical image of female beauty?
MC: I think there is a lot of audience identification in burlesque. Viewers see themselves in the performer, and if the performer is emphasizing her desirability, however outside the "norm" she may be, it is thrilling for viewers because they experience that same attitude voyeuristically. There are lots of comedic and dramatic elements too, so it isn't like going to a strip club. I have profound respect for strippers, but I know that sometimes they have to adhere to a far stricter aesthetic. In burlesque, the more real you are, the more the audience can feel you. Also, the rebellious nature of burlesque attracts tattooed rebels!
MDM: There are some who claim that burlesque, pin-ups and porn perpetuates sexism. How do you respond to that?
MC: I don't really understand that because the audience for burlesque and pin-up art is mainly women! Porn can be sexist and exploitative, but there is a lot out there that caters to women nowadays too. I think that a lot of old guard feminists had to work so hard to get out from underneath men that they are suspicious of anything that appears like the archetypes of the past, but burlesque makes fun of those archetypes, turns them completely around. It gives us power rather than takes it away.
MDM: Do you consider yourself a pro-porn feminist? Do you keep any porn around the house? If so, want to share any favorite titles?
MC: I think porn is great! I really love the old, big budget films, like Radley Metzger's The Image, or great Japanese classics like In the Realm of the Senses. There are also lots of great tattoos in some of Naomi Tani's Japanese erotic films.
MDM: As a vocal advocate for free expression and women's rights, do you have any advice for the young women of Suicide Girls on being sexy, but also being strong and fighting sexism and violence?
MC: I think that an important thing for young women to do is to know how to protect themselves physically. To keep ourselves from being victimized takes a lot of vigilance. When you feel powerful in your body, you increase your sense of personal power... we need to feel huge right now.
MDM: You've also helped a lot of women by being open about your past eating disorder and now loving your body. You've said that adorning your body with a tattoo is an expression of that love. Could you tell me more about how you feel that tattooing your body is a positive and life affirming act, rather than mutilation, as claimed by some critics of body art?
MC: It's been a very long journey, and falling in love with tattoos and tattooed women really helps. I think that when we are finally able to claim our bodies as our own, tattoos are a beautiful expression of that. For me, it is very sacred. My tattoo isn't for anyone else. It is mine, and every time I see it, I remember that my body is mine, which is as far from mutilation as you can get!
MDM: What attracts you to tattooed men and women?
MC: I love the look. I love that they are usually very committed people, who don't care what others think, who come from an aesthetic point of reference, who know lots about art, who treasure themselves...they are a higher breed.
MDM: Will you be getting any more?
MC: Possibly, but I love having this huge piece that covers most of my back and stomach. It's just so complete, such a perfect beautiful work from the great master Ed Hardy, I don't know what I could add right now.
MDM: Now that you're flashing that hot art work of yours while belly dancing, what has been the reaction?
MC: People are impressed, especially tattooed men who are too scared to get their ribs tattooed.
MDM: Do you feel sexier being tattooed?
MC: Absolutely!
The comedic diva has won numerous awards for her human rights advocacy work including the Intrepid Award from the National Organization for Women, making feminism even foxier than bra burning. Her funny yet consciousness raising books and DVDs, like Assassin and I Have Chosen to Stay and Fight, have inspired fans to stand up against the eroding of civil liberties and defend the First Amendment.
Consider this Q&A a political act: in exercising their rights to free expression, two tattooed women shoot the shit about stripping, favorite porn films, and bleeding for art.
Read more about Margaret Cho through her fabulous blog, and more about her Ed Hardy tattoo on Needled.com.
Photos by Forbes.
Marisa DiMattia: First, I wish I could've made it to LA to see your burlesque, belly dance, and comedy show. Sounds fabulous! I'd love to learn more about it and any future dates planned.
Margaret Cho: The show is called the Sensuous Woman, and it is my baby. We do a regular show every third Wednesday at El Cid in Los Angeles, and then we are doing some dates here and there. We have Largo in LA on 0ct 14th, then the Plush Room in San Francisco on Sept 26th....Many more to come.
MDM: What is it that attracts you to burlesque?
MC: I love to watch women, and the few men that do "boylesque," invent and reinvent themselves with dance, costumes, music, and theatrics. Burlesque nowadays attracts the most creative and innovative artists...it's incredibly fun! I love dance, and coming from a belly dance background, I have a lot of appreciation for bumps and grinds. I also love the whole variety show aspect, putting together amazing performers to create a huge night of entertainment...it's the best!
MDM: I also know so many heavily tattooed women and "alternative" beauties perform in burlesque shows. Is there something about burlesque that attracts performers that don't follow the stereotypical image of female beauty?
MC: I think there is a lot of audience identification in burlesque. Viewers see themselves in the performer, and if the performer is emphasizing her desirability, however outside the "norm" she may be, it is thrilling for viewers because they experience that same attitude voyeuristically. There are lots of comedic and dramatic elements too, so it isn't like going to a strip club. I have profound respect for strippers, but I know that sometimes they have to adhere to a far stricter aesthetic. In burlesque, the more real you are, the more the audience can feel you. Also, the rebellious nature of burlesque attracts tattooed rebels!
MDM: There are some who claim that burlesque, pin-ups and porn perpetuates sexism. How do you respond to that?
MC: I don't really understand that because the audience for burlesque and pin-up art is mainly women! Porn can be sexist and exploitative, but there is a lot out there that caters to women nowadays too. I think that a lot of old guard feminists had to work so hard to get out from underneath men that they are suspicious of anything that appears like the archetypes of the past, but burlesque makes fun of those archetypes, turns them completely around. It gives us power rather than takes it away.
MDM: Do you consider yourself a pro-porn feminist? Do you keep any porn around the house? If so, want to share any favorite titles?
MC: I think porn is great! I really love the old, big budget films, like Radley Metzger's The Image, or great Japanese classics like In the Realm of the Senses. There are also lots of great tattoos in some of Naomi Tani's Japanese erotic films.
MDM: As a vocal advocate for free expression and women's rights, do you have any advice for the young women of Suicide Girls on being sexy, but also being strong and fighting sexism and violence?
MC: I think that an important thing for young women to do is to know how to protect themselves physically. To keep ourselves from being victimized takes a lot of vigilance. When you feel powerful in your body, you increase your sense of personal power... we need to feel huge right now.
MDM: You've also helped a lot of women by being open about your past eating disorder and now loving your body. You've said that adorning your body with a tattoo is an expression of that love. Could you tell me more about how you feel that tattooing your body is a positive and life affirming act, rather than mutilation, as claimed by some critics of body art?
MC: It's been a very long journey, and falling in love with tattoos and tattooed women really helps. I think that when we are finally able to claim our bodies as our own, tattoos are a beautiful expression of that. For me, it is very sacred. My tattoo isn't for anyone else. It is mine, and every time I see it, I remember that my body is mine, which is as far from mutilation as you can get!
MDM: What attracts you to tattooed men and women?
MC: I love the look. I love that they are usually very committed people, who don't care what others think, who come from an aesthetic point of reference, who know lots about art, who treasure themselves...they are a higher breed.
MDM: Will you be getting any more?
MC: Possibly, but I love having this huge piece that covers most of my back and stomach. It's just so complete, such a perfect beautiful work from the great master Ed Hardy, I don't know what I could add right now.
MDM: Now that you're flashing that hot art work of yours while belly dancing, what has been the reaction?
MC: People are impressed, especially tattooed men who are too scared to get their ribs tattooed.
MDM: Do you feel sexier being tattooed?
MC: Absolutely!
VIEW 15 of 15 COMMENTS
Wow, not too many guys here with comments. I feel Special!
The Cho Show rocked - laughed my ass off (I wish ;-)