Comedy in Dallas? Cho Enough!

Margaret Cho is heading to Dallas for shows at the Addison Improv May 8-10. She says she really doesn't know much about Dallas, although she has been to the city a number of times, including to work with the Turtle Creek Coral. One thing Cho does know for sure is comedy, with tours, TV, and a plethora of honors to her name. But comedy isn't the only thing she's a pro at. She is a force not to be ignored when it comes to fighting racism, bullying, and homophobia.

Edge caught up with Cho to find out more about what she stands strong on.

EDGE: What do you think about Hillary running for President?

CHO: She's done it before obviously. I don't understand what the problem is.

EDGE: How did women's bodies become public property and what are we going to have to go to get them back?

CHO: It's about getting very adamant about not adding to it. There is a culture of hostility around women's bodies. Women are guilty of it, too. We have to stop that. We have to stop that sexism within ourselves. And not be angry about not having a thigh gap. And all the things that no one has without Photoshop.

EDGE: How do you see the state of LGBT rights these days?

CHO: I think it's going well compared to what it has been. It seems to be like we're gaining ground and there is a social awareness of what homophobia is. And the majority of people don't want that. I think its getting better. I would hope so. Maybe I'm just optimistic.

EDGE: There's still so much bullying going on, especially of LGBT youth. What would you tell all the baby dykes and newbie gay boys who are stuck in central Iowa hating their lives because of how awful people are to them?

CHO: It's horrible. I don't know how people survive. They should not listen to it. They've got to realize how horrible and stupid it is and in time it won't matter and it really doesn't matter now.

EDGE: Why do you choose to use the word queer?

CHO: Queer is a terms that grew to prominence use in the '80s with ACT Up. It's about trying to reclaim these words that were used as weapons against us. Queer was the word that we all agreed on because it covered all of our identities fairly.

My history is an AIDS activist. That era of queer protest is my generation. That word comes from politics. It comes from the awareness that we need to have a word that identifies all of us as a group.

EDGE: Why is the U.S. so weird about sex? On one hand we are so hyper-sexualized and on the other we are so puritanical.

CHO: It's very strange. People need the information, and they are getting a lot of misinformation online, maybe because there's so much available online. Learning about sexuality has become private and so we don't talk about it. We need to talk about it.

EDGE: What are your thoughts about providing that information as part of a sex education curriculum in our schools?

CHO: It's very important. We need to expand the curriculum to include all kinds of sexuality. We need to understand all of the communities and start looking at it from a cultural and social standpoint. Abstinence education is unrealistic. With it, you'll have more instances of what ignorance brings about. Education is key.

EDGE: Is marriage as we know it outdated?

CHO: The reason we still need to talk about marriage is to talk about marriage equality, to have the same rights across the board for gay people and straight people. Marriage is an institution that should be for everyone. Marriage equality is something that everyone should have.

In general, when people are hateful, it's all about their own self-loathing. Still nasty words are nasty words. How do you handle the haters?

I try not to get involved in that stuff. I try not to get too affected. A lot of it is so stupid. I can't really keep up with it.

Margaret Cho plays May 8-10 at the Addison Improv, 4980 Beltline Road #250, Addison, TX 75254. For information or tickets, call call 972-404-8501 or visit http://addison.comedyreservations.com/.