Watch Margaret Cho Talk About Being Queer in Comedy

Cho talks about her intersectional identity as a queer woman of color, and how she was impacted by the AIDS crisis in San Francisco.

By Von Diaz Nov 19, 2013

In a recent video for MAKERS–a PBS and AOL digital storytelling collaboration that showcases women trailblazers in the U.S.–Margaret Cho shares her story of coming of age as a queer woman of color, and growing up in San Francisco during the AIDS crisis. She says AIDS activists, particularly those who worked at the gay bookstore her parents owned, inspired her to take the stage and pursue comedy.

Cho also says her intersectional identity has inspired her unique brand of comedy, and enables her to push boundaries other comics often don’t cross. 

"You do get to a point in your minority status where you become unassailable. Especially for me, because I’m queer, I’m a woman of color, somebody that is normally perceived as policing all the things that people say are racist or sexist or homophobic. You can go to a more outrageous place because of your identity," she says.

(h/t HuffPo Gay Voices)