Margaret Cho Compares Anti-Asian Hate To the Homophobia of the AIDS Epidemic
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Margaret Cho is not only one of the most visible and well known Asian-American actor/comedians but also queer.
In that sense the actress, who is 52 years-old now, and Korean and bisexual, occupies two identities simultaneously not often associated with each other. And that gives her uniquely insightful observations and connections that would likely go unnoticed.
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When asked by TODAY about the connection between the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic and the spike in anti-Asian hate crimes, she’s quick to note the parallels to the plague years of the AIDS epidemic. “It’s been really alarming, but it’s also something that I remember very clearly from the AIDS epidemic, because there was so much homophobic hate crimes happening during that era. People were using AIDS as an excuse to act out on their homophobic rage. The disease and the pandemic, which AIDS was and as coronavirus is now, they have nothing to do with these groups of people. They want to use their hatred as a way to communicate their fear and it’s really scary, but it’s something that we’ve seen before.”
Cho expresses frustration to the push back she feels from white friends, “The idea that there isn’t racism against Asian Americans is absolutely untrue. Of course, there is. The silence around it and the unawareness and just the misinformation about it, it’s really bad. That alone kind of constitutes most of the main conversation. The invisibility is the worst, so every conversation is really about that. It’s like just people not being aware, and especially white people not being aware.”
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She’s been using her podcast “The Margaret Cho,” to battle misinformation. This work is also how Cho copes with her own fear, which can sometimes feel overwhelming. “It’s about taking those anxieties and turning that into action,” she said. “Whether that be very active talking about these issues, whether it’s making art about it, writing about it, whether it’s posting on social media, it’s about being very active and engaged with the anxiety so that it doesn’t completely shut me down.”
“I think it’s just really about representation and being able to present the idea that even as other, we still are inside. There is definitely a place for storytelling about otherness that can include everyone, that is open for everyone and invites everyone as audience. So I think that it’s important to be able to continue to be a storyteller and really share the experience of the other for those who don’t feel othered.”
She pointed out other Asian American luminaries are doing this work too, including BD Wong, Olivia Munn, Awkwafina and Bowen Yang. “All these amazing voices, opinions, thoughts and ideas that are expressed by younger Asian American people, I’m really proud of them. Oh, and queerness is a really a big part of that, too.”
