Monday, May 21, 2012

the idea of “rice queens”


Swartmore.edu: According to Cho, racism against Asian Americans is more subtle then racism against other minorities. “It's about non-inclusion rather than racist slurs and hate crimes, which do happen too.” Cho pointed to the aftermath of the Virginia Tech massacre, in which the press “made a big deal out of the fact that the shooter was Korean...as if his race of his Asianess was somehow a contributing factor to his craziness.” Cho said that a week later, one of her comedy specials aired on television, and received complaints because people felt it was in “bad taste to show any more Chos on television.” Cho explained that the subtlety of this kind of racism made it difficult to identify. “But if I have such a hard time identifying and discussing it, how am I ever going to get over it'?” Cho explained that she was still trying to figure out how to deal with racism in queer communities, especially as it related to the idea of “rice queens” - white males who exclusively prefer to date East and Southeast Asian males. “It comes from this weird situation of thinking 'Oh, we're so discriminated against, we can do it to someone else.' It's very convoluted, and I don't know how to address it yet,” she explained (Margaret Cho Provokes Laughter and Thought in Q&A Session).


Margaret Cho (born December 5, 1968) is an American comedian, fashion designer, actress, author, and recording artist. Cho is best known for her stand-up routines, through which she critiques social and political problems, especially those pertaining to race, sexuality, and sex. She has also directed and appeared in music videos and has her own clothing line. She has frequently supported LGBT rights and has won awards for her humanitarian efforts on behalf of women, the transgender community, Asians, and the LGBT community. As an actress she has played more serious parts, such as that of John Travolta's long-suffering FBI colleague in the action movie Face/Off. She is part of the hit TV series Drop Dead Diva on Lifetime Television, playing the role of Teri Lee, a paralegal assistant. Cho began getting major tattoo work done in 2006 and has become an enthusiast; as of March 2007 she estimates that 15-20% of her body is currently tattooed. As of 2009, Cho lives in Peachtree City, Georgia. She is openly bisexual (Wikipedia).




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