Maybe it is just me, but as I watched people file out of the Margaret Cho show while she was still performing, I couldn't help thinking that maybe it was not so much what she said on stage, but the fact that she was willing to say what she said without apology.
Hear me out on this one:
It seems to me from the conversations I had immediately following the show, people formed two opinions: You loved it or you hated it.
Yes, she had been here 10 years prior with a show focusing on the issues of self-esteem, extreme weight loss and selling her life story to Hollywood with a frank look at the hidden costs, but she also reflected on her role as an Asian American trying to navigate though our society.
It was a powerful, but funny look at topics that would normally make us squirm if it were not for her unique brand of humor.
This time around and a decade later, she has clearly figured out who she is and how she will live her life. And it appears that for the most part, it is on her terms.
I applaud her for being so vocal about it in her routine. We do not hear enough from women who are free to vocalize how they feel politically and sexually.
But as I listen to those who did not like the show, they often go to the topics she chose to cover and this is where I become puzzled.
For this show, I did not hear anything that truly shocked me that had not been covered before by male comedians.
It seems to me that what was at work here was a double standard. We allow male comics to talk this way but when a woman dares to venture down this path, we act shocked and in this case, sometimes walk out.
I am sure some people hit the aisles because they weren't properly briefed about the brand of humor she would be bringing to West Michigan.
And in all fairness, I was a bit shocked at the new material at times, too.
I had to keep checking my preconceived notions for instances where I would give a free pass to male comics, but might react otherwise toward a female just because the performance did not fit nicely with a stereotype.
But as I thought over the range of topics shared in often a laugh-out-loud manner, I welcomed them because of their honesty.
This boldness is what I have come to expect from women around me, so why not from my comics as well?
It is the 100th anniversary of International Women's History month and so it is worth mentioning (yet again) that women continue to make 77.5 cents for every dollar a man earns and are often rewarded with less success, regardless of education levels attained.
Well, it is almost just enough to make a gal want to stay home and bake cookies if it were not for one single fact that may be tipping the scales.
In 2009, women became the dominant majority in the workforce and by 2013, they will account for over 60% of college enrollment. The tide is changing.
In study after study, including the most recent Downtown Development Authority's project titled "Framing the Future," it was acknowledged that according to statisticians, our region this century belongs to women.
Hint: You might want to settle the books in the present before they have a chance to settle the score later. But let's face it: they just celebrated 100 years, so guys, it's high time to level the playing field.
But when I chatted with Betty White and inquired about this issue of female comics being held to a different standard, she reminded me of the line that not only female comics walk but guys, too.
"I have always had a raunchy sense of humor" said White, "but I liked double entendre because the people who get it, get a kick out of it. But those who don't, well, no harm, no foul. You either got it or you didn't."
She always knew where the fine line was when she performed over the past 63 years. Yet when pressed about the free pass men sometimes enjoy she is quick to wrap it up saying, "It is all just a matter of personal taste," adding "I am sure some people are offended by my double entendres."
And just when I thought my editorial was complete this week, another call came in to inform me that some people were annoyed with another comic's crude "cross-the-line" humor.
I was all set to hear another person who was upset over Cho's frank female dialogue only to discover it was about a male comic. This time it was Bill Cosby who was the subject of the outrage.
Maybe the tide is beginning to change after all.
Happy Women's History Month, ladies!
The Future Needs All of Us (to be there for women)
Tommy Allen, Lifestyle Editor
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