Risqué comedienne Margaret Cho has announced plans to take her Sensuous Women burlesque show to New York for a limited four week, off-Broadway run, which begins on October 6th. The always outspoken funnywomen, who began her career at 16 supporting Jerry Seinfeld, hopes the evening of song, dance and laughs will raise awareness and understanding for the numerous body issues that haunted her past.
“I have suffered from eating disorders and a horrendously distorted body image for my entire life, and I think the biggest reason is a lack of images of real women’s bodies,” explains Cho. “We are force-fed a steady diet of unattainable ideals, a tyranny of slenderness and youth, goals we can’t even aspire to, they are so far out of reach. When we see dancers who enjoy their bodies, who are sexy and having fun, it gives us permission to enjoy our bodies and to enjoy ourselves in the process. We are presented with a new ideal, not one that is about dieting ourselves down to a smaller size, but expanding our notion of what is beautiful and to allow ourselves to be included there too.”
Tickets for the show can be purchased in advance at: The Zipper Factory
If you or someone you know suffers from an eating disorder, help can be found at the NEDA website.
Top: Margaret photographed by Austin Young; Right: Nicole backstage with Margaret at The Greek Theatre, June 2007
Reminds me of something Maureen Dowd said. It was about how feminism these days has been reduced to women demanding their right to strip.