I'm the One That I Want

by Margaret Cho

Comedian. Icon. TV star. Role model. Trash talker. Fag hag. Gypsy. Tramp. Thief. Margaret Cho displays her numerous sides in this funny, fierce, and honest memoir. As one of the country’s most visible Asian Americans, she has a unique perspective on identity and acceptance. As one of the country’s funniest and most quoted personalities, she takes no prisoners. And as a warm and wise woman who has seen the highs and lows of life, she has words of encouragement for anyone who has ever felt like an outsider. With I’m the One That I Want, Margaret Cho has written a book every bit as hilarious, shocking, and insightful as she is.

• ISBN10: 0345440145
• ISBN13: 9780345440143
• Publish Date: 30 April 2002 (first published 1 March 2001)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 25 August 2014
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Ballantine Books
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 224
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780345440143

Reviews

[nannah]

Yeaaaah, I'm not sure why this is in the categories "Humor" or "Comedy". I mean, sure, Margaret Cho is a comedian, but the book itself isn't comedic. It has comedic touches, but it's overall a pretty serious account of her life leading up to her career taking off.

Content warnings (oh boy):
drug addiction
alcoholism
sexual harassment
rape
gendered slurs
transphobia (&transphobic slurs)
homophobic slurs
fatshaming
racism (in-book)
ableism

I wanted to like this so bad. My mother loves Margaret Cho, and although I've never seen any of her stand-up, I've heard such great things about her comedy that I just wanted to fall in love with her voice. And, I mean, I did sympathize with her cycles of self-sabatoge and making light of her sufferings (something I do too :/ ), and the very ending of the book was so hopeful and inspirational that I was left feeling rosy-eyed about everything.

But she fat-shamed people in the book, she used transphobic slurs, homophobic slurs, etc. And not just once, but several, several times. I know Margaret Cho isn't straight, but continually using the f** word made me on the verge of closing the book and picking something else up. She also seems to have a strange infatuation with gay men that seems . . . bordering fetishization? Again I'm not very familiar with Margaret Cho, but it made me very uncomfortable.

So while the ending was great, and I have nothing against her actual journey, the writing and language really put me off.