Margaret Cho's #tellyourstory inspired by women speaking up about Jian Ghomeshi

    1 of 2 2 of 2

      Comedian Margaret Cho is all kinds of fierce. She's warrior fierce. She's Tyra Banks fierce. She's you-go-girl fierce. And when it comes to social issues, she is capital F fierce. 

      When Cho performed here in Vancouver and Victoria on November 1 and 2, she used that fierceness to support the Canadian women who spoke out about their experiences of violence and sex with Jian Ghomeshi.

      Both Cho and her opening act Selene Luna addressed the topical discussion about Ghomeshi, violence, sex, and women into their acts.

      Selene Luna
      s_bukley/Shutterstock

      Although Luna got the audience laughing when she asked how exactly does a woman demonstrate that she consented to some sexual acts but not others, such as saying yes to teabagging but no to choking, she did raise a complex, thought-provoking issue.

      As noted in a previous blog about her show here in the Great White North (or rather the Great Asian North, since she was in Richmond), Cho spoke about violence against women, and how angry it makes her.

      Inspired by their bravery, Cho began to tweet a series of messages supporting Canadian women, and encouraging other women to speak about their experiences.

      She then used the #tellyourstory hashtag to encourage Twitter users to spread the word and show their support online.

      Both on stage and on Twitter, Cho frankly stated that she is a survivor herself:

      She also said that she is related to Canadians:

      It's really up to us to ensure that something good comes of this Jian Ghomeshi scandal.

      One way to ensure that is to support women—whether we're male, female, or other—as they speak up about their experiences of violence, abuse, rape, and more.

      As Cho proves, telling your story, and supporting others doing so, is a way of showing how fierce you are.

      Comments

      3 Comments

      Linda double

      Nov 7, 2014 at 3:59pm

      I to an a rape survivor of childhood. I've shared and it takes away some of the fear, because there are so many of us but also frees you from the power of the act. I am not alone, it was not my fault and that gives me power.

      Honest Woman

      Nov 8, 2014 at 10:10am

      Statistics show that 2/3 women are complaining of being raped all across Canada. That means 66% of all the women have been raped!

      Yet this is the same country which has women marching down the streets on Slut Parades! Literally telling the world that they are proud to be sluts and demand that they not be treated as sluts eventhough they know and proudly declare they are sluts.

      There is a flaw in these 'rape' statistics. Clearly something is not right and perhaps we should stop pointing fingers at men and start looking at ourselves for how we are treated.

      Women who have self respect treat themselves and set the standard for others to treat them with respect. If you set low standards then expect animals/men to take advantage of you.

      More Honest Woman

      Nov 9, 2014 at 7:42am

      Honest woman, not only are you missing the irony of the Slut Parades, but you are suggesting that all or most Canadian women take part, when in reality it's a very small group. You are blaming the victim when you say that those with "low standards" should expect men to take advantage of them. The point of the Slut Parades is that men should not use the way women dress as an excuse for sexual assault. Stop justifying violence.