My Own Body

I make a big deal about showing off my physique whenever I can because I think it is important for people to know what a 39 year old woman looks like. I don’t see that many images of women like myself out there, so I want to be a good example. Whenever I can, I put on a bikini or even just pasties and a g-string because I don’t want to hide out. I think that too many people have body issues, and if we just confront those issues head on, we can get rid of them.

For years I kept myself covered up because when I was doing TV a very long time ago, one of the executives I was working with said after my first screen test, “Never, ever show your stomach in public again,” and it just made me feel so freaked out by my own body. I just wanted to disappear. It sent me into a dieting frenzy that was almost deadly.

Now that I am older and wiser, I just want to enjoy my life, and not worry so much about what people think of me, how I look, if I am too fat or something – I just don’t give a shit.

23 thoughts on “My Own Body

  1. So I’ve been checking out your blog since I saw you perform in Vegas last month, and I really have enjoyed it…Sometimes I feel like I’m just reading an email from my friend(loved your Jon Stewart story!!!)…Anyway, it’s funny you write this today, as I have been wondering what kind of “real life” advice you would give another woman about to embark on their 30’s…Like, I would tell someone about to go through their 20’s “1. Wait to get married/have kids, 2. Invest in a vibrator and 3. (to borrow from you) Try not to be an asshole”.
    Is there anything you wish someone would have told you 8 or 9 years ago?

  2. if people don’t like what they see when they look at me, i suggest they close their eyes and avoiding looking at me, unless the sight of my fatness has blinded them, in which case i apologize in advance.

  3. I have been in 4 long term relationships in my life, but physical attributes like air bag sized breasts, and long legs have never been a consideration in my romantic life. I am currently single since my common law marriage ended last year, and I don’t think that I’m anywhere near ready to start a new relationship yet, but when I do, a sweet smile, dreamy eyes, and the desire to laugh will be the top 3 turn ons on my list, and weight isn’t really going to be a deciding factor for me.

  4. I’m 28 and don’t give a shit either. I decided to stop dieting for one whole year because I was sick of all my body drama. Now I don’t diet and my life is f-ing amazing…not really, but it is a lot better than it was.

  5. Hey Margaret!! Finally watched Bam Bam and Celeste!!! 🙂
    I almost cried! I thought it dealt with everything that I had to deal with as I was growing up.
    I am thinking of getting the copies for my cousins for their High school graduation gifts! 🙂
    🙂
    I love you!

  6. Awesome! Seriously, I love you and people who think like you. You are real, you give people hope and a dash of reality.

    Fuck all the executives who say shit like that. Seriously, they all have an IQ of about, oh, 90 and money is the only thing that strokes their ego. Otherwise, they’d be losers living in their mother’s basement who can’t get a date to save their life.

    I would love to see you in pasties in a G-string. Work it, girl!

  7. I think you look great, I am sorry I missed your show in Vegas, where I live now (I am from Italy), I just got to know about you tonight, watching your “Assassin”. I loved what you said about the Pope, finally somebody that tells it like it is! I am going to watch all your other movies, and hopefully one day can come to one of your show!
    Baci e abbracci (kisses and hugs in Italian)!

  8. Thanks, Margaret. Rock on. How crazy is it that living happily in your own body is “brave”? We gotta get used to being the naked mammals we really are – hair, squishyness, and all!

  9. Margaret, you are lovely inside and out. When I see and hear you, I see and hear a good part of me… guess it doesn’t hurt we’re 2nd generation Korean American females who think for themselves and seem to not fit a homogenous, typical mold. Well, thank you for your trailblazing ways and your candor and beauty. Your gorgeousness grows with each year! I struggle less with my personal body image issues, though I’m far from being cured from it, but I am beginning to appreciate my body more as a woman and a human being. As a 26-year-old woman, I’m more in tune with my sexuality and not being ashamed of using my body as an instrument to convey my sensual side; I don’t care if others, especially 1st generation Korean women, look down upon this inherent part of my very existence. And because of your openness and acceptance of this, I am reassured that I don’t have to hide who I am to anyone. Thank you, Margaret. You have spiritual allies all around. Many blessings to you and your loved ones.

  10. I wasn’t able to accept my body image until after reading an inspiring book titled, “Embracing Your Big Fat Ass”, by Laura Banks and Janette Barber.

    This book has jaw-dropping power. It made me realize that there’s strength in numbers. I’m joining the B-FAB Society! (Beautiful Fat Ass Babe Society.)

    I look forward to more uplifting posts from you site!

  11. Hey Margaet –

    I’m 1/2 Korean , born in ’68 too and up until a few years ago, when I saw you…I had no idea my big fat head was just a Korean trait. I shit you not. I had no clue. I was always so hung up with my weight and even though I would be a size 5 or 7…in my pictures I looked like a tubb. I had no clue it was just my head. Geez I’m f’d up. Any ways..now I now know thanks to you. I actually used to be ashamed of my fat head, but now I love it and found the humor in it, since I realized it’s just part of being Korean!!

    Thanks Homey

  12. ” Now that I am older and wiser, I just want to enjoy my life, and not worry so much about what people think of me, how I look, if I am too fat or something – I just don’t give a shit.”

    Very well said. It is just sad it took you till now to realize this. Truth be told you have been beautiful to me in every size and shape you have been from the first time I saw you as an novice comic.

    Darkest Blessings,

  13. LOVE you, Margaret! I’m also 39. We moved out of L.A. (to the Bay Area) 2 years ago, and I must say my self-image has improved a bit, lol!

    You are my hero.

    And if anyone’s interested, there’s a great book just out called “Thin Is The New Happy” by Valerie Frankel, about her struggles with her body image. (I’m not related to her or anything, I just loved the book.)

  14. Margaret,

    I just love you so much. I respect you for being out spoken and different than the status quo. You are so brave to be so honest in front of such a large audience – all the time, with no apologies.

    I’ve always felt outside of the box (of course secretly wanting to be inside, just to see how it feels). I doubt it is actually any easier. But you make me feel better about just being me. So thank you Margaret. You are wonderful and fabulous and help me love myself a little more that I did before.

  15. Hi Margaret, I am possibly your biggest fan! I am an Iranian American who always struggled between my two identities. I LOVED your show as a kid, All American Girl, and I was SO UPSET when it was cancelled! Of course my Muslim parents were happier about that…..Anyhow, I LOVE the way you are so proud of your body and who you are now, and I LOVELOVELOVE your new show! Keep up the good work! Love you!
    Minoo

  16. I recently saw you on a T.V show about tattoos…it might have been Tattoo Factory, I dunno. Before I saw it, all I knew about you is that you’re a hilarious comedian. You mentioned body image and how you’ve struggled with eating disorders. I was intrigued, googled you, and soon learned what an incredibly strong person you are.

    I, like sooo many other girls, have body image issues. I’ve had an on again off again struggle with eating disorders, and well, it sucks. No matter how much weight I lose, there’s always something wrong. If I lose too much, I’m afraid I’m not as womanly and attractive as I used to be. If I gain it back, or maintain a pretty average weight for my height, I feel like a lardass. I never win.

    I can hardly express how much I admire you after I’ve read about your struggle, and more importantly, your amazingly positive attitude towards your body.

    Eating disorders and poor self image can stay with a person forever. I know I’ll never be completely free from those nagging “fatty” thoughts. But you have honestly given me a glimmer of hope. I’ve never met any woman so confident in her self. What really gets to me is your love for all types of beauty in a woman. I’ve heard it all from so many actresses about how they think all women are beautiful, but nothing has ever stuck to me like this. I guess it’s because a lot of those women celebs already have an ideal body, or say one thing and do another by hiding an eating disorder. But you seem to have a passion for real beauty, and it’s not defined by weight. You recognize women as beautiful whether they’re thin, thick, average, top heavy, bottom heavy, whatever. It’s not the fact that their bodies meet a certain standard that makes them beautiful, it’s the fact that they are gorgeous because it’s just who they are.

    Anyway, like I said, you’ve given me a glimmer of hope. I’m not sure if I’ll ever be able to free myself from poor body image, but I know that every time I hate myself, I’ll remind myself of the things you’ve said and written. I’ll be reminded that I’m beautiful no matter what shape or size I am, and maybe someday that reminder will be what makes me put all of this eating disorder crap behind me.

    Sorry this was so long; but I wanted you to know that I truly think you’re making a significant difference in a lot of girl’s lives.

    (I love your tattoos, by the way)

  17. I really needed to read this today. Thank you for standing up for yourself so the rest of us can feel legitimized, too.

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