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The National Enquirer published this thing called the 'Chow like Cho Diet,' which was this fake diet that I never went on, with all these fake quotes from me, like 'When I was a little girl, I was raised on rice and fish. So when I get heavy, I go back to that natural Asian way of eating.' ... That is so Mulan. You can almost hear the mandolin in the background. 'When I was a little girl, I grow up on the rice paddy... and although we have no food, I have a tendency to put on weight.'

Margaret Cho#34

Margaret choStereotypeDietAsian american

About this quote

What does it mean?
Cho mocks a fake diet article that falsely attributes traditional Asian eating habits to her, highlighting how media stereotypes reduce complex identities to caricatures.
In plain terms
She criticizes a fake diet story that uses fake quotes to fit her into an Asian stereotype.
What can you take from it?
Beware of media narratives that simplify identity into cliches.

Where it applies

  • reading tabloids
  • discussing cultural identity
  • critiquing media

Putting it to work

  • fact checking celebrity news
  • discussing cultural representation

Questions to consider

  • How often are ethnic identities reduced to food habits?
  • What does it mean to be 'Asian enough'?

Another view

This relies on a specific tabloid incident that may not be widely known.

More from Margaret Cho

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