MARGARET CHO: FOREVER FEARLESS

Alex Blynn
Jun 9
3 min read

Updated: Jul 1

Our PRIDE 2026 Digital cover Star Chats Queer Community, Trans Safety, and Her Hopes for the Future, All from Within the Heart of Gay-Ol' WeHo at The Sunset Marquis (and get ready for Margaret on the print cover of VALŪS Issue 004 Summer 2026, out this July!)

Taken from VALŪS Issue 004 Summer 2026 print edition - pre-order your copies today!

Written by Alex Blynn

What does PRIDE mean to you in 2026?

“It’s about being vocal and visible maintaining that spirit of resistance. It's not just a party, it’s a chance for us to stay on topic to protect our community. And right now, to protect the trans community is of utmost importance. I find it disheartening how so much of the LGBT community will abandon the trans community in order to appear to be a ‘normal gay.’ Which is absurd, because there is no such thing as a ‘normal gay.’ Also, we wouldn't have Pride without the trans community, who deserve safety and human rights. We really need to bring everyone in the queer community together, and remind those who oppose us that if you come for one of us you come for all of us.

Margaret wears a gown by CAMILLA, jewelry by PHARAOUN, heart shades from CROSSROADS TRADING

What was your coming out process like?

“My family owned a gay bookstore, so I was surrounded by gay people when I was a kid. My first Pride was in 1978. There really was an assumption that I was going to be gay. I was bookish and heavily into sports. So that may have been a sign. A red flag. A denim flag. A flannel flag, that something gay this way cometh. I was a little fireplug, and my parents were like, we probably have a big ol’ lez’ here. But, interestingly, coming out first as a lesbian to my parents was no big deal. It was actually later, when I came out as bisexual, that they had a problem. They don’t believe that bisexuality exists. They just think it’s weird. They think it’s a hoax. And they're much more accepting of me with women in my life than when I have men in my life. They're from a generation where people would say they were bisexual to sort of give people a hope that maybe they are straight, so they don’t fully buy the whole bisexuality thing. Fascinating how traditional people still can be!”

What do you hope for the future as a leader in the LGBT community?

“I hope we can get our country back. I hope we can fight for the safety and equality of trans lives. And in particular, Black trans women. Hopefully, we can eventually restore all that we have lost, due to all these insane laws and bills and an utterly compromised Supreme Court, which has allowed all this to happen.”

Be sure to catch Cho on her Choligarchy tour, now through November, and get ready for the rest of her interview and photos in the upcoming Issue 004 Summer 2026 print edition, available worldwide this July!