PRIDE GUIDE 1995 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 51

'Bi-nority' comedian comes to Visions

by Nancy Marcus

On June 10, Mimi-Freed, a comedienne from San Francisco who really does spell her name with an "equals" sign, will be performing at Visions in Cleveland. Freed describes herself as a stand-up comic and freelance journalist, and acknowledges there's not much difference between the two. She interviewed Camille Paglia for On Our Backs recently, and now believes no audience in the world will be as tough as that one. Her articles have also appeared in Ten Percent magazine and the Advocate. As a self-described "bisexual

qweirdo" (weirdo

your experiences, and the gay communities, in these cities?

MF: I'm really impressed with Cleveland so far; people in the midwest are so real. People warned me before I got here that Cleveland used to have the reputation of being the "mistake by the lake," but I feel that a better description of Cleveland is the "success in the midwest." The city feels like a pocket of progressiveness. San Francisco, of course, is far more activist than Cleveland, and more activist than New York as well, but what do you expect-San Francisco is the gay mecca,

queer) she thrills at 'We need to start viewing

pushing people's but-

tons and acknowledges

each other as equals, just

that fast forward is her like we want to be viewed

favorite. She was featured on Comedy

Central's Women Aloud for this attitude.

Freed has entertained audiences with stand-up comedy and spokenword performances in

as equals, and things like separatism can keep us from achieving that equality.'

New York, Provincetown and San Francisco, and emceed at the kick-off stage at the 1993 March on Washington. Recently, she came to Cleveland to emcee the annual Human Rights Fund Campaign Fund dinner. While she wasn't behind the microphone, making Newt Gingrich jokes for the benefit of his sister Candace, the guest of honor, Freed had time for a brief interview.

Nancy Marcus: Mimi-Freed, spelled with an "equals" sign: What does this name mean, and how did you come up with it?

Mimi-Freed: Well, the first question people will usually ask when they see my name is "What does it mean," which then leads to the question of "What does equality mean"-I want people to focus on the meaning of equality for all people. There's another meaning to my name was well, a more personal meaning: if you look at it literally, "Mimi equals freed," then what it really means to me is that I, Mimi, am freed. I'm trying to reclaim the masculine language of math.

NM: So with your name, you're challenging people to think about the meaning of both equality and freedom. What does freedom mean for you?

MF: San Francisco has freed me to be me, and now I want to take the San Francisco message of liberation to other parts of the country.

NM: "Are you originally from San Francisco?

MF: No, I'm actually from Detroit, so being in Cleveland kind of feels like home. I also lived in New York for a while before moving to San Francisco.

NM:

And how would you compare

and New York just has pockets of community here and there.

NM: How do you see other cities rising to the level of San Francisco in the success of their gay activism?

MF: We need to start by viewing each other as equals, just like

we want to be viewed as equals, and things like separatism can keep us from achieving that equality. Discrimination of gays has been so harmful and caused such a deep wound, that we did have a need for separatism at one time; separatism came out to heal the wound. But the wound's been healed a bit now, and we really shouldn't exclude women who are different, women who are transgendered, transsexual, bisexual, or even straight, from "women's communities." For years, lesbian separatism has had an "esprit de corps" about it.

NM: Have you personally felt the effects of separatism, or are your feelings about lesbian separatism coming from a mostly political standpoint?

MF: Well, I am actually a bi-dyke"byke" for short.

NM: Kind of like a lesbian-identified bisexual?

MF: No, a dyke-identified bisexual. You know, some bisexuals identify as half gay, half straight, but I identify as half dyke and half bisexual... 100 percent queer.

NM: And do you find that humor is a good medium to bring up issues involving acceptance of bisexuality?

MF: Yes... I try to have some bisexual material in every comedy set I do. I was the "bi-nority" comedian at the March on Washington this past year, the token bisexual comedian, and I had a lot of fun with that. For years, we've been forbidden to say some of this stuff, but I find that the younger queer audiences are much more open to bisexuality.

NM: I understand you'll be returning to Cleveland on June 10, during Pride Week, to perform at Visions ...

MF: Yes, I am. Please, lesbians, don't be afraid of the men... and come to Visions!

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