She’s Still The Best: Suzanne Westenhoefer Talks to Cherry Grrl

you have got to pay attention. Because sometimes I think we can live in New York and we can live in LA and San Francisco and certain cities and our struggles are slightly different than Oklahoma City or Wichita. You know what I mean? And we don’t want to forget that. You don’t want to go to some city where some young man has just been beaten up in his school and is lying in a hospital with brain damage because he dressed as a girl and start doing jokes about how terrible it is in LA because we can’t get the right to get married. You want to make sure you’re being careful and aware. You try to make the struggle real, and where it affects everybody.

CG: And as the one of the first openly gay comedians on the main stage you certainly have a lot of experience with all of that. Have you ever had any regrets that you entered into the industry as an out lesbian?
SW: I can’t say that I would ever regret it but I can be honest and say that I’m not unaware that it probably affected my career. But I think that that’s okay. In the end, I’m an activist.  So it wasn’t going to ever be any other way – this is what it was going to be.

CG: And you have certainly had a lot of support from the lesbian community throughout your career – even recently topping Curve Magazine’s list of the best lesbian comedians. How did that feel?
SW: (laughs) Well it’s very rare for me to be on top, as my girlfriend mentions… So that was fun. But it was a huge honor and very exciting. It makes you feel like: Oh hey, everybody does like me. (laughs) It’s so sad but it’s so true.

CG: That list included a lot of really, really wonderful lesbian comics. Why do you think it is that so many gay women go into comedy and are so good at it?
SW: You know… it’s the oldest conversation in the book. Ever since I can remember doing stand up and hanging out with gay comics… Why are there so many gay women drawn to comedy and so few gay men? No one can really answer it. We’ve discussed it and discussed it and discussed it. The only thing we can say is: Why are there so many gay men drawn to ballet and so few gay women? Don’t know – there isn’t really a good answer and yet we all understand it when we say it. And of course there are probably a hundred thousand lesbian ballerinas, but there are way more boy ballerinas. Why? I don’t’ know. We don’t know! But it does sort of lean to that there is something inside us. You know what I mean? Something interesting. And it does sort of continue – if you take everybody who has ever stepped up on stage to do stand-up – that the percentage of gay women to gay men is completely skewed. It’s crazy. Probably 1 to 30. One to 40! I don’t know why.

CG: And even the percentage of gay women to straight women seems to be far higher.
SW: Oh it’s huge. It’s also skewed. Many of the women who are playing straight, are not. As we know by how many came out as soon as they could and how many who we had always suspected… Ellen, Rosie, Wanda, Judie Gold – they played straight. They’re not! And we know they’re not. And those are four of the most successful. That’s the way it is… you start naming them and it’s an interesting thing.

CG: So, moving a little bit away from your career in comedy – we have really enjoyed watching you on the web series, “We Have To Stop Now.”  What has that experience been like for you?
SW: It was a blast. I love working with Jill and I love working with Cathy. I love acting and I don’t get to do it much and those two, and Robyn the Director, are so supportive and gentle with me. It’s been a blast – we’re having a great time. And they’re all going to go on the Sweet Cruise and there may or may not be a second season and we may or may not be filming some of it on that cruise. So that’s going to be very exciting. I hope that all does really happen.

CG: That’s very cool. And just one of the many, many things scheduled to be going on during that trip. Are you looking forward to being on board?
SW: Oh my God! It’s going to be incredible. And a little bit of it is going to be sort of bittersweet and sort of exciting because it’s the first trip they’re going to do and no trip is ever going to be like that ever again. Every trip after that is probably going to be better, but this is going to be the baby trip – the first trip. I think having the opportunity to be on the first one… you don’t get that ever again. Even my gay sister is going! With her girlfriend! So many friends will be there; we’re all going to be on it so it’s going to be so exciting for that reason too. And I suspect – and this is my personal thing, Shannon doesn’t believe me – but I suspect there is going to be more sex on this particular cruise.

CG: Because it’s the first one?
SW: Yes – and because so many of us know each other. I just think something is going to be in the air.

CG: Well another big thing going on during the cruise will be the voluntourism. Will you be taking part in that?
SW: Probably I’ll be doing some of it. It’s something I’m kind of looking forward to because I’m not a big beach girl. For those who haven’t ever seen me… I’m a little pale (laughs). I’m not a big lay in the sun kind of chick. And I’m not very much for like, ball games. But I’m really super hyper OCD clean so if you gave me the choice of playing sand volleyball or like taking this one half of the beach and cleaning up of all kinds of debris, I would take that cleaning up of all kinds of debris… every time. Because that makes me feel like I’ve really achieved something (laughs). I’m really prefect for this sort of thing. I’m not sure how much work I’ll be doing on the trip so I don’t know what I’ll have time to do but that’s my goal. Shannon will tell you, I’m super OCD and I’m super organized and I like everything clean – so if it’s about cleaning up, I’ll probably be in that group (laughs). That’s right up my alley.