Sam Killermann on Understanding the Complexities of Gender (Full Transcript)

Sam Killermann at TEDxUofIChicago

Here is the full transcript of Sam Killermann’s TED Talk: Understanding the Complexities of Gender at TEDxUofIChicago.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here: Understanding the Complexities of Gender by Sam Killermann at TEDxUofIChicago

Sam Killermann – Comedian and social justice advocate

So, I’m not gay. Thank you. I’m not. But I find myself saying that a lot. You could go so far as to say that I’m professionally not gay, which is weird, because my life revolves around a comedy show called It’s Pronounced Metrosexual, where I go onstage, and I talk about identity and snap judgments on sexuality. But the funniest thing about all of this is that none of it really has anything to do with sexuality. The reason why I started doing that show, and the reason why people always assume I’m gay has nothing to do with sexuality. It’s all about gender.

Gender and sexuality are often lumped together but they’re two different things. It’s like apples and sexy oranges. Not the same thing. They’re certainly related, but they’re independent concepts. It’s important to realize that one does not dictate the other. Today I’m going to be talking about gender and not sexuality.

Gender is something we all learn about as kids, but we learn a very limited concept of a concept that’s truly unlimited. What we learn as kids is just incomplete. It’s pieces of the puzzle, but it’s not the full scene. Now, in case you didn’t grow up in the States or missed it growing up, I’m going to give you a quick rundown on gender as it’s taught here, maybe you’ll relate.