Not long ago, a friend of mine sent me a link to a post authored by comedian ProsexTips aka Bread Foster entitled “Equality: America this is why you're fat” on funnyordie.com. I had never read anything penned by that particular comic and was skeptical about the content I might find at the end of the link. A few sentences in, and this is what I discovered: “Being gay isn't a choice. Know how I know? I've never woken up in the morning and thought ‘I'd love a huge throbbing d*ck in my mouth.’” Admittedly, it was crude, yet a subtle chuckle escaped my lips. I was immediately intrigued. “Being gay also isn't a disease,” Foster continued. “If it were, then it would be treated like one. I'd be able to call out of work for a doctor’s appointment because I accidentally drank an Appletini and was feeling too ‘faggy’ to get to work that day.” Another chuckle and I was hooked.
Foster went on to make a few interesting observations regarding the great homophobic Chik-Fil-A debacle of 2012 and how American outrage over the issue was not the same as actually caring about and standing up for equality. He impressed me with his comedic prowess, and the fact that his support for LGBT rights shone through the raw nature of his material.
Recently, I had a chance to speak with the New York City and New Jersey-based comedian, producer of No Apologies Comedy at Gotham Comedy Club and Punch Drunk Comedy, midnights at The Stand, about his career, upcoming shows, and his views on LGBT issues.
“My entire stand up is about my life and all the stupidity I've lived through. I'm overly opinionated so I try to leave the audience with something more than jokes,” Foster said when asked about his Stand Up routine. “I used to do a bit about how I wished I was gay. I'm miserable at relationships, but gay dudes just seem to have the right idea. We call them gay because they're happy, right?”
“As a straight man, why is LGBT equality important to you?” I asked. “Why include it in your routine, at all?”
“Two reasons: Don't knock something until you try it. I have no desire to try it, so I can't knock it. Second, it’s easy to marginalize issues, to make them black and white, everyone forgets these are people that they're restricting the rights of. I just think it’s wrong to tell a person who they can and can't have sex with or marry. I just think it’s stupid that anyone would try to limit what organs people can and can't rub together .”
If you’re interested in learning more about Bread Foster, follow him on twitter @BreadFoster or check out his upcoming show with Nikki Glaser at The Stand on February 1st, 2013.
Comments