New York comedian and author Rob Anderson just released a new book called Gay Science: The Totally Scientific Examination of LGBTQ+ Culture, Myths, and Stereotypes. Inspired by his viral Gay Science video series, Anderson’s now gone back and recreated several lessons from the series for the page.
Gay Science contains 60 topics including nutrition, genetics and chemistry, among many other science-related subjects. Anderson met up for lunch before his Chicago book signing at City Lit Books in Logan Square.
Windy City Times: Are you originally from New York?
Rob Anderson: I am from New Jersey, but I live in New York City now.
WCT: Did you study science in school?
RA: The basics and what was required for college. I always loved it, but I didn’t major in it or have a degree in science.
WCT: Did you ever make a science project?
RA: Of course. I feel like we have all done them! I once made a science project about color and light. I had filters with magenta and cyan to show how they work, but it wasn’t thrilling or anything.
WCT: You were making rainbows even back then.
RA: Actually, yes! I always wanted to make the stereotypical volcano thing, but I don’t know if anyone actually makes them.
WCT: Like The Brady Bunch! Was this at the Carly Gay Jepsen University?
RA: Yes! [laughs]
WCT: Gay history and science aren’t taught in schools because of politics.
RA: No and we have to be curious enough to find out on our own. That’s not just the case for queer history, but different races with their history that were also not taught. I would say it is getting better, but it is actually getting worse.
WCT: At least it is somewhat better with higher education. What photo shoot did you enjoy creating for this book?
RA: The photo for the bidet and getting the hose outside didn’t work. It was a fun try and in the end, it was effective and looked like it was in a lab.
WCT: How much research did you do for the gray sweatpants section?
RA: My whole life I have been researching and I still do to this day! When I was creating the book around the episodes I was posting about it and it kept getting taken down. They are just gray sweatpants, but people were reporting it to be removed.
WCT: Why do you feel “Dolly Parton lives in every cell of gay people” as stated in the book?
RA: Dolly is a force with a gay mentality. During any interview that I have watched, she is so cool. She is honest, doesn’t take herself too seriously and is still a good person. The essence of Dolly Parton is so queer to me. It is the best part of us and that is why I think she is in all of us. She is in drag in a way too!
WCT: You mentioned Kim Petras in your book as well. Are you a fan?
RA: I love Kim Petras. I have met her and we have done videos together. In the book, I was making a comment about how gay people like her sexualized music.
WCT: What audience are you looking for with this book?
RA: The book was “dedicated to the girls, gays, and theys,” so that is who the book is for. It is for everyone in the queer community, and I tried to be as inclusive as possible.
The video series was mainly about gay men and lesbians, just because that was who I was familiar with the most in my life. That is really saying more about our culture because we all socialize within our own groups so much. I wanted to have chapters for intersex, trans and asexual people across the spectrum, but that was difficult because I don’t have that as my experience. As a gay man, I know what I can say about gay men, but I don’t know what I can say about the rest of the community.
The chapters about different groups are about the people who misunderstand them. I punch up at those people, not at our community.
WCT: What would you most like readers to take away from your book?
RA: I want them to have fun. It is a pure source of entertainment. I hope they laugh and take a break from the negativity that is surrounding us politically. We are fun people who like to make fun of ourselves. Sometimes we are not allowed to because we are fighting for equality or equal rights.
It is a source of entertainment, although there are nuggets of real points that I am making along the way. It’s mixed in and out of the satire, so some people may miss the references.
WCT: Why did you start your video series in the first place?
RA: I wanted to explain why gay men love iced coffee, which was a hilarious stereotype that is true for me and my friends. Everyone enjoyed the video so I made another one. I did that for three years and made over 50 of them.
I wanted to make a textbook version of the videos with little sidebars that readers could try at home.
WCT: Were there bits on the cutting room floor that didn’t make the final version of the book?
RA: Yes. There were episodes that I did videos on that only make for a few good jokes and don’t translate well into text. Some of them are made into a final chapter where I quickly explain certain theories.
I almost didn’t include the chapter about gay guys liking big dicks because it’s the only overtly sexual chapter. Sexuality is woven into the book, but it is mostly about our behaviors and our culture, things that are other than the sexual preferences that make us queer, which is so great. No one ever talks about that. People think that we are gay just because we are attracted to guys, but there is so much more to us. It’s about our tastes and what we wear. The book is mainly about that side of us.
The chapter about liking big dick actually makes a point about how we have trauma. I wanted the book to not be sexual in a way, but it’s a great chapter. It’s my book so I should be able to include it. I was not making the book for children. It’s for adults.
WCT: When you have a book full of hot current topics how do you update it once it is released?
RA: That is such a good question, and I thought about it so much when I was writing it. The videos I had made were filmed back in 2020. Even in 2022, they already felt dated, including the references. There were jokes that people don’t tell anymore or some topical thing that wouldn’t work now. I did refresh things, and some things still worked from the videos.
I was worried that by the time the book came out, there would be new topics I would want to add and include. This is just the nature of what book writing is.
Shows and movies feel like they are part of a certain time period. When talking about pop culture, there is no way to make something that will always feel fresh. It is what was just happening at that time. To look back at the book 10 years from now will just be funny and noticeable that it was a fresh joke at the time.
I look at other queer books, and the sexual photography books in particular feel like the ‘70s and the ‘80s, but the photographs are still erotic. Anything with words can feel outdated, but it shows what things were like at that time in history.
WCT: Would you ever make a sequel to your book?
RA: I will definitely write another book. I loved the process of it. I liked taking the page and cramming a bunch of Easter eggs and jokes into it. I wanted it to feel like a video where someone missed a joke so they would reread it.
Gay Science is 240 pages of jokes about queer culture and it was a lot! I wrote every word and made every chart. It is all from my brain and will be good for a long time!