Ted Talk Analysis: Understanding the Complexities of Gender: Sam Killermann

A huge part of understanding gender communication is deciphering between gender and biological sex. Being educated on gender identity and expression makes room for less ignorance in society.

Sam Killermann, publicly discusses gender identity on a live TedxTalk in Chicago, entitled, Discussing the Complexities of Gender. The speaker, Killermann, is a comedian on the show, “It’s pronounced metrosexual,” therefore, it’s logical that he would incorporate comedy in his Ted Talk, focused on gender identity, gender expression, and biological sex. Killermann’s main point, “gender is a social construction masquerading as a biological imperative,” is outlined fully in his talk.
Killerman’s main point is also the title of his Ted Talk, “Gender is a Social Construction Masquerading as a Biological Imperative.” The thesis in his talk is assembled like that of a basic essay, consisting of three major points that are further discussed in detail. As the reader can presume, the thesis statement, “The easiest way to understand gender is to break it down into three distinct pieces. One, gender identity, which is who you in your head know yourself to be, more on this in a bit, two, gender expression, the ways you present gender through your actions, dress, and demeanor, and three, biological sex. The physical characteristics you were born with,” is very broad.
Killermann says the easiest way to understand gender is to dissect it into three distinct pieces:

1, Gender identity, which is how you, in your head, define your gender, more on this in a minute.
2, Gender expression, which is the ways that you present gender, through your actions, dress, and demeanor.
And 3, And biological sex, which is the physical sex characteristics that make up your body. I promise, this will all get clearer.
Killermann applies an analogy between any Shakespearean play and society’s restrictions on gender. For instance, he utilizes and explains the Shakespearean quote, “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women nearly players.” Essentially what Killermann is trying to communicate is that, at birth, we’re cast in a play, given a role, a script, and told to play that part till your dead. The director’s in our plays, otherwise known as society, follow us around every day of our lives and dictate whether we are conforming to the gender norms society has established.
-Sam