Rob Anderson Debunks Stereotypes with 'Queer Science' (And Makes Us Laugh)

In 2021 hunky out comic Rob Anderson was stymied by the how many queer men were obsessed with the iced coffee, even in the dead of winter. His Google searches as to why came to naught, so he decided to write his own explanation, using what he called "fake science" – that is, to take accepted scientific theories and apply them to cultural stereotypes and come to his own hilarious conclusions. Though not a scientist (Anderson was a successful social media marketer), he saw that if the threw enough science on a subject his answers could appear real, or real enough.

The result became "Gay Science," a successful series of YouTube videos in which Anderson asks questions about cultural queer stereotypes and puts them through his scientific prism to provide hilarious fake answers. The series took off on YouTube, so much so that Anderson decided to compile some of his favorite answers into a book called "Gay Science."

Covering some 60 topics, Anderson structures his book like a high school textbook, replete with diagrams, illustrations, charts, and quizzes. Amongst the stereotypes he explores are: "Why can't gays sit in a chair properly?" "Why don't lesbians have electricity in their movies?" "Are colleges turning people bisexual?" "How does gaydar work?" And, "Will bottoms survive the apocalypse?"

The multi-talented Anderson spoke to EDGE about "Gay Science," which, shortly after publication, placed on the New York Times Best Sellers list.

EDGE: How did your journey to viral fame begin?

Rob Anderson: In 2020, I was working for a company called The Infatuation. I was the head of marketing, and I made a video on TikTok about granola bars and how they go everywhere. It wasn't an original joke, but the format in which I did it was fun and very TikTok. To my surprise, it took off, so I just started making jokes – mostly about gay culture – on my own personal TikTok account, and it snowballed from there. I was having so much fun, and within a month or two I left my job and started doing it full-time.

EDGE: Tell us about your best-selling book, "Gay Science?"

Rob Anderson: I created a series called "Gay Science" in 2020. I have been posting videos for about three or four years now, with over 50 episodes that dealt with stereotypes, making fun of them and often proving them true with fake science. I thought this would be a really good book, like a satirical textbook that looked like a textbook and felt like a textbook that you got in grade school or high school, complete with the different chapter names and little subsections such as "try this experiment at home" and "here's a quiz for you to take." It was a big undertaking, and then Penguin approached me about getting something like this done. I was thinking about doing it before they reached out. I wrote it over 15 months. I am very excited for everyone to read it.

EDGE: How do you come up with the topic ideas?

Rob Anderson: They all exist somewhere. I did not make any of them up. They exist from real stereotypes that were given to queer people in malice, or while being bullied. Examples are: Why we run the way we do? Why we write the way we do? And why we talk with high voices? So many are pulled from Twitter, where gay people just make up stereotypes about themselves. Queer people love stereotypes. It's so bizarre. These things are so fascinating, and they're so silly. Through this process I asked myself several times, "Where did you all come up with this?" So, I pulled them all from existing jokes, and made my own.

EDGE: Is there one that fascinates you most?

Rob Anderson: I think gay people not being able to sit in a chair properly is so funny to me because it can be true. It's so ridiculous. We're both sitting in chairs right now normally, but then you see examples of how at a party they're all sitting in different ways. It is such a ridiculous stereotype that it's part of every community. Lesbians also say that about themselves. Bisexual people have adopted that as a stereotype. Before I started writing this book, one of the biggest ones I was hearing that we never sit in a chair properly. It's such a ridiculous stereotype that exists for everyone, and I think it's probably the one that fascinates me the most.

EDGE: Which myth or stereotype should everyone know about the queer community?

Rob Anderson: I think that the silliest ones are those that most people should know about because they show how we like to make fun of ourselves. How we don't take ourselves too seriously. I think if people outside of the community just heard a few of these, or if they read through the table of contents and read "The gays don't like slow walkers," or "Lesbians don't like electricity in their movies, because all their movies are from the 1800s," it shows how we like to laugh at ourselves, which contrasts with how serious things are for us and how we are portrayed in the news or media. I think people seem to forget that we have such a great sense of humor.

EDGE: Let's talk about the reclaimed words that you use in the book – "fag" and "dyke." Today, part of the LGBTQ+ community have tried to distance themselves from these words, but you say, "Let's reclaim them."

Rob Anderson: I think both viewpoints are valid. I'm in my mid-thirties, and I was called a fag all the time growing up. I believe people that were called it so often should use the words to take their power back. It's a very simple concept that words don't have the same power when you use them in a casual way. People have trauma around [words like] "fag," "dyke," or "queer," and still find them very hurtful. I acknowledge at the beginning of the book that their experience is valid. I am just letting them know I use these words in the book. You need to be realistic – by using the words, we strip them of the power they held over us when used to demean us.

EDGE: With your upcoming "Gay Science" book tour, what are you most excited about?

Rob Anderson: This isn't the first time I've gone on tour. I had a comedy tour last year, and what I loved most was meeting everyone after. I had little "meet and greets." They were small, but a lot of fun. Now I'm excited to meet everyone who's been a fan of gay science. People have such nice things to say, and, honestly, it's nice to hear nice things about me. It's just a line of people that say, "I love you. I love you." I'll tour the entire country just to hear compliments all day.

EDGE: What would your ultimate science project look like?

Rob Anderson: I think I'd like to have some experiments on straight people. I am fascinated, especially, with straight men. I am intrigued by how many of them use the three-in-one conditioner, body wash, and shampoo. There are so many that I would love to explore and learn more about. I think we need to break down the science of all the stereotypes and myths that straight men supposedly do. I think that would be fascinating.

EDGE: What impact do you hope this book will give to queer people?

Rob Anderson: Touching on what I had mentioned a little earlier, the sense of humor we have in the community is huge. We love to make fun of ourselves. We love to joke about things. We don't take ourselves so seriously. Lately, the political climate has been very aggressive towards queer people, especially with trans people. Our community has become very political, and we have to be. Politics and our rights are very important, but we're fun, and we like to have fun. We throw the best parties, and we have the best conversations. I want this book to show how it can defuse this sort of vitriol that comes with the political stuff. Looking at it, the cover, and the chapters, it immediately comes through as fun. I want everyone to see how much fun we are having as a community, no matter what the circumstances are.

EDGE: Anything upcoming for you?

Rob Anderson: Honestly, right now it's just the book. The book has been my world, and will be my world for quite some time. I am excited to get this in the hands of people, especially during Pride Month. Then we'll see. I would like to go on tour again. I loved doing my comedy tour, and I've been writing a few treatments for shows and movies. So, stay tuned!

"Queer Science" is available on all major internet book sellers, such as Amazon. For more information, follow this link.