Wanda Sykes

Wanda Sykes has a very distinct and recognizable persona. I personally know her most not from her stand-up routine but as the angry accuser of Larry David on Curb Your Enthusiasm. She is constantly around to comment on Larry's mistakes and wrongful actions and will show up at his front door to yell at him and accuse him of wrongdoing. In regards to her stand-up, she has a very critical look at the world such as being stuck with a racist dolphin or the ups and downs of men. Much like her character on Curb Your Enthusiasm, she has no qualms about angrily commenting on the mistakes of the world around her and championing for a collective following of people who are affected by the same problems. 

I was actually very surprised to learn of Sykes' sexual orientation. Not because I targeted her as a heterosexual or homosexual, but because she never really mentioned any of it during her stand-up routine. But, there are few lesbian comedians that really incorporate the topics into their acts. I guess Ellen Degeneres brings it up occasionally, or at least hints at it, but she had such a public coming-out that it would seem unfulfilled if she didn't mention it somewhere. If the audience doesn't publicly know about the orientation, there probably is no reason to really bring it up in a stand-up routine unless it could add substantially to the humor. If a women, or man for that matter, comedian admit their sexual orientation during their routine and it wasn't commonly known like Degeneres' is, it could possibly take away from the focus of the humor. It would distract the audience's attention and bring it away from the main goal of telling jokes and making humor. I don't even really think it is that important unless it is a major part of a comedian's persona such as the flamboyantly gay comedian character. 

Overall, I think that Sykes' major stand-up attribute is her ability to sound funny when angry. Whether she is yelling about a racist dolphin or yelling at an incompetent Larry David, she just has a dominant angry voice and makes it extremely humorous.