Comedian Chris Bryant Brings Awareness to Autism and Identity Through Laughter

Chris Bryant performing during a stand-up performance. Photo from Bryant’s Instagram @TenderChris.

Comedian Chris Bryant said during a stand-up performance in 2019 that he suspected being on the autism spectrum after noticing he had a particular obsession and difficulty maintaining eye-contact. 

“I realized I probably have this because I owned almost 300 Sailor Moon dolls and I can’t make eye-contact with any of them,” Bryant said in the stand-up.

Bryant describes himself as a queer comedian. He was a celebrity judge on Netflix’s “Cooking on High” and was featured in the 2018 stand-up special about LGBTQI+ comedians titled “OUT On Stage (The Movie).”

His material ranges from being on the spectrum, being queer, his gender identity, and being open about his mental health. He said he shares stories about his life on stage because he believes in the power of vulnerability.

“When you laugh about your pain, you gain a sense of power over it–rather than it having control over you–because you’re calling out things that make you feel uncomfortable and laughing at it,” Bryant said in a phone interview.

After moving to California at the age of 19 to distance himself from his conservative family in South Carolina, Bryant worked on his mental health and his entertainment career.  In 2019, when Bryant was 30, he was diagnosed with autism by his psychiatrist.

“I was trying to move my brain uphill by pushing it, and when I got my diagnosis it was like somebody finally gave me the keys to a car,” Bryant said. “I was like, ‘Oh, this is why my brain operates a certain way.’”

Through his personal development in therapy, Bryant also realized he was not binary to being a man. He said his viewpoint on gender was difficult to change because of the conservative ideologies he has learned.

“Growing up in an environment of using only he and she pronouns, it took me the longest time to also figure out that this is very much limiting the viewpoint of who I am,” Bryant said. “It took me a long time–as someone who’s addicted to patterns and repetition–to break through that and to realize as a person, that I don't really follow the guidelines of a typical male.”

Bryant now uses he/him, they/them, and occasionally she/her pronouns.

For Bryant, living openly as a queer person with autism has come to fruition because of his self-discovery. 

His advice to individuals on the spectrum who may be questioning their sexuality or gender identity is to be comfortable with changes when defining oneself.

“You don’t have to have all the answers now,” Bryant said. “Live and flourish in a place of self-discovering. Don’t let anybody define who you are and always feel comfortable redefining yourself.”