As a standup, I try to change the world. As an entertainer, I try to entertain. And as a lesbian, I try to pick up the prettiest girl in the room.

Lea DeLaria’s line plays on the idea that a person can occupy multiple roles at once—artist, public figure, and private individual—each with its own aims. The first two clauses contrast the lofty ambition often attributed to politically engaged comedy (“change the world”) with the straightforward craft obligation of performance (“entertain”). The punchline pivots to identity and desire, using self-deprecating candor to puncture any grandiosity and to normalize lesbian attraction as ordinary, funny, and socially legible. The humor comes from the escalating structure and the sudden shift from public mission to personal flirtation, suggesting that activism, artistry, and sexuality coexist rather than cancel one another.