What Specie Are You?

Jiaoying Summers treats humanity less like a collection of races and more like an assortment of differing animal species, arguing that it makes far more sense to categorize people like cats and dogs. Her debut stand-up hour, What Specie Are You?, focuses on this central, irreverent thesis to mock cultural expectations, immigrant identity, and the absurdity of modern racial discourse. She delivers her material with a fast-paced, blunt style that leans heavily on her background as a Chinese immigrant and a divorced mother of two.

Filmed at the historic Joy Theater in New Orleans as part of a slate of specials produced by Comedy Dynamics, the hour arrived during a major career surge for Summers. By late 2025, she had been named one of Variety’s “10 Comics to Watch” and was fresh off of sold-out international tour dates across Asia and Australia. On stage, she leans into the lack of filter she attributes to her upbringing in a rural Chinese village, targeting topics ranging from the “Asian tier system” of parenting to her favorite child. Notable bits include her breakdown of why she was never cast on Fresh Off the Boat, her deadpan analysis of anti-Asian hate, and her habit of roasting English names by translating their literal meanings into Chinese.