Kimberly Dark Live
"Dark is a warm-hearted, eloquent performer with a poetic speech pattern... she's enthralling and compassionate with a hint of cheekiness..."
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- Glam (Adelaide, Australia)

Fat, Pretty, and Soon to Be Old  - It's a book, and a live event!

In this program, storyteller and sociologist, Kimberly Dark explores how appearance privilege works in the U.S. and why focusing too often on our own appearance cannot lead us to personal peace, nor social equality.

Audiences will laugh as they learn:
  • How to listen for and see the social hierarchies that normally remain hidden because they’re so common.
  • How to disrupt everyday injustice and shame through witness, kindness, humor and straightforward common sense.
  • ​How to stand in their own “is-ness” – the power of being that transcends appearance (because our looks change through our lives, y’all).
  • How to practice love and pleasure – in our own bodies and as advocates for others’ well-being and dignity as well.
Appearance privilege includes being pretty or handsome, but also relates to racism, fat stigma, disability justice and more. This smart, funny program includes relatable stories and involves the audience in building strategies of resistance, Kimberly will leave participants empowered – aware of their tools and brilliance as social creators.
The day we all step fully into our bodies and voices will be a revolutionary moment. Kimberly Dark has been illuminating the path for a long time. This book is a triumph. This book is a jail break from cultural inscriptions meant to keep us locked up, shut up, and conforming.
- Lidia Yuknavitch, Best-Selling Author

Sex and Society - It's Time to Talk About It

Kimberly Dark’s book, The Daddies, is an American Library Association recommended book - both a love-letter to masculinity and an indictment of patriarchy.

In this program – including stories, insights and discussion – Kimberly explores the importance of discussing sex and sexuality – not just for the sake of interpersonal relationships, but for the political impact our personal choices hold.  We can absolutely love men and masculinity (in all its forms) and still dismantle the systems that harm women, children and everyone else too. (Yes, of course we’ll discuss gender and gender identity too.)

For those interested in the politics of knowledge creation, Kimberly can also discuss why we don’t talk about sex and sexuality more readily in the social sciences, given that our erotic urges are part of who we are; they influence the relationships and the society we create.

Take a sneak peak at some of Kimberly’s essays and videos here.
... thought-provoking, moving, sexy and wry; her embodied performance marries great story-telling skills with wonderful, strong stage presence.
​– Carol Queen, PhD, Director, Center for Sex and Culture

 Gender, Race and Money - An interactive lecture on income and wealth in the U.S.
One of America’s great stories is that anyone can work hard and become wealthy. We love tales of triumph over adversity. However, many people work hard to meet basic needs and feel as though they are somehow personally to blame for their lack of prosperity. The gap between rich and poor in the United States has been widening and this is particularly pronounced in communities of color and for women.

​During this engaging and interactive lecture, Dark teaches participants about trends — both historical and current day — in the distribution of wealth in America and how those trends affect all Americans. Participants come to understand "the 1%" and how to make connections to work toward a more just economy.
Dark refused to end on a pessimistic note; rather, she gave insight on how to fix these issues. This can be done, Dark said, by encouraging people to educate themselves about these topics, recognizing their privileges and continuing to learn.
- The Carolinian
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Read the Carolinian's or the Washington Square New's review of 'Gender, Race and Money' for a thorough description of this lecture.

More about Kimberly Dark

Dark is a warm-hearted, eloquent performer with a poetic speech pattern not dissimilar to one of Laurie Anderson’s avant-garde speak-songs. She’s enthralling and compassionate with a hint of cheekiness.
​– Rod Lewis, Performing Arts Critic, Glam Adelaide (Adelaide, Australia)
Kimberly brings decades of experience as a facilitator, performer/storyteller, and teacher entertaining people with complex  yet accessible messages about the human experience, about the body in culture, and about the ways we co-create our culture. This experience means that her themes are available in a variety of ways for different venues, events and purposes.  

Kimberly's performances, workshops, and lectures engage with themes that include:
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Gender :: Sexuality :: Body size/Shame :: Media Representations
Gender, Race and Wealth/Income :: Understanding "the 1%"
Beauty and Appearance Privilege :: Personal Sovereignty
By looking at the complexity in our lives, Kimberly teaches her audiences how to become the subject of their own stories, and how to co-create a better world.

Tell us about your requirements, and Kimberly can tailor the right stage-performance, keynote presentation, and/or workshop for your venue and time-frame.