Why do gay people sound different
Why do some gay men “sound” gay? After three years of research, linguistics professors Henry Rogers and Ron Smyth may be on the verge of answering that question. After identifying phonetic characteristics that seem to make a man’s voice sound gay, their best hunch is that some gay men may subconsciously adopt certain female speech patterns.
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The "gay voice" is usually a result of men adapting their speech patterns to be more socially compatible with women. It's a stereotype because only some gay men have the "gay voice".
Published 29 July am. Updated 8 January pm. Share this with family and friends.
Why do some gay men “sound” gay? After three years of research, linguistics professors Henry Rogers and Ron Smyth may be on the verge of answering that question. After identifying phonetic characteristics that seem to make a man’s voice sound gay, their best hunch is that some gay men may subconsciously adopt certain female speech patterns.
After three years of research, linguistics professors Henry Rogers and Ron Smyth may be on the verge of answering that question. They want to know how men acquire this manner of speaking, and why — especially when society so often stigmatizes those with gay-sounding voices. Rogers and Smyth are also exploring the stereotypes that gay men sound effeminate and are recognized by the way they speak.
The "gay voice" is usually a result of men adapting their speech patterns to be more socially compatible with women. It's a stereotype because only some gay men have the "gay voice".
In past studies, researchers have recorded homosexual and heterosexual men speaking long passages from texts of plays, and test subjects were pretty accurate in picking out the gay voices among them. But Eric Tracy, a psychologist at Ohio State University, wanted to see just how little information people needed before they made up their mind about if a speaker was gay. The gay speakers received a score of 4.