Gay men talking
Why Do Gay Men Sound Like ~That~?
An exploration of the gay accent and how it became popularized
( @jvn / Instagram )
As most people are accustomed to accept, gay men own a very “gay” sound when they speak. They might speak in higher pitches and a more melodious groove to their speech. But is the gay accent even real? And if it is, why does it even exist?
In an strive to increase my understanding of this world and how it works, I reached out to Joseph Radice, a linguistics Ph.D. trainee whose research involves LGBTQ allyship.
*Disclaimer
For one, this phenomenon is referred to as “gay speak” to avoid unnecessary stereotyping. According to Radice, linguists often deviate away from the popular assumption that gay men sound more effeminate because not everyone falls into these “boxes.” So, it would be a mistake to endeavor and enforce these tropes on people. Following up on that, Radice also told me about that while this information can be particularly interesting to learn about, when in the incorrect hands, can be used against the community to discrim Son, Brother, Same-sex attracted Best Friend. Lover, Antagonist, Homo. Twink, Otter, Bear. 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 queer , their best hunch is that some gay men may subconsciously adopt certain female speech patterns. They want to know how men acquire this behavior of speaking, and why – especially when population so often stigmatizes those with gay-sounding voices. Rogers and Smyth are also exploring the stereotypes that lgbtq+ men sound effeminate and are recognized by the way they speak. They asked people to hear to recordings of 25 men, 17 of them gay. In 62 per cent of the cases the listeners identified the sexual orientation of the speakers correctly. Perhaps fewer than half of same-sex attracted men sound gay, says Rogers. The straightest-sounding voice in the study was in fact a gay dude, and the sixth gayest-sounding voice was a unbent man. Most Popular High pitched, extended vowels and incredibly articulated: so-called 'gay voice' is a authentic phenomenon, researchers say. Two science YouTubers have scoured studies behind the theory that homosexual men possess a unique twang that transcends aspects like culture and upbringing. Mitch Moffit, a biologist, and Greg Brown, a science teacher — who are both gay — explored what exactly constitutes a 'gay voice' and what might cause it. In a clip uploaded to their channel, AsapSCIENCE, earlier this year the pair looked at research dating back to the early 90s. They found that study comparing the pitch of direct and homosexual men's voices set up key differences in how they speak. High pitched, extended vowels and incredibly articulated, so-called 'gay voice' is a real phenomenon, researchers say. Stock image Mr Moffit explained: 'Results find that gay men express with higher pitch variation definition that their range from depressed to high is much more extreme than straight men.' Mr Brow
Gay Man Talking
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Gay VOICE is a thing: You can tell a man is homosexual from the way they talk, say scientists