So-called vocal fry is often present (think Kim Kardashian at her breathiest), as are high-rising terminals (also known as “uptalk” – the statement that sounds like a question).
![why do gay men sound different reddit why do gay men sound different reddit](https://i.imgur.com/ewxr6Vn.jpg)
The findings include – concentrate, because this is the science bit – an affrication of t and d (a little bit of a hiss at the end), the dentalisation of s, z and n. They’re then asked to rate each one by perceived “gayness”. Often, this has involved getting people to sit in a lab and listen to recordings of men speaking. Phoneticians have identified a few telltale traits. I’m more interested in the phonetics of what has, in the past, been called “the voice”: the lisping, the swooping intonation, the clipped tones. Women can be camp – ask Lady Gaga or Nicki Minaj – and so can literature and architecture. Apart from anything else, it’s not the preserve of gay men or even human beings. And yes, he does sound a bit gay.īut what does that really mean? Actually, the concept of camp is too broad. His quest to understand why he talks the way he does is the subject of a new documentary, Do I Sound Gay? In it, he wonders out loud how and why he developed a timbre, a tone, that many people point to as evidence of his sexuality. This is something American film-maker David Thorpe knows. Yes, seeming gay – broadly speaking, being camp – is a way of holding oneself, a way of dressing, but it’s in large part a way of speaking. Anyway, as a linguist, what really intrigues me about this kind of exchange is that “seems” is largely a proxy for “sounds”. Maybe people are smarter these days, maybe I’m better at picking parties. I have to admit it hasn’t happened for a few years. The notion you would be pleased to find this out reveals an unthinking prejudice: how refreshing it is to meet a gay who doesn’t make a meal of it. You haven’t – at least in that moment, at that party – exhibited the mannerisms linked in many people’s minds with male homosexuality. What they’re really saying, of course, is that you’re not, in the words of Quentin Crisp, “self-evident”.
![why do gay men sound different reddit why do gay men sound different reddit](https://www.gannett-cdn.com/-mm-/456368fad02c8f97676b3038f85d8c97880012fb/c=0-465-2400-1818/local/-/media/USATODAY/test/2013/11/21/1385094261000-STACHE-ANCHORMAN-NEWSEUM-jy-8860.jpg)
I can’t easily compute what it means to be gay if it’s not having just identified yourself with that label. “You don’t seem gay.” The smile, with eyebrows raised in approval, tells me it’s supposed to be a compliment, and once again I’m baffled.