Is There a “Gay Voice”? | The New Yorker

Contents:

• IS THERE A REASON WHY A LOT OF GAY MEN SPEAK WH A LISP?
• WHY IS ANY GUY WH A LISP ASSUMED TO BE GAY?
• THE "GAY" LISP, IS REAL OR IS FORCED?
• THE PREVALENCE OF LISPG GAY MEN
• GAY PCH, LISP?
• THE GAY LISP?
• GAY LISP
• WHAT MEANS TO ‘SOUND GAY’
• IS THERE A “GAY VOICE”?
• GAYDAR—SENDG MIXED SIGNALS

IS THERE A REASON WHY A LOT OF GAY MEN SPEAK WH A LISP?

The prent study examed the popular stereotype that gay men lisp by evaluatg to what extent listeners associated ntal or ontal articulatn/lispg wh gayns. Based on the ratgs of the listeners of the prent study, lispg speakers were signifintly more often judged to be homosexual.

WHY IS ANY GUY WH A LISP ASSUMED TO BE GAY?

This was te for the group as a whole as well as for the subgroup of homosexual and heterosexual men separately. The rults of this study nfirmed prev prelimary fdgs that suggted that ontal or ntal articulatn/lispg is a feature that listeners associate wh gayns. I am a gay man and this is drivg me crazy bee other aspects of the stereotypil "gay voice" are intifiable (even though they are still homophobic, I at least know what people are referrg to when they talk about them).

THE "GAY" LISP, IS REAL OR IS FORCED?

idk why but the high pched voice and slight lisp (i dont thk lisp is the right word, there's jt somethg that stands out about the S but isnt a full TH noise like a lisp) is very stereotypil of gay guys, but only a uple of the gay guys i know irl actually speak like this. It jt always seemed to me to be a flamboyant thg that immediately poted people out as gay and seems to be much more mon gay celebri famo for beg gay than actual real life people.

When media began to place more and more gay men to the spotlight they went wh stereotyped gay men ( you rarely see a gay man the media who isn't Obvly gay) and so the ial for a gay man to anyone growg up on this media was the flamboyant type wh that lisp. I've been out for over twenty years and known hundreds if not thoands of gay men and I actually n't thk of any who spoke wh a lisp. There are a large amount of gay men I've met that f the stereotype their speakg, but I've never thought "lisp" was the right word.

I have, however, met one boy who was a Sophomore high school who intified as straight who had "the voice" as well.

THE PREVALENCE OF LISPG GAY MEN

Though I thk this uld be the se for some (as they take on "the voice" orr to be noticed and regnized by other gay guys) I have a iend I ma this year who is gay and has the voice, and jt spis gay stereotyp. He hat drag, he hat gay guys who are overly "mpy" and is jt repulsed by all of , he says do nothg for him sexually and he also feels giv the rt of the gay muny a bad name. I fd tertg that there's no clear answer about the "gay lisp" (and y, I know isn't a te lisp, but that is what has e to be lled).

GAY PCH, LISP?

Firstly, YES there are some gay men who talk wh a lisp, or as is probably more accurate to say, wh a certa "accent". My theory is that this probably has somethg to do wh homophobia, or rather how some gay men al wh homophobia.

I pos that some gay male kids are eher outright rejected by other boys, or choose to distance themselv om boys out of fear of nsequenc. I've met hundreds of gay men my life, and the only one that spoke wh a straight-up lisp was the one wh a cleft palate.

THE GAY LISP?

I learned my psych class that there is a theory that if a man has a lot of olr brothers, he is more likely to be gay.

I thk the stereotyp may be exaggerated by some gay men as a way to rebel agast femy beg seen as weak or femy men beg seen as negative; hence the need to be "fierce" and "fabulo". I feel like if femy men was more accepted society, the stereotype would actually crease bee there would be ls for feme gay men to rebel agast.

I mean gay men shouldn't be associated wh that annoyg stereotype of an effemate high pched voice and lisp. Y, some gay men are keen on emphasis when speakg and rults a very clear and pronounced 's' or 'z', but we shouldn't mistake for a lisp.

GAY LISP

Two, I want to be visible and approachable to potential gay partners that I wouldn't otherwise get a chance to meet. When Richard Bright ttified before Congrs the other day, someone posted that he noticed Bright's lisp and qutned if he was gay. I kd of agree wh R1's rponse, but I'd say 's more like 75% would be my, on a semi-related note, there's an tertg documentary about this topic DO I SOUND GAY?

That's part of the reason for the gay associatn, bee a lisp is nsired Anonymoreply 15May 19, 2020 4:04 PM. I didn't assume Bright was gay bee of the lisp, was his mannerisms that seemed really Anonymoreply 16May 19, 2020 4:30 PM.

Bee anythg unattractive that a man do mak him appear "gay" to stupid people, Anonymoreply 39May 22, 2020 9:45 PM.

WHAT MEANS TO ‘SOUND GAY’

Wele back to “Ask a Homo, ” Outward’s no-judgement answer service for all your qutns on LGBTQ polics, culture, etiquette, language, and other queer nundms. This week, Bryan Lowr n-sth-irs the li-sth-p and other elements of the “stereotypil gay manner of speakg”—and honey, ’s jt fabulo! What the gay man was alludg to was the lisp he had and the expectatn that expected the guy who asked him to classify anyone wh as clearly gay.

IS THERE A “GAY VOICE”?

Personally, I don't thk 's found a higher proportn gay men over any other group jt like pretty much any other characteristic but I ma the thread to fd out what the rt of you thk. So my qutn to you GAF is: Is the gay lisp real or is jt a forced thg that some gay men put on to somehow signify that they're gay? I'd say 's an affectatn that's been so standard for so long that there are probably a lot of gays who don't even realize they're dog .

GAYDAR—SENDG MIXED SIGNALS

don't thk 's found a higher proportn gay men over any other group jt like pretty much any other characteristic but I ma the thread to fd out what the rt of you thk. You may be nfg wh over-enunciatg certa words and the nce which some gay men speak when they're foolg around, but general most people I know speak like a regular human beg.

Only one of my gay iends universy had that lisp, and he had basilly e over om Lebanon havg watched a ton of Will & Grace and thkg that's how gay people are supposed to act.