A Documentarian Wonrs: 'Do I Sound Gay?' : NPR

Contents:

• A DOCUMENTARIAN WONRS: 'DO I SOUND GAY?'
• Q&A: IS THERE A ‘GAY VOICE’? DIRECTOR DAVID THORPE ON HIS OUTFT DOCUMENTARY
• DO I SOUND GAY? REVIEW – HIGHLY PERSONAL DOCUMENTARY
• REVIEW: ‘DO I SOUND GAY?’ EXAM A MANNER OF SPEAKG
• THIS GUY JT WANTS TO KNOW IF HE SOUNDS GAY
• DOCUMENTARIAN ASKS, 'DO I SOUND GAY?'
• FILMMAKER DAVID THORPE DISCS HIS NEW DOCUMENTARY THAT EXPLOR THE ‘GAY VOICE’ PHENOMENON
• BE YOUR OWN SELF: THE LSONS OF 'DO I SOUND GAY?' AND 'TANGERE'
• FILMMAKER AND SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WEIGH IN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO 'SOUND GAY'

A DOCUMENTARIAN WONRS: 'DO I SOUND GAY?'

Filmmaker David Thorpe (middle) explor whether there's such a thg as a "gay voice. In the wake of a bad breakup, journalist and gay activist David Thorpe did what many of do: He took tense ventory of his own flaws and securi, then stepped up one of them to a Thg.

Q&A: IS THERE A ‘GAY VOICE’? DIRECTOR DAVID THORPE ON HIS OUTFT DOCUMENTARY

A good Thg, as turns out, whose end rult is the charmg documentary Do I Sound Gay?, which Thorpe wryly treats his anxieti about his "gay" voice as an exercise self-improvement, and wds up wh a pellg portra of ternalized homophobia and liberatn. Thorpe adms that gog , he was "repelled" by a speech style that mak gay men sound like "brayg nni. Back South Carola's Bible Belt, where Thorpe grew up, relativ and childhood iends pot out that he didn't sound gay until he me out of the closet llege.

DO I SOUND GAY? REVIEW – HIGHLY PERSONAL DOCUMENTARY

Friends wh his tight-kn gay circle are more divid: Some nfs to hatg their lispg, anoidal voic; others own gayspeak wh varyg gre of fiance and jubilatn. Thorpe brgs lguists to ttify that there's ltle evince to support the argument that gay speech is nate. The explanatn that pleas him most is that gay speech has s origs ls blogy or nro-chemistry than early female fluence: Men who grow up mostly around women tend to mimic feme speech styl — which, Thorpe argu, would expla why some straight men sound gay, and why gays who grow up wh brothers often velop basso profundos.

Do I Sound Gay?

REVIEW: ‘DO I SOUND GAY?’ EXAM A MANNER OF SPEAKG

Is very good on the way many gay men who were bullied as children have learned to turn the hatred of others ward, which helps expla s of gay hyper-masculy and ternal ostracism of effemate men. Takg his cue om the swellg ranks of gay celebri (among them Gee Takei, Margaret Cho and the effably funny and ndid David Sedaris) who are willg to speak on mera about liberatg themselv om their own fears, Thorpe realiz he's been askg the wrong qutns. While he was by tryg to iron out his gay voice, New York State legalized gay marriage, and the film's release jt weeks after the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage across the natn.

Apparently Sr om “The Ln Kg” is gay.

”At least that’s what director David Thorpe asserts his new documentary, “Do I Sound Gay? ” A termg factor of the characters’ sexual inty, he says, are the voic created by actors Jeremy Irons, Gee Sanrs and Jonathan ’s film, which premiered Monday night durg the Outft LGBT film ftival and opens Friday at the Sundance Sunset Cema Los Angel, explor the historil and cultural ias behd what he lls “gay voice. Interspersed wh his journey are terviews wh gay celebri cludg humorist David Sedaris, CNN anchor Don Lemon and “Project Runway” star Tim Gunn, who share their personal stggl wh their voic.

THIS GUY JT WANTS TO KNOW IF HE SOUNDS GAY

“Do I Sound Gay? Instead the film centers on gay men’s voic as maniftatns of nsc and unnsc efforts to exprs gayns, or effemacy, a culture that champns talked about the phenomenon of “gay voice” for this eded Q&A:What do a “gay voice” sound like?

The phrase “gay voice” is jt shorthand for the stereotype of a gay voice, and that is one that sounds more effemate. Those thgs add up to typilly more female speech was havg a “gay voice” for you such a problem, pecially after breakg up wh your boyiend?

DOCUMENTARIAN ASKS, 'DO I SOUND GAY?'

Over the years I’ve had a lot of experienc where people didn’t know I was gay until I opened my mouth. I’ve always been self-nsc about soundg gay bee I was teased for as a kid. I grew up wh this notn that I’m gay and too effemate, and all those feelgs about beg too effemate rurfaced.

FILMMAKER DAVID THORPE DISCS HIS NEW DOCUMENTARY THAT EXPLOR THE ‘GAY VOICE’ PHENOMENON

I had this lightng-bolt moment when I was on the tra to Fire Island and I heard all of the exced gay men soundg very gay. I jt wonred if I would be happier as a more nservative gay guy. I n speak wh more ease bee my mcle is speakg wh people, did you fd that a lot of gay men, nscly or unnscly, had this issue wh how they sound?

I was very surprised at how many gay men I spoke to were really keenly aware of how “gay” they sound.

I thk ’s somethg every gay man has to e to terms wh. Some people have no issue wh and love who they are off the bat, but there are a lot of people for whom ’s been background noise, sort of static the film you talk about a performance of gayns and how your iends say your voice changed after you me out llege.

BE YOUR OWN SELF: THE LSONS OF 'DO I SOUND GAY?' AND 'TANGERE'

Do you see any tth to that ia of performg as a gay man? Frat guys, for sure, perform bro-ns, and I thk that gay men are no different.

There are tim when we like to play up the stereotype wh each other or people who aren’t gay. At first when I learned about , I thought I’d be able to swch to sound ls gay when I feel vulnerable or want to, but I thk for most people swchg is very role has the media played the creatn of the stereotyp of what a “gay voice” is or, at the very least, the proliferatn of what gay men theoretilly sound like? It’s a great chicken or egg qutn bee certaly Hollywood has trafficked stereotyp that rerce this ia that gay men sound effemate.

On the other hand, we know gay men who sound effemate. In some s, like Disney rtoons, the stereotype of the bad gay is also stereotyped as gay.

FILMMAKER AND SPEECH PATHOLOGIST WEIGH IN ON WHAT IT MEANS TO 'SOUND GAY'

That n only mean one short answer is whout a doubt Hollywood has rerced stereotyp of gay people, but I hate to say they’re always negative. I thk the problem is when characters are two dimensnal and there are a lack of imag of other gay people.

When I grew up, there were no gay people around, so all you had was televisn.