The “Gay Voice” and “Brospeak”: Toward a Systematic Mol of Stance | The Oxford Handbook of Language and Sexualy | Oxford Amic

gay voice linguistics

From Regency England to 1920s Harlem to Miss Piggy, gay vernacular has given voice to homosexual inty and sire a hostile world. In some parts, still do.

Contents:

THE GAY VOICE

If you've ever wonred why some men "sound gay," take a few mut to watch this. * gay voice linguistics *

After intifyg phoic characteristics that seem to make a man’s voice sound gay, their bt hunch is that some gay men may subnscly adopt certa female speech patterns.

They want to know how men acquire this manner of speakg, and why – pecially when society so often stigmatiz those wh gay-soundg voic. Rogers and Smyth are also explorg the stereotyp that gay men sound effemate and are regnized by the way they speak.

The straightt-soundg voice the study was fact a gay man, and the sixth gayt-soundg voice was a straight man. (And if you don't know what I mean when I refer to a "gay voice, " watch the trailer for The Birdge and listen to the male voic, particularly Rob Williams, who -swch based on circumstance.

A LGUISTIC INVTIGATN OF "THE GAY VOICE"

In 'Do I Sound Gay?', David Thorpe exam the myster orig of the "gay voice" while tryg—and failg—to rid himself of his own gayish flectn * gay voice linguistics *

When Universy of Toronto rearchers Ron Smyth and Henry Rogers nducted a study on the so-lled “gay voice” the early 2000s, they me to an unsurprisg ncln. When openly gay humour wrer David Sedaris lls down to the ont sk at a hotel, for example, he is often addrsed as “ma’am, ” by the ncierge; a mischaracterizatn that lights him, but also fills him wh ep shame.

OF LISPS AND LGUISTICS: THE POWER OF THE GAY VOICE

Michael Schulman on “Do I Sound Gay?,” a documentary by David Thorpe that explor how vol nc are associated wh sexualy. * gay voice linguistics *

Sedaris expounds on this feelg Do I Sound Gay?, an Amerin documentary starrg Brooklyn filmmaker David Thorpe that premiered this week at Doc NYC, and was featured at the Toronto Internatnal Film Ftival September.

IS THERE A “GAY VOICE”?

* gay voice linguistics *

Thorpe, who directed the film and promoted at TIFF wh sex lumnist Dan Savage (who also mak an appearance the film), wanted to explore this shame and answer a qutn that has been on his md his entire adult life: Why do so many gay men who are seemgly fortable wh their sexualy hate the way their voic sound?

GAY LGUISTICS

Thorpe never liked the sound of his own slightly effemate voice, but was the sound of other gay men’s voic that propelled him to make the film. “I was on a tra ri to Fire Island [off Long Island] and I heard all the gay voic around me, and I was repelled, ” he says. “I uldn’t believe that after 20 years of beg out and fightg to create a gay muny, I was repulsed by my own people, and by myself.

In Do I Sound Gay?, Thorpe not only exam the myster, unrolved orig of the gay voice (characterized by a lisp and the elongatn of certa syllabl), but tri and fails, to rid himself of his own gayish flectn.

SPEECH ATIC FEATUR: A COMPARISON OF GAY MEN, HETEROSEXUAL MEN, AND HETEROSEXUAL WOMEN

He practis a variety of voice epeng, speech therapy exercis—employed equently we learn, by closeted gay actors who want to butch up their voic for a straight dience. Savage, whose sex advice lumn is syndited ternatnally, says he se this distaste for the stereotypil gay voice progrsive straight muni, too.

Savage often gets mail om straight people who are happy to accept their newly out, gay male iends, but who are equally annoyed by how “mpy” they sound.

“I’ll get letters om straight men and women sayg, ‘I love my gay iend but why do he have to act this way? But ’s also easy to see why a closeted gay kid might want to -swch for other, more unrstated reasons, too. But is rare, even today, that a good, virtuo character has an explicly gay-soundg voice a kid’s movie.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* GAY VOICE LINGUISTICS

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

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