You sound gay! Scientists have compiled a profile of the "gay voice" that is a source of both discrimination and shame. And it extends to heterosexuals as well
The basic premise for judging others is (quite paradoxically) our own expectations, but also our prejudices. This is also the basis for the belief that certain human behaviours are more or less heterosexual (or more or less homosexual). And we are definitely not just referring to sexual behaviour, but to the voice. "In particular, the belief that gay and straight people have different voices that allow them to distinguish their sexual orientation is associated with stigma. This probably also explains why some heterosexuals stigmatise those who, in their opinion, sound gay, regardless of their actual sexuality," so says social psychology lecturer Dr Fabio Fasoli, who also conducted the latest research on the subject, published a few weeks ago in the British Journal of Social Psychology. According to his findings, men who sound gay thus reflect the classic - negative - stereotypes associated with gay men.
What is the "gay voice"?
First of all, it should be pointed out that you can't really tell a gay man (let alone a lesbian) by his voice universally. On the other hand, researchers have already determined, for example, by playing recordings of different voices to groups of volunteers, which sonic (phonetic) aspects contribute to men being perceived as gay. Leaving aside the purely technical definitions (e.g. vocalic shifts and types of articulation), so-called pitch terminals, which in practice result in the announcement phrase not falling but rather rising at the end, as if it were a question, have been described as absolutely typical of gay-talk. In fact, this is a kind of "sing-speak" that automatically puts one in the bag with the description "gay" in the eyes of some. And where did the "gay voice" come from?
There is a lot of evidence that people (regardless of sexual orientation) adapt their speech to their surroundings and those with whom they identify - indeed, this is evidenced by various dialects, etc. - and in turn try to differentiate themselves from those with whom they feel they have nothing in common. So "sounding gay" could be put on a similar level to "sounding like an Ostravak".
But in terms of social perception, the situation is of course quite different. Because of the stigmatization of gays, the "gay voice" is logically also a source of shame (which cannot be said about the thunderously uttered "Baník, py*o"...). As even in his documentary Do I sound gay? the gay David Thorpe says, he was so ashamed of his voice that he started seeing a speech specialist to get rid of his "gay speech marks". Absurd? Not by a long shot, because as it turns out, his request was not an isolated one. Well, it was unique - but only in that David flat out stated that he was gay and wanted to get rid of his "gay speech". According to the words of the speech specialist, it was not uncommon for men to come to her practice with the same problem, but - out of a sense of shame - they tried to cover it up with proxy problems - e.g. a wish to improve articulation or tone of voice...
Zdroj: Giphy
But what is quite interesting is that, unlike the gay voice, according to scientists, there is no such thing as a "lesbian voice". According to Arnold Zwicky's study, lesbians usually try to identify with the female community, whereas many gay men, on the contrary, try to distance themselves from the heterosexual majority. While such a claim may not necessarily be acceptable to everyone, the main problem of the "gay voice" is often considered to be "effeminacy", whereas there is no such (stereotypical) specificity for the "lesbian voice". Thus, although it cannot be ruled out that even "lesbian-sounding" women may face discrimination (as some research has even confirmed), an identifying set of characteristics of the "lesbian voice" has not yet been compiled, and so these are the results of the application of very individual measures - understand, prejudices.
Shame on the "queer voice"
Thus, while gaydar is to some extent a "mythical ability" of gays, who can supposedly act according to it, for example, when choosing a potential partner, the fact that they can identify the gay voice, according to scientists, is mainly thought by heterosexuals. And especially those who are homophobic. But unfortunately, as research has also shown, as a result, gays, as well as lesbians themselves, exercise a certain "censorship" of how they express themselves vocally. Those who conclude that they sound too much like gays or too much like lesbians (whatever that means) are also much more vigilant in their self-presentation, concerned with how others perceive them, and experience more stress because of it. Which is undoubtedly very sad - after all, no one should be ashamed of the way they speak (and of course this doesn't just apply to "gay speech" but to all other forms of expression).
In the context, however, it is worth mentioning one quite telling musical parallel. When disco, an initially subversive dance movement that first found African Americans, women, and gays, began to take hold, mainstream rock lovers were quick to proclaim how kitschy and artificial disco was. Only, of course, it wasn't just a question of musical tastes and trends; it was also, as sociologists now agree, a demonstrative rejection of minority tastes by the dominant majority. And this is exactly what can happen in the realm of speech. So if there's anything to take away from this musical historical episode - even with respect to the "gay voice" - it's the realization that disco was great, and when someone sounds gay, it's not necessarily because they're gay, but simply because they speak in a way that comes naturally to them...(and that's also undoubtedly great).
