(Photo Credits: oneinchpunch from Shutterstock)
Much has been written about the subject before, there was even a documentary in 2015 by the filmmaker David Thorpe titled “Do I Sound Gay?”
Today, another person has a theory about “the gay voice” and it involves Dolly Parton. According to this Instagram page called thisisgayscience:
This is Gay Science. In today’s episode, why do gay men talk like that? The gay voice. You can recognize it instantly.
But what’s the science behind this distinct vocal effect?
Because they often congregate in earthquake zones, gay men harness a lot of energy. Excess energy that isn’t spent relaying local drama passes to the vocal cords to initiate a high frequency vibration. It’s a pitch that all people can hear, but only gay men and Dolly Parton can understand. Sometimes these high-pitched sounds pass through the mouth into a lisp caused by phagata dentata. This variety of gay voice is an elite form of communication, like echolocation in dolphins, and can throw sounds up to 10,000 miles away. Unfortunately, all men are bad listeners, so these messages are lost on them and are received exclusively by Dolly Parton, and are received exclusively by Dolly Parton, who’s been quietly managing the chaos of hearing the voice of every gay man for decades.
Of course, the netizens got their two cents in as well. An Instagram user called omidoninsta said: “The real reason: gay men with an effeminate voice typically grow up with a stronger female presence in their childhood. As they naturally resonate more with the female experience, they start mimicking their voice and behavior as kids do, and there you have it, gay voice.” While another user named stard0ski said, “You only notice the gay men who have that voice. Gay men who just happen to not speak like that are less visible. People just rak the way they do as individuals, but are more or less visible depending on the social mores of the time.”
But what does it mean to have “a gay voice?” Previous studies, as cited by LGBTQ Nation, mentioned the following as “voice characteristics associated with gay men” and we quote: “a higher pitch, wider pitch range, longer vowels, expanded vowel space, and more precise pronunciation.”
Meanwhile, a study published in March 2023 titled “Can Listeners Detect if a Man Is Bisexual from His Voice Alone?” aimed to determine if “bisexual men’s voices differ from gay and straight men’s voices with regard to perceived masculinity-femininity – nor whether listeners can identify a bisexual man based only on his voice.”
The study found that people can’t tell whether a man is bisexual from his voice alone; instead, the respondents “usually decide that the bisexual man has the most masculine voice.”
Do these “categorizations” ever end? On & on they go, from Hair to Genitals, to Clothing, to Decor and now, to Voice? I believe…accordingly to scientific research…Gay Males are created and birthed…in the same manner…after approximately 9 months gestation? So, we are created – equally – as our Straight Brethren – yet, for some God-forsaken reason, Gay Males are somehow different than God-created Flocks? Will we ever be allowed… to be left alone, to prosper and contribute and die…accordingly…without the daily dissections and eviscerations, promulgated by society – at large – and put under a microscope for analysis? What is… Read more »
Yes, there is a gay voice. However, a small percentage of gay men don’t have gay voice.
Many do not have a voice…go to your local nursing home…they are invisible!
How did you come to the conclusion that it’s only a “small percentage” that don’t have this voice?
The Community studies and tracks such data on every member. The organization is on top of such things. You didn’t see an email for it or its splash across social media sites?
*insert laugh track here*
Oh, sure there is, or that way they have of talking, it’s part of the whole “femme characteristic/s.” In my hometown (Minneapolis) there was that ‘nasal thing’ they have which annoys the fuck out of me.
it’s like how you know some people like use like or you know every other word, Or how some people upspeak the end of every thing they say. Like you know how it seems like you know they’re always asking a question. (with an up inflection at the end) Some Gay guys naturally have the Gay voice. Other acquire it, much like individuals across the globe may move to a new region and after some time see their voice acquiring aspects of the accent of new region’s speakers. For certain, the Gay voice is prevalent with Gay guys who naturally… Read more »
Affectatious mannerism provoke affectations voices?
Yes, it’s fake and annoying as fuck. I love how guys speak in their regular voice, and the moment they come out of the closet, you’re not even sure if it’s the same person you’re talking to, and the broken wrists that flail around. Ridiculous.
Had a Straight friend tell me in business he has identified a trend. After months of doing business with certain guys, he may get to know them and socialize with them, with no thoughts about sexuality. Most of them are “great guys,” he says, but some of those who reveal themselves as Gay (usually when they bring their guy partners to an afterwork function or feel comfortable enough to reveal that their partner is male), morph at a noticeable rate toward any of a range of “Gay acting” mannerisms. He doesn’t care that they are Gay. He just cringes a… Read more »
Guy I knew in college came out a few years later and I noticed he had picked up a lot of the gay mannerisms he had never had before. There must be at least some cultural aspect to it. You talk and act like the people you hang out with the most.
This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has taken five minutes to observe human behavior. We feel more comfortable around people we socialize with and are friendly with, and in turn we unconsciously partake in some of their shared behaviors. Surely you’re familiar with straight guys hanging out on the weekend at a tailgating party and acting more stereotypically “heterosexual” than they would in a professional office setting. How is one any different from the other? Let’s stop pretending this behavior is somehow exclusive to gay men.
Not familiar with straight guys behaving more “Heterosexual” on the weekend than in the office. One would take a flyer and guess it’d be just the opposite. But guys can be surprising!
Yes, some G and T people in the LGTBQ+ universe use “The Gay Voice.” What a wonderful day it will be when the LBQ+ … and even those S!! … people can feel free to take on that voice with no fear of judgement or bigotry or reprisal!
This isn’t real? This “scientific” evidence is something that is supposed to be funny. I don’t take any of that seriously.
No one thinks the Instagram is the source of the scientific evidence. But there are peer-reviewed sources articles in scientific journals that seem to establish that it is, as the kids say, “a thing”.
It can be beneficial for identification purposes. If a person see a really hot, sexy guy at the gym; all you have to do is simply ask him did he watch the Dallas cowboys football game last night. If he say in his gay voice, I don’t watch football or yes I did, it can be a signal to pursue the conversation and try to get to know him better or move on if his voice is not gay. A lot of times, once they open their mouth, that’s it. You can tell.
And, how about if he bends over?
For me personally, the Gay Voice is not an attraction. I wouldn’t pursue a guy once I heard it. Like other aspects that would make a guy “hot” for each of us based on our varied lists of what hotness is all about for each of us. That doesn’t mean I’d dismiss him entirely. I’d just not pursue sex at that time. Of course, if I got to know him and “one thing lead to another…”, that would be great.
Hey, I’m not attracted to gay voice as well. Total turnoff for me. I didn’t word my initial response to the blog question clear enough. We’re basically on the same page buddy.
No worries Marcus. What you said had any issues. But thanks for taking a second look.
To be fair, anyone wasting their time watching a Dallas Cowboys games isn’t relationship material… 😉
Actually I’m a Commanders fan. Lol. Appreciate the wink but be careful Eric. My “morning wood” is standing tall early this morning!!!!
WOW – CUM to my place and let me HAVE all of it!! And I said that with a DEEP MASCULINE voice too you HOT HUNKY studmaster!!!
The bigger and harder the wood… the better. Bottom here. 🙂
Unfortunately, so is Marcus. WOMP WOMP.
Some guys just don’t understand that we need to give other guys room for their choices in:
Those guys that are unable to end up old, lonely, and bitter crying “why can’t I find even one good man?” We can only help them to the extent that are willing lighten up.
You did catch that was a joke… hence the winkie face?
So unless you work out at the gym, and follow football, you are by definition gay? Cripes: talk about funneling people into groups. (a) gay men follow football (b) men who don’t work out or follow football can be straight. That must stun you.
It can be anywhere or about anything. I was using football and the gym as examples. My point is simply try to start a conversation with a guy and then maybe you can tell by his voice if he’s gay or not. No disrespect intended by no means.
Oh, Mary! The gay dialect is spread in gay bars, and handed down from old queens to impressionable young queens, and stereotyped by actors as an easy way to sound gay. It took me quite a while to drop it once I picked it up. Or says my sister, the dyke.
Hehehe….. I love the very end of that article, when the vast unspoken-for majority of the LGBT community (the chameleon bisexuals) those of us that are smarter than the rest and fool both genders….. Ended up having the most masculine voice….
I do not think there is a “gay voice” as such, although there are those who try to make it so. I tend to agree with an author, whose name escapes me, who wrote about his coming of age at a time when it was still extremely dangerous to be gay. He spoke of subtle cues, of pauses, of glances, of posture, that would go undetected by a person not listening or looking for them, but, once detected, would be met with a more direct use of similar modes by the conversant. That pause, that timing, was especially important in… Read more »
That’s what I love! Subtly, is much sexier.
*subtlety.
Lmao, yeah, what I said, miss that ‘e’ thanks!
Hehehe….. I love the very end of that article, when the vast unspoken-for majority of the LGBT community (the chameleon bisexuals) those of us that are smarter than the rest and fool both genders….. Ended up having the most masculine voice….
If you sound like a Valley Girl, then ~oh, my God~ you have the gay voice.
A bitchy whine also qualifies you as having a gay voice even if you like to bang women.
Seems to be a bit of dissent in the room. We must FOLLOW THE SCIENCE! You know, just like a few years ago, right? It must be caused by global warming or something…
I wrote a comment as I have many times before, edited a word error in it, and it got marked as SPAM!
That is annoying.
Do it right the first time or repent!
It’s an exaggeration of normal speech and intonation. It is attention-seeking, attention-drawing, and can at an extreme turn into squealing. Oh, MARY! Who is Mary, anyway?
I believe that many gay men due to nurture or creation of their own have made a voice for themselves, it’s sorta feminine sounding… But it’s not the majority of gay men, it’s just most of what you see on entertainment… In fact most gay men I know don’t have that “gay voice” at all. I’ve known many gay men you wouldn’t believe they were gay at all.
There is a Gay voice. It speaks whenever there’s any reference to “The Community.” When a well known person comes out publicly, someone of social fame gets quoted as saying the person “has become a member of The Community.” News sites report: “The Community hosted a PRIDE Event in … ” “The Community was outraged when the act of bigotry took place.” “Feeling pressure from The Community, the site took down the post.” “After an outpouring of criticism by The Community, the flag was removed.” “Members of “The Community” attended the school board meeting to voice their … ” Yes.… Read more »
Dubbed “the good voice” comprised of the many, makes for one powerful voice, correct.
Those “many” often forgetting and disregarding the fact that they are a segment of society. That segment claims rightfully so, to be recognized and respected for their views and beliefs.They quickly, conveniently drop their responsibility to recognize and respect others with mildly or vastly different views and beliefs. There needs to be open discussion and collaboration on making social changes that are fair and equal to all. The “good voice” you refer to is deaf to and demanding of others with its “our way or nothing” stances. And its lack of collaboration. That voice will claim justification for its bullying… Read more »
I have a deep masculine voice(total top) who enjoy hearing a soft fem voice especially if they look good!!!!!