Is there a reason why a lot of gay men speak with a lisp?

idk why but the high pitched voice and slight lisp (i dont think lisp is the right word, there's just something that stands out about the S but it isnt a full TH noise like a lisp) is very stereotypical of gay guys, but only a couple of the gay guys i know irl actually speak like this. It just always seemed to me to be a flamboyant thing that immediately pointed people out as gay and it seems to be much more common in gay celebrities famous for being gay than actual real life people.

 

I have a theory about this. ( not the scientific kind )

I think that the media created this. When media began to place more and more gay men into the spotlight they went with stereotyped gay men ( you rarely see a gay man in the media who isn't Obviously gay ) and so the ideal for a gay man to anyone growing up on this media was the flamboyant type with that lisp.

As a result in order to "Fit in" as the OP said a lot of gay men are just playing out the stereotype.


I don't see it as unlikely or imporobable.

I personally can't stand the gay lisp though. It's like nails on a chalkboard to me.

 

I noticed that too, not the lisp but the higher and softer voice. Sometimes even in very young and definitely not declared boys, for instance, one of my schoolmates in High School always spoke in that way, but he came out to the others and himself just in the last year.
I guess is a thing that feminine guys do, I don't know if they do that on purpose, considering that they do that since they are children, I don't think so.

 

OK, I just have to say--is this actually a thing? I've been out for over twenty years and known hundreds if not thousands of gay men and I actually can't think of any who spoke with a lisp. I just asked my partner if he knows any gay men who speak with a lisp and he also said no. There are definitely certain cadences that many gay men fall into when speaking with each other but a lisp? not that I've ever noticed.

 

The only gay men I've met with a lisp are Castilian or deaf. I always thought it was a tribute to Truman Capote. :roflmao:

 

I've always wondered about this, though I don't think "lisp" is quite true. There are a large amount of gay men I've met that fit the stereotype in their speaking, but I've never thought "lisp" was the right word. They are pronouncing 's' fine, just different. But not like a 'th'. It generally has to do with higher pitch, some nasal, kinda drawn out speech, a very feminine way of talking it sounds like?

And of course this isn't all gay men, but this is one stereotype that comes from somewhere. I've met many gay men, and I can actually only think of one who didn't have "the voice". I have, however, met one boy who was a Sophomore in high school who identified as straight who had "the voice" as well.

Earlier in the thread, someone suggested maybe it's to differentiate themselves and "camp it up". Though I think this could be the case for some (as in they take on "the voice" in order to be noticed and recognized by other gay guys) I have a friend I made this year who is gay and has the voice, and just despises gay stereotypes. He hates drag, he hates gay guys who are overly "campy" and is just repulsed by all of it, he says it does nothing for him sexually and he also feels it gives the rest of the gay community a bad name. (I know this is a pretty harsh stance, but the point is) He has the voice despite this. I've wondered about it, but never brought it up. I really don't think it's purposeful, at least in his case.

 

I find it interesting that there's no clear answer about the "gay lisp" (and yes, I know it isn't a true lisp, but that is what it has come to be called). No one seems to know where it comes from and there is no scientific basis for it.

1) Some people are doing it on purpose, that is a fact. They never used to talk like that, but they talk like that on purpose to match a stereotype. Over time, they become used to saying it and it becomes natural for them and it's not an effort anymore.
2) Other gay guys just have a naturally more feminine-sounding voice. I think there is some truth to this, but it certainly doesn't apply to all or even most gay men. It's no secret that many gay men were effeminate as kids, playing with girls' toys, having a lot of female friends. There is SOME legitimacy to the connection between gay men and effeminacy. I think it's possible that being effeminate, in interests and behavior, could also affect your voice, without a conscious choice to talk that way.

Furthermore, I'm someone who has a pretty high-pitched voice despite having gone through puberty in other ways (I'll spare the details). I'm not doing it on purpose--that's just how I sound. I wonder if it's just part of how I've always been a little effeminate.

 

The Escapist : Forums : Off-topic Discussion : The "Gay Accent" - here's an interesting thread I came across trying to research this topic.

 

My two cents:

Firstly, YES there are some gay men who talk with a lisp, or as is probably more accurate to say, with a certain "accent".

My theory is that this probably has something to do with homophobia, or rather how some gay men deal with homophobia.

I posit that some gay male kids are either outright rejected by other boys, or choose to distance themselves from boys out of fear of consequences. Instead they seek sanctuary with female friends (probably why you see stereotypes of "fag hags"). Alternatively of course you could have people who are naturally femme and prefer female company, or simply prefer female company full stop.

Regardless, it is logical if a man spends more time around girls he will adopt some of their mannerisms or tonality of their speech. That is how accent works, we pick up what we are surrounded with. You only have to look at the accents of ex-pats to see this in effect. Perhaps the lisp specifically comes from the fact the male vocal "equipment" is typically not designed to completely mimic the sound of the female voice (with a few exceptions!).

 

I've met hundreds of gay men in my life, and the only one that spoke with a straight-up lisp was the one with a cleft palate.

 

I don't speak like that. I speak loudly and rapidly, but no lisp and no high pitch.

 

I've heard of something similar and it makes sense. This "lisp" is also common among teenage girls, I actually have it haha
I learned in my psych class that there is a theory that if a man has a lot of older brothers, he is more likely to be gay. This is based on the idea that there is a set amount of testosterone in a pregnant woman's body that can go to the baby. So as more male babies are born, the testosterone depletes and the youngest can end up more feminine or gay. But this is just a theory and there are definitely other factors that determine if a fetus is gay or not.

 

I wouldn't say its that they are emulating rather they are exaggerating their femininity. Many feminine gay men did not just one day decide to act like that; they were always feminine.. even as children. They were most probably outcasted and looked down upon for their femininity. Why would they emulate something which is looked very down upon by society and even in the gay community for e.g. many feminine gay men are rejected. Feminine gay men are not only present in western society for e.g. two spirit indian natives (completely unaware of western stereotypical presentations on gay men for obvious reasons).Femininity in men in society is still seen as something to be ashamed of. I think the stereotypes may be exaggerated by some gay men as a way to rebel against femininity being seen as weak or femininity in men being seen as negative; hence the need to be "fierce" and "fabulous". I feel like if femininity in men was more accepted in society, the stereotype would actually decrease because there would be less for feminine gay men to rebel against. Think of the reactions a man would get for wearing a dress or 'walking/talking like a girl' in comparison to a girl wearing men's trousers or 'walking/talking like a guy'.

 

This is something that just ticks me off. Really. I mean gay men shouldn't be associated with that annoying stereotype of an effeminate high pitched voice and lisp. I'll take my low, normal voice and tell whoever thinks gay men sound like that to f*ck off. Man that makes me upset.

 

I have no problem with the 'gay' voice whatsoever. I even think it's sexy. I admire the guy that has the wherewithal to speak that way in public. It usually means he's really, really out, and that's kind of hot. He's gay, he wants others to know that he's gay and he's not ashamed, he's proud.

 

I'm sorry, but this notion that lots of gay men speak with a lisp is very silly. A lisp is a speech impediment, most frequently associated with faulty pronunciation of the letters 's' and 'z'. To suggest that lots of gay men are afflicted by such an impediment is utterly ridiculous.

Yes, some gay men are keen on emphasis when speaking and it results in a very clear and pronounced 's' or 'z', but we shouldn't mistake it for a lisp. Let's get it right folks. There are enough silly characterisations of LGBT peopel as it is.

 

I agree with the above post. It's an accent more than a lisp. And as people notice, there are some gays that change their voice to the "gay voice" after coming out. I can't speak for all gay men but for me, the more I come out, the more out I want to become. Anyone who isn't out experiences some form of inner repression. The freedom of just being yourself and not only not caring if people know, but wanting them to know, and then acting on that desire to be out, is liberating. I'm a homosexual. And I'm not going to hide it anymore. I'm proud to be gay and I want everyone to know.

As for the gay voice, I automatically assume that guys that have the voice are gay. I really admire them and the more I think about it after reading this thread, the more I want to become one of them. I want people to assume that I'm gay without having to come out to everyone I encounter. There are 3 reasons for this. One, gay pride. Two, I want to be visible and approachable to potential gay partners that I wouldn't otherwise get a chance to meet. Three, I want women to know that I'm a homosexual. I don't want them to get the wrong idea and that think that I want anything more than a platonic friendship. So I decided I'm going to learn and practice the voice myself. For me it will be a deliberate conscious act. I guess I'm going to be one of those gays whose voice "mysteriously" changes after coming out.