Yesterday, my brother told me he'd encountered a gay guy at the grocer. I asked him why he thought the fellow was gay? "He had really strong lisp" was the only reason. So that led me to thinking, why does the stereotype exist that men with lisps are automatically gay? Of course, not every gay man has a lisp, but it seems (at least in popular opinion as perpetuated by media) that every man with a lisp "stands a good chance of being gay." Thoughts?
No idea. Inflection seems to be something that is a conscious effort, and that is usually how we assume people are gay based on their voice. I doubt anyone out there is talking with a lisp on purpose though... unlike inflection... so it is kinda interesting why so many gay dudes have them. Maybe a genetic correlation, I don't know
Lisp isn't the correct term, although I'm not sure about "accent" either. I know several gay guys who are more effeminate in their speech than their straight male counterparts, but I don't know anyone personally who has the accent "turned up to 11." The Escapist had an interesting thread on this topic a few years ago.
There is a documentary out there made by a gay man exploring this cultural phenomenon. I am not going to say whether I thought that it was bad or good, just that it is out there. It is called Do I Sound Gay? and it just explores this, specifically focusing on the USA. Basically, it is one man investigating how his voice affects how other people perceive him. He is gay and sounds gay. Also, they talk about how most people can't really tell if someone is gay just from hearing their voice. It also explores how effeminate male roles have been portrayed throughout the history of film. They were once the intellectual know it all character who was seen as the upper crust of society, and it gets into more modern disney characters, and how villains such as Scar and Jafar have more effeminate voices, and how this possibly skews societal views of gay men. It is interesting, I'm not sure how true it is, but it is out there if you really want to know more. Take everything you find out with a grain of salt. Everyone, including myself, has personal bias.
I remember going to Cedar Point back in July. We were getting into the park when we handed one of the guys in those tiny boxes our tickets to confirm we bought them. He said, "Okay! Enjoy your stay, guys!" My dad drove off, and my eldest brother laughed and said, "Okay, gay guy." I glared at him and said, "You shouldn't assume someone's sexuality by their voice." My brother laughed and said, "Seriously, dude? He was so gay!" some people... I'm pretty sure most gay men do not have that "lisp". My gay male friend (who does not have the lisp) introduced me to a group of a bunch of other queer people back in September, there were at least three other gay dudes in it as well. They all talked "normal", I guess I should put it. They dressed like any ordinary guys. You wouldn't look at one of them and say, "Wow, HE'S GAY!" Speaking of my friend, I brought him home after school to hang out before we met up with our other friends at our high school football game. My brothers met him, and we left. My mom mentioned my friend being gay in some sort of conversation, and my brother looked at her confused and said, "Wait, he's gay?! He doesn't act gay. I thought he was just interested in my sister (me)." My mom recalls my eldest brother saying, "Not every gay guy has to be effeminate." (ironically he's the one who made fun of the Cedar Point boy two months previous) Well, my other brother still insisted he wasn't gay- "bisexual, at least." Uggggh.... seriously? I don't have the lisp, either. I still have a female voice when it comes to pitch, but many people (mostly classmates) have told me I talked "manly". It's deeper than the average female voice, and it does not have the feminine tint to it. I doubt I'll gain the lisp when I start taking T. There's also probably many straight men who are feminine with that lisp- metrosexuals, I think?
Based on my experience, 100% of the people that I've met that have that... "gay lisp", did end up being gay. I have never met a straight person who had the lisp and wasn't gay. At the same time, I've met a lot of gay people who don't have a lisp whatsoever, but they're gay. It's interesting.
I've known a guy to have a natural lisp before who definitely wasn't gay. My thoughts, and they may be wrong, is that it could be that when women talk they generally use their mouth/ the front of their mouth to articulate more. Guys usually use their throat and diaphragm as the source of a deeper voice, which women don't usually do. Although sometimes you'll hear masculine women speaking this way, or you'll hear feminine guys speaking the other, and maybe that's what could cause the "lisp"? Because there's more focus on articulating from the front of the mouth?
The idea that lots of gay men have a lisp is totally absurd. A lisp is a speech impediment. Are we really suggesting that a whole load of gay men are affected by a speech defect? It may be true that some gay men have a tendency to emphasise and over-pronounce words, but we shouldn't mistake that for a lisp.
I've never heard the so-called lisp, but like Patrick said, it's the intonation when speaking that makes me think "gay voice". Think of a lifeline: most men's voices wouldn't rise or fall with that much frequency, and when they did, it wouldn't be by a large amount. With certain gay men, you see (hear) a lot more highs and lows, in a manner that would be described as "feminine". With lesbians, it seems to be the opposite: deep voice, curt style of communication, no "trailing" off or sharp rises. I also know things like face shapes are considered more feminine in gay men, and the muscles used to smile and when speaking are also more expressive than straight counterparts.
The only input I have to this is my oldest, since he startes to speak and express himself caries himself and speaks inthe stereotypical "gay way". we've had family ask us if he was gay...uuhh hes a child im sure hehas no idea. Wehad these questions when he was a toddler. Hes 10 and still acts a "certain way". Maybe its coincidental that gay men speak a certain, maybe they exaggerate certain mannerisms as they come into their sexuality, maybe its genetic, maybe its about personality and not sexuality? Who knows but to assume someone is gay based onhow they seem is rather shallow?
I don't know. I know a gay boy and his voice is a bit nasal, but not the lisp and I know another boy whose voice is a bit high.
Seems they're a little confused on what a lisp is. In my experience most gay guys sound pretty average.
I have a mild Gay lisp, my deep voice kinda "drowns" it. I've met a lot of straight guys with it, most of them metrosexuals who go to my job to shop with their girlfriends.
Idk about a lisp. A lisp would imply there's a speech impediment. I would say a different pitch, because gay males tend to have a more "feminine" voice.
Confirmation bias. People want to believe that all gay men are "flamboyant" because it would mean homosexuality is visible, easy to identify and avoidable. The thought that we are almost no different to straight people in most regards makes them uncomfortable. They want us to be different, because it's easier to rationalize discrimination when thinking in terms of "them" and "us." So, anything that might even hint at that "flamboyancy" is enough for them to decide someone "must" be gay. That's how I interpret it at least. It's a pretty surface-level analysis and I wish I had the will to expand upon it, but alas, I'm feeling lazy These are the broad strokes.