Why do gay people sound like that?

There is a lot of new research on the 'gay accent' or 'gay voice' - and why it might be that gay men and gay women speak differently than hetero people

Written by: Gregory Brown & Mitchell Moffit
Edited by: Luka Sarlija
Drawn by: Gregory Brown

References and Further Reading

[austinfrm]

Finally… the question everyone was always just too afraid to ask 😂

[LordBrittish]

It isn’t simply a vocal thing. There’s a whole radar to detecting these things. A sixth sense. A Gaydar.

[nozyspy]

Now lets talk about the excessive hand and head movements. 😅

[shane_edwards]

The most out of pocket notification ☠️

[josuemanuelparejacontreras]

"Father, when can I leave to be on my own" 😩💅

[shreklifeforever]

The real question is why is this in my feed

[logank]

Talking to Bros: "Hey"
Talking to my cat: "Hey love show me that

[Yookah]

Yall both have THAT voice 💀 I just knew already

[shayd]

That Buzzfeed quiz I took on Facebook in 2011 said I was straight. Are you telling me that wasn't scientific enough?

[Ricvictors]

This is one of those videos that randomly pops in your feed and you go like
“Huh… I’ve never wondered about that.”
Then you spend the next 5 minutes like this: 🤔

[beatrizcandeias]

My boyfriend be walking by my side sounding like this “🤡🐥🥧🥺”
But then he finds a random guy from college and starts speaking like this: 🐆🍺⚽️

[TheGeckoNinja]

usually its the valley girl accent that gives it away.

[ianprescott]

I always thought it was pretty obvious. They try to emulate the way women speak

[goofywill]

The "voice" is probably a cultural signal and/or pattern of sorts. There is lots of emotional expression in the flamboyance and the voice. Like wearing your heart on your sleeve.

[nickzardiashvili]

As a straight man from a relatively conservative country, me modulating the pitch of my voice has been a perfectly conscious thing to do for years. I've realized since I was a teenager that there is a certain group of people who will only listen to you if you're doing a Tom Waits or Leonard Cohen impression, and having a deep voice myself, I've certainly used that to my advantage. I've also employed that voice when I was a teacher and when I'm speaking to a large group in general. It does work for me when I need it, but it's very dumb that speaking in such a voice makes people listen more, to say nothing of it being unfair to those who can't use that voice.

[ThatFreeWilliam]

That straight guy impression at 2:11 was amazing.

[mellissadalby]

Hey you totally cracked me up when you mimicked the "straight guy speech pattern" with less distinct verbal articulation. Well done!

[philipwilliams]

I've always been curious on this topic, glad you finally tackled it!

[whenlifegivesyoulimes]

The part where you imitate a straight man with the "hey bro youwannadosumsunday" was painfully accurate. Loved this video!

[starspangledbat]

As a voice actor, I can say absolutely yes there is a voice they put on whether it be consciously or subconsciously. It’s all the same voice impression.