Is gayvoice really a thing?
Do gay guys pronounce words differently than straights?
If you’ve ever asked yourself these burning questions, then this video is for you. Put on your thinking caps and really study the enunciation, intent, and diction behind all the words that these guys (and gal) are saying, and try to figure out if they’re #straightorgay.
There’s a very interesting answer at the end, and we’re sure you’re gonna have plenty to say in the comments section.
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jkrupiarz
Since you asked the question in the headline I was going to try but since they all have British or some such accents it was pointless. It’s not like you can convince anyone that there isn’t a gay dialect or whatever you’d call it and that’s awesome, it’s unique and not a bad thing.
redcarpet
Gay voice/accent is a real phenomena. But this was an ad, not a real test for it.
You can’t really tell with single words anyway, you have to hear a few sentences, and even then the british accent throws it off.
nieciedo
Why, you ask, did I try to guess their sexuality? BECAUSE YOU ASKED ME TO.
PRINCE OF SNARKNESS aka DIVKID
Wow, y’all really think they sound British!?
Nope
German? Dutch?
ingyaom
I don’t get it. Was any of them a native English speaker? And what did this have to do with being gay?
Kieran
Most gay people probably have voices that are indistinguishable from heterosexuals. But we can’t deny there are lots of gays who sound like Carson Kressly either. Has it been easier for those of us who can “pass” versus those who can’t? I don’t doubt it for one second.
hotboyvb81
I have a gay lisp, so, yes-gay vi=oice is real….
Mezaien
They are all HOMOS, thanks God.
Elloreigh
I would say it has less to do with lisping, and more to do with the variations in the way pitch rises and falls. By which I don’t mean that gay men have stereotypically higher voices. What I’m saying is that gay men seem to use more of their vocal range on a regular basis than straight men. Variations in pitch or cadence might also explain why some English accents sound gay to Americans.
To me, gay men sometimes have an anxiety in their voice that I don’t hear so much in straight men. On the other hand, there came a time, maybe around a decade ago, where I noticed more and more young straight men starting to sound gay to my ears, as if some kind of shift in speech patterns had taken place with the younger generation.
Elloreigh
Also, I’ve noticed that “vocal fry” (aka creaky voice) seems to be more common amongst gay men.
Elloreigh
Shoot, posted that before I was finished.
Listen to the guy in the “jawbreaker” T-Shirt to hear an example of “vocal fry”.
reb00t1
What a dumb fucking advert. Just wanted to see how good my Gaydar was. I don’t think you can really tell.
woodin
Gay voice is like porn, nebulous in form and definition , but pretty obvious when you hear it.
Large Marge
@ingyaom: said “Was any of them a native English speaker?”.
I beg your pardon but the English invented the language!
tootsieroll
None of them have British accents. They’re Middle or Northern European. Some sound Germanic and others sound Swedish. Lol I love how Americans try to apply this weird obsession they have with Britain to EVERYTHING. #IrishForTheWin
lcandela123
I mildly resent the guilt trip of this posting. You posed an interesting question, so I gave it a try. My expectation was that I would be unable to tell the gay people from the straight people. But, I have no answer.
Frankly, it is a perfectly valid question. Can you accurately predict the sexuality of a person by the way they enunciate words? There is some answer to the question. Whether this is an important question or an important answer is entirely a different topic. I think that it is unimportant. But that isn’t how you posed the topic. And then to pull that stupid guilt trip is disrespectful and immature. You are treating participants like ignorant children that need guidance from your wise hand. That is presumptuous.
I agree with redcarpet, above.
Merv
Even non-native English speakers will pick up traces of the accent from the sources they learned English from. So, yes, it’s still possible for a German person (or whoever) to have an English (or American) accent when speaking English.