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Ross Mathews clapped back against an internet user who accused him over the weekend of cultivating a “fake … gay voice.”
“At what age did you start using the “gay voice”?” the Twitter used tweeted. “Because that is NOT the voice you were born with. Why do you need to speak gay?? It’s so fake. Can’t you be gay and still speak normal?”
Many gay men are self-conscious about ways by which they might present themselves that mark them out as “gay”. This can include their voices. In 2014, a whole documentary was made on the issue, entitled Do I Sound Gay? It explored how internalized homophobia can lead some men to alter the way they speak, depending on who they’re around.
Mathews, who married his partner Wellinthon Garcia in Puerto Vallarta earlier this month, was quick to shoot the criticism down.
Related: Ross Mathews marries partner Wellinthon Garcia in Puerto Vallarta
“This is my voice. Always has been. Always will be,” he said. “I hated my voice growing up because people like you would judge it. Now I’m empowered by it. My voice is my voice. And it’s gay. ❤️ 💪”
Many people applauded him for defending himself.
I used to be mortified of mine. Parents told me to “talk like a little boy.” As an adult I learned to love it and haven’t shut up. ❤️ https://t.co/G21deunFGK
— Whyamistillhere (@wynonajugg) May 29, 2022
My grandson has a voice like yours. It’s been so important to him to hear someone like him on TV 🥰
— Kathleen Huckaby (@KathleenHuckaby) May 29, 2022
I have always been self doncioie about my voice too. People would tell me I “sound gay”. Finally, after many years, I don’t give a single fuck what people think of me or my voice. @helloross you are an absolute DELIGHT and I love the warmth and humor you bring to the show. ❤️
— Hunter (@alwayswrite89) May 29, 2022
Love you embracing you! We all have been judged, but thank God some of us are able to love and accept our own differences. If I heard your voice anywhere, I’d know t was you. And that makes you unique in this world where everyone else is the same. ❤️❤️❤️❤️
— nancy burg (@nancyburg1) May 29, 2022
You’ve helped me embrace my gayness. Hearing you speak the way you do helped me stop masking so much. I’m more comfortable with who I am (and now also steal your fashion ideas) and I can’t thank you enough 💛
— All Yeen’d Up (@YENA69) May 29, 2022
When I first saw you on the Tonight Show years ago your voice was the thing that made you stand out to me, in such a good way. It’s so cute, and you were (and still are) so funny. Younger me needed to see people like me on TV and there were so few, Thank you
— Drew (@ghostpawn) May 29, 2022
YES!!! Young people: this is how you react to bullies. Stand up with pride. Don’t think they’re right when they deride you. BE YOU! ❤️
— Rayf (@raymofo) May 29, 2022
We couldn’t agree more. Keep on being you, Ross!
Related: Ross Mathews reveals dramatic weight loss after ‘reclaiming’ his health
scientistX
I hate when people think “gay voice” is “affected” or “fake”, as if speaking in a deeper or more typically masculine voice is somehow the default. People with deeper voices were also not born that way, and those people could literally be asked the same thing–why do you speak like that? The way we all act is a performance, and just because something is dominant or typical does not make deviations from those norms as “fake.”
monty clift
The truth is “gay voice” is really unpleasant to hear, and it is off putting to most people. There are gay guys who are not typically feminine and imitate the gay voice. Ross Mathews voice sounds more like a woman’s than anything else.
Fname Optional Lname
it’s only unpleasant to folk who have spent their entire lives surrounded by people who are exactly like them. If someone has been that sheltered in life to the point where another person’s voice is “off putting” they probably do not have enough life experience to handle any real life problems.
mailliw110
You are commenting on a gay voice, but your picture….
Ronbo
Monty, please stop your anti-gay camplaign. We are who we are. Using gender to attack us is going to fail. The public has already accepted and embraced us – take your ‘divide and conquer’ attitude elsewhere.
Maybe you could ask your buddy Lindsey Graham to butch it up a bit more. You might find that his audience would actually like your sexist insults. I don’t.
Fahd
Ross’ distinctive voice was part of what made him so special when he first started out; not saying he owes his career to it, but it definitely was a key element of his early success. I don’t think his voice is fake, I just think it’s his voice. “To thine own self be true.”
JRamonMc
With questions like this, we are our own worst enemy. Get a grip people, and just be yourself without judgement.
MikeM
Ross seems like a genuine person and is entirely himself. There are many dimensions to being gay. EVERY gay man has a gay voice because each is gay and is using his voice. It’s like the fools who think they’re “straight acting.” Do you determine how straight you are as you fellate someone?
humble charlie
does ross have the true info about jay leno?
Fname Optional Lname
Thank God for people like Jay Leno who saw the light in Ross and decided that the world needed to see the joy of Ross Matthews. I hear his voice now and forget that ignorant people consider it “different”.