The "Gay Accent"

[FPLOON]

I'm pretty sure it's the sociolect thing... I mean, one of my gay friends in high school never showed through his voice that he was gay... (It was actually in the way he despised female nudity with a passion in anime in general...)

Then again, the one straight man I met in college who had that kind of "gay dialect" called himself a "metrosexual", so there's that...

I think it's not the accent that makes someone gay, let alone proves them to be gay... However, I don't think that will stop said gays from showing that they are subconsciously... or something like that...

 

[Kai Drawwater]

I'm gay and I don't speak with a lisp, but I'm not camp either, I'm just a guy. I really hate the 'gay lisp' thing, especially seeing as it makes a straight kid's life harder if he has a lisp. I can, however, understand that it makes it a lot easier for people to identify that that person is gay. I've only ever seen it used by gay guys in the media who are portrayed as really camp...

 

[Saint of M]

Let me get this strait, for give the unintended pun:

The gay lisp is a sociolect, meaning a variety of a language used by a particular social group; a social dialect.


In simplest terms, its on the same lines as stoner and surfer speak?

Wow.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I think a large number of gay men will fly under the radar, being essentially indistinguishable from straight men, and as a result people imagine the community to be composed more disproportionately than it is of those with more stereotypical mannerisms.

Not sure where I stand on the matter (I've certainly noticed and known gay men with the "accent" but haven't really thought too much about it beyond that), but this is an interesting point. It could very well be that the "accent" is simply taken as an outward sign of "gayness" because it fits the most out and flamboyant of the demographic. We may not be counting the others who don't have it simply because they don't stand out in the same way. It's like saying that all the guys who always wear red shirts are the guys who like red shirts while not even counting the many other guys who like red shirts but just aren't wearing them.

 

[Shiftygiant]

I always find the 'gay lisp' thing to be interesting. Probably because I have never met a gay person with the stereotypical lisp, because in England it's usually just the 'metrosexual' guys who have it.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I don't have any gay friends, but for those who don't have this "accent" it makes it quite confusing at times. You know them as being straight until they come out or you find out about it.

For so long I didn't knew that Neil Patrick Harris or Ian McKellen were gay, because outside of movies I haven't had any interest on looking up their life outside of movies/tv shows (why would I?).

With that said..it came to quite a surprise to me when I found out, but regardless of that I don't look at them now in a different light.

 

[Chemical Alia]

Most of the gay guys I know don't talk with that "accent" or have any overt mannerisms that would outwardly suggest that they are gay.

One of the big exceptions to that is my best friend's cousin. Ever since he came out of the closet as an openly gay man in his early 20s, his "gay inflection" (or whatever you would call it) has grown noticeably stronger.

But it's weird, because he's been deaf from birth. He went to a special school to learn lip-reading and how to vocalize words as a kid, so I can only speculate as to why that is.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

There's a gay accent? Well I suppose if you count how what's-his-face from Darma and Greg talked, but I'm pretty sure not all gay people talk like that.

 

[Objectable]

I hang around plenty of gay people, and yes, we sometimes sound like that.
I personally sound like this.
<youtube=Uow6TNtOpPA>

 

[Sunrider]

I couldn't care less if you're gay, straight, bi or none of the above, but there is just something about that way of talking that I just cannot stand. I won't judge anyone for it, but I'd rather not talk or listen to them.

 

[Augustine]

I recall reading Plutarch's (historian of Ancient Rome) description of life of Greek politician/general Alcibiades.
Alcibiades is described as having a pronounced lisp. But there was no suggestion of associating it with his sexuality, though he most definitely was gay by our standards (the famous lover of Socrates, no less!).

At the very least, this leads me to believe that lisp-gay connection was most certainly a modern construct.

 

[Ryallen]

I actually have a gay friend whose voice is deeper than most people's I know. You wouldn't be able to tell he was gay besides the fact that A: he says that he is, and B: he sometimes makes jokes involving "bending over" to other guys. And he wears skinny jeans. But the fact of the matter is that he has a very deep voice.

 

[SenseiBandit]

I'm kinda at odds with this whole talking point. I have two friends who were both raised by their mothers and only had sisters and no brothers so they were the only male in the home so they just naturally picked up that "feminine" accent voice just because of their surroundings. But then I also have a gay friend who was raised by both parents and had no sisters but still has that same accent.

 

[SenseiBandit]

What is up with these double posts ?

 

[SenseiBandit]

.

 

[Something Amyss]

]

It just seems to me that gay men tend to be more overt with that kind of thing. Maybe lesbian speech behaviors are lees obvious.

Or gay behaviours are more stereotyped. The "gay lisp" doesn't seem to be as common off TV or YouTube.

I'm sure they exist, but I haven't noticed any in my lesbian friends. Do you know of any specifically?

You already mentioned lower range, but it's not hard to tell when someone is speaking in a lower register as opposed to being an alto. Just like it's not hard to tell the difference between someone with a speech impediment and someone adopting "gay" behaviour.

 

[Something Amyss]

They think they're precious ickle snowflakes and everyone must love them and praise them for being gay.

So...They're basically straights and that's why people hate them?

Honestly, though, aside from the inanity of calling everyone who wants to be acknowledged just as a straight person was an "attention seeker," your description might as well address the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus.

 

[adamsaccount]

I dunno, im probably gay but in the closet and I have the opposite, like a slackjawed kind of drawl, imagine toilet paper spinning out too fast but in slow motion and thats pretty much it. Wonder if it'll change when I come out, could be some subconscious IM NOT GAY thing but I do have my camp moments, like when a friend of a good friend asked me if he was a ****, i looked all goofy and said "NOOOOOOEEW", instead of no.

edit: Kinda like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWsYXzUBaGc but more british

 

[The Lunatic]

It's difficult to say really.

None of the homosexuals I know have that lisp. I have a straight friend whom sounds pretty stereotypically gay, which is a fun thing to give him shit over.

But, beyond that, nada.

"Fabulous" gays, or whatever you want to call the poppy-pink princesses, are, I suppose, part of a certain sub-culture in homosexuality. They tend to be more known for it. It's well, like I said, it's a sub-culture.

 

[Hieronymusgoa]

Hm...Some people I know who turned out to be gay talked like that before, some afterwards, some never. Some people tell me that I sound a bit like that, some say I don't. But it's not anything I would call a lisp...more a special kind of "inflection"? perhaps...when I'm talking fast and yes, when I realise I'm doing it I don't like it

Anyway I'd say, as a gay man, that mostly it is a sign of being gay in most cases but it is of course nowhere near to THE sign if there is anything like that. I pride myself sometimes with being able to tell around 9 out of 10 guys. But then again it is a skill you only really need and aquire if you're gay. Most people I identify with some ease are not seen at all as gay by others but they still had some distinctive ways of showing it. Mostly it's how they look at other people, what they wear etc. Not because there are only a few signs but especially with clothing there are so many sub groups for example here in Berlin and some stuff basically never comes together as you sometimes see it unless the person is gay.

EDIT
Now that I think about a lot of gay people I know: This "inflection" is not common around them atually. Yes, it is much more common in certain parts of the scene and yes, I would still stand for that it often identifies a gay guy but it is mostly limited to people carrying a lot of other signs which come with the inflection and a certain type of "flamboyantness"...