Why do gay guys have higher voices

They asked people to listen to recordings of 25 men, 17 of them gay. Journal of Voice. Overall, she hopes her viral thesis has encouraged more people to embrace their curiosity.

"I love that this whole thing has just had loads of people commenting their ideas," she says. Bringing awareness to where that criticism comes from, and learning to love ourselves anyway, is part of reclaiming our masculinity and expressing it in a way that only we can.

Society continues to present narrow ideals, and we continue to confront messages about what it means to be a man.

But what is it within their voices that we are thinking sounds 'gay'?"

'A tiny piece in a massive puzzle'

Prior research on "gay voice," Broadhurst says, has primarily focused on gay men's vowel duration and sibilance, or the way they pronounce "s" and similar consonants.

So, when Broadhurst brought her thesis idea to her supervisor at Oxford, he suggested she look into word initial voice onset time, something that hasn't been heavily researched in regard to gay people.

Broadhurst describes this as the amount of time between a stop consonant − such as an unvoiced "t" or "p" sound − and a sound that requires the vocal folds to vibrate.

Do gay people exhibit a shorter or longer voice onset time than straight people do?

What do we really mean when we say we have a “gay voice” or “I sound gay”? And, if so, could that affect how their consonants sound, thus contributing to "gay voice"? Some of my clients, for example, will refer to themselves, in an almost disdainful way, as sounding “gay,” as if a part of themselves is inherently wrong. But as with any change we want to make, bringing awareness to the parts of ourselves we judge is the first step toward healing them.

When they were speaking with a straight person, both their voice onset times got longer.

Broadhurst thinks this might have to do with something called "accommodation theory," which posits that people unconsciously mirror the speech patterns of who they're speaking with. Studies have shown that gay men who are conscious of sounding “gay” can adjust their speech to sound more straight when they choose to.

A fascinating study on gay YouTubers revealed that after making a public coming-out video, their subsequent videos were perceived as sounding more “gay,” while straight YouTubers tended to sound more straight over time.

Sammy is straight, and Niki's gay. She found that both twins adjusted their voice onset times to match that of the person they were speaking to. On apps like Grindr or Sniffies, the “masc for masc” culture echoes early lessons of what we consider worthy. It's also one that, she believes, warrants more research.

Given the massive response online to her thesis, it's clear others feel similarly.

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If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments or reach out on our social media. Not liking how we sound is criticizing a very core aspect of ourselves. Is it quantifiable? For years, he tried to sound less stereotypically gay, aligning his voice with masculine ideals. So, is there such a thing as a “gay voice”?

This pattern has been observed in various languages, including English, Dutch, and French, suggesting that the “gay voice” transcends language and culture.

Additionally, studies show that gay men hold certain vowel sounds longer and are more likely to extend their ‘s’ sounds compared to straight men.

Self‑Esteem, Vocal Satisfaction, and Vocal Self‑Perception Among Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) and Cisgender Heterosexual Individuals. This makes sense, as many straight men tend to use more casual speech patterns when speaking with friends or in relaxed settings.

Interestingly, both gay and straight men adjust their voices based on their audience.

She hopes to one day get a PhD.

She's enjoyed reading comments from people with suggestions on where research into lavender linguistics should go next.