Joe Stone Is On It
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MYTHBUSTERS: DEBUNKING ‘GAY VOICE’
Do I sound gay? The obvious answer is, yes, very. So gay in fact that well-meaning callers frequently mistake me for a woman, earning me the nickname ‘Mrs Stone’ at one magazine where I worked. So gay that I basically haven’t had to bother coming out at any point in the last decade, which is timesaving if nothing else. As a teenager, I sounded effeminate enough that if I answered the house phone to my sister’s boyfriend we could go a good five minutes before he realised I wasn’t her, something which I exploited to maximum blackmailing effect (obviously). So the answer is yes, I definitely do sound gay.
The question is the title of a recent documentary, in which journalist David Thorpe attempts to get to the bottom of his own discomfort at having a faggy voice. He talks with similarly-voiced friends about their own insecurities, visits a voice coach and learns what factors influence how gay or straight we sound (apparently gay men lisping is a myth, but we do like to overenunciate our ‘S’ sounds. The other tell-tale signs are apparently longer and clearer vowels; more pronounced Ls and over-articulated Ps Ts and Ks.)