Movie Review : Do I Sound Gay?

     Lewis and I saw this indie film and found it quite thought-provoking.  As a gay man who was once told "you don't SOUND gay", I wanted to see the film's findings.  

     Journalist David Thorpe began the movie by describing his own voice as "sounding gay".  He also admitted that--during a train ride to Fire Island (see my prior blog entry for FI tales)--he cringed at the overdone proliferation of "gay voices" on the train.  Thorpe interviewed people who admitted that the "always on" manner of "gay accents" can be grating to the ears.  

Thorpe wondered when he had lost his natural voice for his "gay voice".  Thus, he conducted interviews with varied homosexual men and with award-winning speech coaches.

     I wasn't expecting him to come right out and say it, but the film alludes to the reasons that gay men adopt a "gay voice".  Some do it to blatantly announce their sexuality.  Some do it to "fit in".  Some do it to express their feminine side.  Some do it to protest stereotypical masculinity.  None seemed natural from birth.  
     Sure, some attended "speech classes" in Elementary School, but speech impediments and the "gay lisp" were professionally proven to be different, nor does any data show that being gay creates a specific speech pattern.
     The resulting side effect in our modern world is that being gay seems to have a package of "mannerisms, pronunciation and speech".  It even involves our image!

     Heterosexual men can't be so easily stereotyped by actors.  
How would you mimic a straight man from Massachusetts?
How would you mimic a straight man who's a fireman?
How would you mimic a straight man from Madrid?
But, look how easy it is to mimic a gay man?  Whether he's from Paris, London, Manhattan, Miami, or China, it's the same...

Thorpe attributed modern society's perception of homosexual behavior to the flamboyant celebrities of the pre-"Out" era: Liberace, Paul Lynde, Truman Capote, and Clifton Webb.

     Thorpe consulted homosexual friends & celebrities who DON'T speak with a "gay voice".  One grew up with "jock" brothers.  One strove to lose his Southern accent for a job as a CNN reporter, so he certainly didn't pick up a gay accent.  One simply had a regular voice, which landed him a role on "Star Trek".  Thorpe also interviewed straight men who's natural voices sound gay: they were born with those.
     In my Dec 15, 2012 entry, I described Manhattan's "gay scene": http://halfwindsorfullthrottle.blogspot.com/2012/12/part-xviii.html    

     I recall a time when I witnessed a gay Japanese man talking in "pure Japanese" on the phone, then turning to his gay friends and suddenly sounding "lispy and gay".  Just like the gay TV character Cameron does on "Modern Family" when coaching football or otherwise talking with his friends.
     It's an interesting juxtaposition of characteristics!  Many gay men inhabit a flouncy demeanor, while also maintaining a masculine/muscular physique.  A model-esque Herculean body--depicting "macho"--with higher vocal tones, feminine sounds, and "soft" hand gestures.

     The film's on-screen discussion compared gay porn stars.  Viewers preferred a "top" who sounds masculine and will tolerate a "bottom" who is effeminate.  Interviewees admitted that they are attracted to men... with all their anticipated manly attributes.  So then, why "sound gay"?  Maybe it's why lions in love will roll on their backs and expose their necks?

     Thorpe assessed his own voice.  Several people who knew him during his childhood admit that he returned from college "sounding gay".  They love him... but they wonder who the "imposter voice" belongs to.  Even he wasn't sure how he developed his current speaking pattern.  ???

     Speech coaches informed Thorpe that his current voice lacked confidence or motivation, which Thorpe wanted.  He began to realize that a whole slew of speaking patterns is involved in the "gay voice": longer vowels, harder Ts, more S-sounds, higher pitch, and higher endings of sentences.
     Former gay coworkers of mine admitted that they felt more accepted--and seemed to be more readily accepted--when they opened their mouth and sounded "gay", instead of sounding "normal"... especially instead of sounding "professional".  Even Tim Gunn, host of "Project Runway" has the blend of "gay voice" with "news commentator" tones, which affords him authority for the TV show.
     It's no tremendous secret that humans mimic to be accepted.  A demographic of urban kids sound is if they were raised in the old Deep South, yet they've never been there.  New arrivals to Long Island's North Shore begin to sound like Martha Stewart (ending all sentences on downbeats).  Ivy Leaguers might end up sounding like TV character Thurston Howell, from "Gilligan's Island".  Just like they all dress the same way, to be accepted.  Gay men, despite self-proclaimed creativity and appreciation for the arts, are no different.  So many dress the same, gesture the same, and sound the same.
     By comparison, there is the "natural adoption" of accents.  Brazilian friends of mine are teased by their natives for developing American accents.  A pal from Nashville has his hometown accent strengthen whenever he visits there.  Maybe some gay kids who move from Kansas to Chelsea NYC adopt the local "gay voice".  But why?
     People from Jamaica, Vietnam, Boston, Maine, Georgia, and Brooklyn will have regional accents.  But, truck drivers from all those places won't sound alike.  Football fans from all those places won't sound alike.  They won't all gesture alike.  Yet, Thorpe interviewed gay men in foreign cities, and--despite their nationality accents--they all sounded gay!  Thus, a man from Dallas had a Texan drawl AND a gay voice.  Likewise, a Parisian had a French accent AND a gay voice.  Grammar or a foreign language is something to learn... but a global "gay voice" occurrence is unique!
     Perhaps future filmmakers will touch on the subject more.  Thorpe addressed the phenomenon and brought the unspoken "gay voice" to light.  It shouldn't matter how you sound or gesture, as long as it's done decently and with heart.  Homosexuality should be accepted in all forms.  No "trimmings" need to be expected or peer pressured into existence.  It simply wouldn't make sense for a gay man (or a lesbian) to MAKE themselves sound a certain unnatural way.   That's not being true to yourselves... which is what the "Out Movement" is all about.