Current Events > Is the gay accent (lisp) a real thing? Is it social or biological?

(+) Yeah! (+)

A stereotypical feature gay men are presented with is what is often referred to as a gay lisp, but better word would be accent.

Is this a real thing? It does seem prevalent.

If so, what causes this?

And please don't be offended by this. I'm not saying anything negative.
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Been wondering that, but nobody will answer

Social. Homosexuality does not biologically change your speech patterns.
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muchdran posted...

Been wondering that, but nobody will answer

Probably because people feel it's a touchy subject.

Buy I (and many others) can identify some gay man solely based on voice. I think that's pretty interesting.
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I watched a short documentary on it

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Do_I_Sound_Gay%3F

It seemed to stem from gay people hanging out with other gay people and adopting mannerisms.
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How could it be biological at all?
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gay venom partially paralyzes the tongue, causes the lisp.

more realistically i think its just something they developed within their own community to help unify them. kind of like the intentional use of a foreign language within a community made up of foreigners/immigrants to help maintain the accent.
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There was a gay kid at school that talked like that. Somebody said they seen him at McDonald's with his dad and that he was talking normal, cause I guess his dad doesn't know he was gay or something idk. So he obviously was doing that voice on purpose at school
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Uncle_Drew posted...

There was a gay kid at school that talked like that. Somebody said they seen him at McDonald's with his dad and that he was talking normal, cause I guess his dad doesn't know he was gay or something idk. So he obviously was doing that voice on purpose at school

or maybe he's doing the fake voice with his dad
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yaaaaas queen
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So it's fake?

vbty3 posted...

How could it be biological at all?

Because how do you alter natural pitch of your voice? Wouldn't the deepness of a voice be biological?
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muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

I just don't believe this.

My ex girlfriends male friend was a closeted dude. He spoke in a gay accent, while maintaining he was "straight". Dude tried hard to convince us all.

If it was faked, why would he talk like that?

And faking an accent seems like too much work.
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muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".
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_Near_ posted...

Uncle_Drew posted...

There was a gay kid at school that talked like that. Somebody said they seen him at McDonald's with his dad and that he was talking normal, cause I guess his dad doesn't know he was gay or something idk. So he obviously was doing that voice on purpose at school

or maybe he's doing the fake voice with his dad

So you think that he always knew what being gay was and knew his dad wouldn't like it and has been hiding his "gay voice" for his whole life? Because I think your parents would notice if you always talked one way and then you suddenly changed your speech pattern
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like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.
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muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

It's deliberate and controllable, if that's what you mean. There is nothing biological about being a homosexual that causes someone to act flaming.
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_Near_ posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".

ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.

These.

I heard it also just makes it easier for gay people to find other gay people.
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Evolician posted...

_Near_ posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".

ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.

These.

I heard it also just makes it easier for gay people to find other gay people.

that and ear rings apparently. was confused as hell when i heard that.
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The Admiral posted...

It's deliberate and controllable

False. People literally go to speech therapy to try and change their "gay voice".

Stop posting about shit you don't know about.
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Perhaps it's how they signal their sexuality in a 90% straight society?
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monkmith posted...

Evolician posted...

_Near_ posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".

ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.

These.

I heard it also just makes it easier for gay people to find other gay people.

that and ear rings apparently. was confused as hell when i heard that.

You didn't know about that one earring thing?
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SSJGrimReaper posted...

yaaaaas queen

yaaaas
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Anarchy_Juiblex posted...

Perhaps it's how they signal their sexuality in a 90% straight society?

Why do they need to signal it? Nobody else cares. Also, its more like 95% straight

GOATSLAYER posted...

monkmith posted...

Evolician posted...

_Near_ posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".

ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.

These.

I heard it also just makes it easier for gay people to find other gay people.

that and ear rings apparently. was confused as hell when i heard that.

You didn't know about that one earring thing?

first time i heard about it was when i was 15, so about a decade and a half ago.
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They obviously pick it up and project it
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MachoManSavage posted...

And faking an accent seems like too much work.

That's nothing. People have literally married their "beards" and joined, taken religious celibacy vows, spent several thousand dollars propping up rumor mills, and wilfully tortured themselves in conversion camps to bury themselves in their armored closets.
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Some gay (and straight) men have natural lisps do to how they learned their language or some other fctor but a lot of gay men who have lisp take it on intentionally to make it easier to figure out they're gay. Drugged or otherwise, their natural voice can come out with no lisp at all in the cases of the latter so it's something they readily and actively use.

There's no actual correlation between being gay and having a lisp that isn't intentionally taken on.
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I think it's societal and controllable. I think for some gay men, they have a level of flamboyancy and when you combine it with a large circle of female friends, it brings it out more. I also think that icons the community has idolized have encouraged it too (Madonna / Cher / Gaga, all very extra people.) So when a young gay teen is coming out and want a community to identify with, they look at the culture as to how to behave.

I'm gay and most people assume I'm straight because I'm not flaming nor flamboyant. So there are plenty of gays who don't act flaming.

I personally don't vibe well the flaming gay guys, but I don't think it's an issue when they act that way. Just how they express themselves. Doesn't effect me.

I've seen Catholic priests and married men with that voice, just not stereotypically over the top. I feel it would be a little shitty for me to assume they are just pretending to be straight and I don't know why they'd keep the voice if they were trying to hide.

Could be biological and sociological. Not really sure. I don't think it is just a conscious choice and effort 24/7 for most people who have it.
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hockeybub89 posted...

I've seen Catholic priests and married men with that voice, just not stereotypically over the top. I feel it would be a little shitty for me to assume they are just pretending to be straight and I don't know why they'd keep the voice if they were trying to hide.

Could be biological and sociological. Not really sure. I don't think it is just a conscious choice and effort 24/7 for most people who have it.

sure, not every person you meet with a lisp is doing it intentionally because they want to be recognized as gay. some people do have legitimate speech impediments.
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People can have a natural lisp. People can also alter the way they speak to have a lisp.

Thinking the former is always indicative of someone being a closeted gay is astronomically wrong.

As a gay man myself. I am not even able to answer. I have been asked a few times "why are you gay and don't have the gay accent". It's even more awkward that another gay man in high school did not have a lisp and randomly started to talk like that when he came out later.
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SOME Gay dudes act campy on purpose. It'd be nice if they just spoke normally. Like, there is absoluteky no point to it other than "Hey I'm gay btw"
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Evolician posted...

_Near_ posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

No. adopting traits from your surroundings (lots of times, subconsciously) doesn't make them "fake".

ALIEN_WORK2HOP posted...

like every other accent, not biological and just adopted from the people around you.

These.

I heard it also just makes it easier for gay people to find other gay people.

it also makes it easier for my penis to choose which gay people to totally ignore

I think the explanation that makes the most sense is gay dudes hanging out with girls more.

I'm definitely of the camp that it's learned and intentional more often than it's natural. Though that's probably a region to region thing since you've got the Southern "aristocrat" voice that kind of sounds like the gay voice as well, just a matter of where they grew up.

The main point is that it's not linked to being gay on, like, some biological level. It's a speech pattern that some gay guys choose to adopt (or start to mimic if they hang around other gay guys that talk in that manner) or that some gay guys coincidentally already have naturally.
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MJ_Max posted...

I think the explanation that makes the most sense is gay dudes hanging out with girls more.

I am gay and have more un hanging with men so that may explain why I do not have one.
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It's the voice that comes naturally to them usually. If they seem to use it more around other gay people it's because they're more comfortable and not making an active effort to hide it.

MachoManSavage posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

I just don't believe this.

My ex girlfriends male friend was a closeted dude. He spoke in a gay accent, while maintaining he was "straight". Dude tried hard to convince us all.

If it was faked, why would he talk like that?

And faking an accent seems like too much work.

IIRC, it was used as a way to signal you were gay back during a time when admitting you were gay would get you arrested so you could meet up with other gay people. These days it's just become a habit for some people.
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ChromaticAngel posted...

MachoManSavage posted...

muchdran posted...

So it's fake?

I just don't believe this.

My ex girlfriends male friend was a closeted dude. He spoke in a gay accent, while maintaining he was "straight". Dude tried hard to convince us all.

If it was faked, why would he talk like that?

And faking an accent seems like too much work.

IIRC, it was used as a way to signal you were gay back during a time when admitting you were gay would get you arrested so you could meet up with other gay people. These days it's just become a habit for some people.

Are you sure about that?
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Yes.
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The point is that just because something is not biological doesn't make it intentional. Socialization is a thing and it doesn't always happen consciously or even willingly.

Seriously guys, watch the documentary.
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epik_fail1 posted...

Are you sure about that?

no. Could just be an urban myth. but I thought I'd share it regardless.
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MJ_Max posted...

I think the explanation that makes the most sense is gay dudes hanging out with girls more.

The best answer.
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It annoys the crap out of me. I have absolutely no issue with someone if they're gay, but I wish they would just talk normally. Many gay people DO talk just like everybody else, which leads me to believe it IS just some annoying fake accent they're doing on purpose...
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Is the gay accent (lisp) a real thing?

Yes and it's primarily social.
To get the clearest picture why, you would have to grow up as a gay male youth.
And it's not a standard of male homosexuality.
There's gay men who actually make average straight men look girly by comparison...

There's really no biological component for the lisp. It's socialized.

Part of what conditions boys and young men into adopting masculine gender norms is pressure from society to conform in order to avoid appearing aberrant (weird, queer, "gay" in the pejorative sense, less than a man, etc). Males are commonly expected to talk deeper, tougher, avoid saying "girly" things, an emphasis on sounding masculine instead of anything associated with feminine. This is perpetuated by both fellow males, women, and family members expecting young men to behave a certain way.

However, it's not uncommon for gay males in the US to reach a state where they don't really have to keep up that anti-feminine image to function comfortably in society. The LGBT communities are well known for their lack of regard for traditional gender norms (if a woman acts masculine it's no big deal, a guy acts feminine he can still get laid, etc). It's basically a social privilege despite also being demographics that still face a degree of discrimination.


The point is naturally with so much more liberty to distance themselves from gender norms, there's going to be some gay men who sound effeminate. Because in the gay communities, less people care about sounding like a certain gender.

I guess what I mean is when a gay guy can still consistently get laid even though he's got a flamboyant lisp, he's got very little reason to change that. Straight guys, on the other hand, generally have to avoid sounding effeminate or it kills their dating success, makes them a joke among peers, and kind of gimps their assertive presence.

And let's face it: one of the primary reasons straight guys even bother to worry about sounding masculine is to remain attractive to women (who won't want jack shit to do with a man who sounds girly). Gay men don't face that hang up as much from partners.


Also some gay male youth still grow up in areas loaded with anti-gay sentiment, meaning they have a harder time finding role models they can relate to. That means they're more likely to take after a stereotypical gay dude with a lisp on TV, or even take after a woman. In these scenarios, it's ironically hate-filled society to blame for the creation of gay men with lisps...how's that for a mind fuck?
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Have to say I've always been curious about this too. Same with the limp wristed hand thing.
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vbty3 posted...

How could it be biological at all?

Why couldn't it be?
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