Individuals in today’s society are quick to judge a male by the tone of his voice. In the United States, the social norm is that males tend to have a deeper and more monotone voice when compared to females. It is viewed as socially incorrect if a male has a higher pitch to his voice. A man can easily be perceived as gay if his voice strays away from the norm of the male society. Homosexual males are stereotyped to be effeminate in their speech because of the similar high pitch they share with females; however, research has found that homosexual males along with heterosexual males can both show this similar quality of voice. This essay’s aim is not to discuss the sexual relations of homosexuals, but rather to proclaim that there is underlying …show more content…
No study to date has examined the possible origins of these speech differences. In today’s society, most people believe that they can judge a male’s sexual orientation based only off of his speech. In addition, most studies done on sexual orientation based off of speech samples have in fact been found to be accurate. It is tiny differences in pronunciation that distinguish speech patterns. One possibility of why this speech occurs is its ability to act as a ticket of membership into the gay community. It is assumed that the “gay voice” is used to unify homosexual males from diverse backgrounds, or to identify one another in diverse social settings. However, gay speech doesn’t have to exist for functional purposes, as there could also be underlying causes (Renn). Gay men with a so called “gay voice” have picked up these speech patterns more commonly associated with women, by being around more women speakers than male speakers while growing up (Fallon). The “gay voice” tends to emerge early in life, before a male even self-identifies himself as gay (Renn). Straight men who grew up around mostly females tend to have characteristics of the “gay voice” as well (Fallon). If gay speech is developed early in childhood, this would …show more content…
If gay speech is to unify, why is it that a sizable number of gay men do not possess the speech pattern that associates them with the gay community? Even heterosexual men who sound gay have no reason to adopt a way of speaking that is associated with their own biological sex and gender norms. Gay sounding speech doesn’t differ from other types of speech specifically just because it is shifted in a female-type way. Men during childhood are likely to adopt or mimic the speech pattern more typical of females because of the extensive amount of time they spend around their mothers. When looking at this, it seems like the pattern of speech known as the gay voice is an overlap between a female-shifted speech pattern and a male voice. Younger children also adopt their type of speech based off of those that they spend most of their time around. It is likely that boys adopted the speech pattern of younger girls. If a male develops the “gay voice” speech, it is likely that he will carry it into adulthood, because it is extremely difficult to change (Renn). In The Daily Beast, Kevin Fallon wrote that in
Homosexuality is a product of biology because according to research, the hormones of the females are stronger. Dr. Hamer states that sexual orientation, male homosexuality is genetically influenced. This is passed down through their mothers to the hormone of their offspring. Sexual identity is wired into the genes, which discounts the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are a choice. Since sexual differentiation occurs within the womb, as a result of hormonal influences, it has been hypothesized that homosexuality may result from differential hormone balance in the wombs of those who eventually exhibit a homosexual orientation. According to a study, the question is whether homosexual practice changes the brain or whether the brain results in homosexual practice. According to Dr. Hamer, male homosexuality might be linked to a set of five DNA sequences located on the Xq28 region of the X chromosome. Therefore, if homosexual orientAtion were completely genetic, one would expect that it would not change over the course of one's life.
Andrew Sullivan, author of, What is a Homosexual, portrays his experience growing up; trapped in his own identity. He paints a detailed portrait of the hardships caused by being homosexual. He explains the struggle of self-concealment, and how doing so is vital for social acceptation. The ability to hide one’s true feelings make it easier to be “invisible” as Sullivan puts it. “The experience of growing up profoundly different in emotional and psychological makeup inevitably alters a person’s self-perception.”(Sullivan)This statement marks one of the many reasons for this concealment. The main idea of this passage is to reflect on those hardships, and too understand true self-conscious difference. Being different can cause identity problems, especially in adolescents.
David Thorpe’s exploration into this newly based concept shines light on the homophobia that is based in the United States, but also bringing to light gay identity in itself. A large advantage to this documentary that may benefit better than other documentaries surrounding the LGBT community is that is directed and experienced through the eyes of the self-proclaimed homosexual, David Thorpe, In this sense the viewers are able to get statsitcis and raw feelings from a gay individual without having that bias or stereotypical onset feel to the film if it were in comparison to have been written by a straight male or straight female. Another Advantage to the film, is the use of professionals to support and back ideas on the origin of the gay voice. Through the course of the documentary, David visits with a vocal coach where he aims to change his “Gay” sounding voice to that of a “normal” sounding voice. The vocal coach gives profession insight on why the “gay” voice sounds the way it does. What I plan to use from this documentary is the idea and the motion of the social construction of what a “gay” sounding voice sound like. Again to use it as a back burner support system to link in with my
“Boys will be boys, and girls will be girls”: few of our cultural mythologies seem as natural as this one. But in this exploration of the gender signals that traditionally tell what a “boy” or “girl” is supposed to look and act like, Aaron Devor shows how these signals are not “natural” at all but instead are cultural constructs. While the classic cues of masculinity—aggressive posture, self-confidence, a tough appearance—and the traditional signs of femininity—gentleness, passivity, strong nurturing instincts—are often considered “normal,” Devor explains that they are by no means biological or psychological necessities. Indeed, he suggests, they can be richly mixed and varied, or to paraphrase the old Kinks song “Lola,” “Boys can be girls and girls can be boys.” Devor is dean of social sciences at the University of Victoria and author of Gender Blending: Confronting the Limits of Duality (1989), from which this selection is excerpted, and FTM: Female-to-Male Transsexuals in Society (1997).
Gender Treachery: Homophobia, Masculinity, And Threatened Identities The paper mentioned above, was written by Patrick Hopkins, is all about gender and the role that gender plays in our society. Sexuality, Heterosexuality, Gender roles, Identity and identity development are the issues of discussion here. It is all about gender treachery the way we use genders to look up to people and look down upon certain misfortunate ones. Prejudice against lesbians and gay men, is widespread in our society. Although attitudes toward lesbians and gay men have become less negative over the course of the past 30 years, and especially during the last decade, the majority still view homosexuality as morally unacceptable. That’s what makes it such a threatened identity. Homophobia is the common issue at stake here, but the question that arises in our minds is why can’t we just accept things as they are. Homosexuality and cross dressing represent human sexuality diversity. Since these lifestyles are generally not acceptable, homophobia and discomfort of cross dressers exist. Hopkins suggests that educating heterosexuals about homosexuality results in a reduction of homophobia. The idea is to create awareness in the society; these issues just can’t be hid behind and forgotten about, if they are present we have to sit up and take notice. Mr. Hopkins rightly calls such an attitude totally biased. The bias against women is closely related to the bias against homosexuals. It appears at first that the bias against male homosexuals is based on what they do in bed. But the deeper reason is that homosexual males are not loyal to their gender. In other words it is because they do things that are not manly. Psychological sophistication and social critique revea...
By analyzing the concept of normative heteronormativity, it has become clearer with the use of Adams’ readings, that our discourses and practices of heteronormativity are reinforcing and normalizing the known concept of the normalized behavior of heterosexuals in our society. Adam’s argues that “homosexuality and heterosexuality are dichotomized”. 59. In this sense, there can be no heterosexuality from which homosexuality can differ: there can’t be one without the other.
Roseborough, D. (2003). Conceptions of gay male life-span development: Past and present. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 8(2/3) 29-53. DOI: 10.1300/J137v08n02_03
Gender is a socially constructed phenomenon, and how acceptable one’s relationship is determined by society’s view of gender roles. Because the majority of the population is characterized as heterosexual, those who deviate from that path are ...
William L. Leap PhD & Denis M. Provencher PhD (2011) Language Matters: An Introduction, Journal of Homosexuality, 58:6-7, 709-718. Web. 9 Nov. 2013 .
While living within my host community, I will bring a very unique identity to the community. I identity myself as a gay man, as well as a southerner. As a gay southerner, I will first bring my understanding and acceptance of social and political differences within the community, as well as letting my southerner hospitality and friendliness shine through when interacting with colleagues and local.
Queer, a word first used by the Scottish in 1508 to mean strange, peculiar, or eccentric, has evolved into a critical theory signifying resistance to the traditional views on gender and sexuality since the early 1990s. An Italian author and professor, Teresa de Lauretis coined the term “Queer Theory” during a conference on conjecturing gay and lesbian sexualities held at the University of California. Heavily influenced by deconstruction, post-structuralism, and feminism, queer theory challenges the practice of assigning people to different categories based on a person’s description. Queer theory constructs itself around the concept that identities are not fixed and therefore queer theorists “object to statements that would construct boundaries” (Kirsch 34). As various aspects and components contribute to a person’s identity, it is incorrect to limit human beings into a single group. Instead, queer theory broadens the discussion on individual identity, forming critiques on how factors such as gender and societal influences contribute to the way in which a person creates, maintains, and or changes his or her own identity. Hence, queer theorists distrust the legitimacy of “straight” ideology or heteronormativity, which holds that heterosexuality is the normal sexual orientation. Therefore “[looking] beyond an exclusive and fixed sexuality” (Dyer 4) and widening the interpretation of literary texts to include deviant types of sexual references and identities has become one of the major tasks of queer theorists. Attempting to resist the accustomed outlook that marriage and sexual relationships are only appropriate between a male and female, queer theory directs its main focus toward analyzing both the subtle and apparent non-normative ...
An issue that has, in recent years, begun to increase in arguments, is the acceptability of homosexuality in society. Until recently, homosexuality was considered strictly taboo. If an individual was homosexual, it was considered a secret to be kept from all family, friends, and society. However, it seems that society has begun to accept this lifestyle by allowing same sex couples. The idea of coming out of the closet has moved to the head of homosexual individuals when it used to be the exception.
Hayes (1976) suggests gay speech is modulated by openness and gay type: secret, social and activist. Each gay type articulates lexicon and speech patterns differently. Secret gays or gay men that have yet to openly disclose their sexuality, articulate words and phrases differently than social or activist gays. This difference, Clark (1998) suggests is a ‘self-defense’ mechanism carefully designed to prevent social ostracism. Social gays and gay activists, less concerned by society consequences, are not compelled to hide their gay speech, openly and to some extent actively use gay speech similar to ‘your typical gay’ stereotype, flamboyant and flaming. Schwieter insists gay men feel “language uses them just as much as they use language” (p. 93). This ability to use language, alternating speech patterns and categorical lexicon, allows gay men to express a broad range of roles within and outside the gay community. Contrary to Burgess (1949) who claimed “the homosexual world has its own language incomprehensible to outsiders” research suggest gay language is a not a distinct dialect but socio-culturally acquired language characterized by atypical male speech variation and word pronunciation.
“He’s queer,” Sam describes his homosexual roommate with disgust and anger. The author of the article creates a fictional character that represents the general population. Through this character, the author portrays the public’s lack of awareness regarding the severity of the existing discrimination. The dialogue portrays a conversation where Steve is correcting Sam’s wrong viewpoint on a homosexual friend. Although this may seem simple, Steve faces difficulty in persuading Sam due to Sam’s ignorance and strong skepticism towards the homosexual population. The response to the persuasion is “I’ve never
Before I understand the concept that sexuality as becoming, changing sexuality appears impossible to me. How would that possible that one male was gay when he was young, became straight at forty, then became gay again at sixty? Now, I understand that it is just as normal as transgender, that it is all depends on social situations and personal experiences. I think it is a helpful and adjusted understanding that most individuals should possess, in order to reduce and eliminate the discrimination and harm towards LGBTQ communities. Making choices is a freedom that should not be discriminated against, and more understanding allows everyone to possibly change to a better version of themselves, and allows everyone to truly and fully discover about