Gay men change tone of voice to stop discrimination and stereotyping
The new study found straight men also lower their voices to distinguish their sexuality
By Steve Brown
Gay men are reportedly changing the tone of their voices to make them sound deeper after fears of discrimination and stereotyping.
According to a new study from Surrey University, gay men and lesbians felt their voices “acted as gaydar cues” and has lead to many men altering their voices to “sound more masculine” to avoid backlash.
Dr Fabio Fasoli, the study’s co-author, said: “What we have learnt in this study is that individuals share stereotypes about voice as an indicator of sexual orientation.
“Fears of discrimination and being subject to unwanted stereotyping may lead people to alter their voice, in particular men trying to sound more masculine to conform to social norms.
“It’s disappointing that in 2018 stereotypes about masculinity/femininity persists and fears of being misidentified/identified as gay and lesbian still exists.
“This may explain why a person feels the need to alter how they present themselves.”
According to new statistics published by the British Transport Police, there has been a 200 per cent increase in homophobic crimes across the transport system.
In the study, 241 men and women of all sexualities were quizzed on stereotyping because of their “gay voices” and it found that men believe their voices are more revealing about their sexuality.
It also found that straight men thought themselves as more masculine sounding than gay men and that they lower their voice to identify their sexuality when meeting someone new.
The researchers also claimed that straight men don’t want to be misidentified as homosexual in case it leaves them open to discrimination.