# Gays: Whats up with the accent? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 6, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611 "2002-06-06T04:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Com2Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Com2Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Com2Kid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/1 "2002-06-06T04:18:03Z")
I did a search, apparently nobody has bothered to comment on this one before. . . . Now I don’t give a damn as to what you do in your bedroom, and I will assume that you don’t care as to what I do in mine. To each their own. Hell I’ll even one further that and look down on you the same way I look down on a hetro is they go around bragging about who they slept with (I have not heard any homosexuals do this, but hey, if it ever happens, I’ll be fair and equal about it. 😃 ); and hell, if you have your own lingo, then so be it, Your Deity Of Choice Knows that hetros have been making up words are phrases for ages. (so have Gays for that matter, the semantic hokey pokey is nothing new.) But for crying out loud; **WHY THE DAMN FAKE ACCENTS** Honestly, you want to be just another person, ok, hey, when I meet you, that is what you are. Until you open your mouth and start FRIGGIN TALKING STRANGE. Now if somebody has a natural speech impediment, then so be it, hey, genetics can suck. If English is not your natural language then hey, I was raised in a diverse environment, I can cope. But WHY IN THE HELL do you GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE of _PURPOSELY LEARNING HOW TO DISTORT YOUR SPEECH_. Why not just stick a big neon sign on your head that says you like to suck dick / take it in the ass? Hell if I went up to everybody I met and said bluntly “I like to screw woman” I would likely get treated differently too, if not piss poorly. (Not to mention kicked in the nads a fair number of times. . . .) So I don’t. I do not advertise my sexual likings to everybody who comes within hearing distance of me, I am just me. I have the voice that I was given, I do not learn an artificial language. I may learn Lingo, but hell, I don’t go and CHANGE MY DAMN VOICE. This brings upon two questions: Why? **AND WHAT ASSHOLE ORIGINALLY CAME UP WITH THAT TWISTED ASS VARIANT OF ENGLISH??**. That will be all. ---
**Author:** ![pldennison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9fc29f/32.png) [@pldennison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pldennison)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 4:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/2 "2002-06-06T04:39:15Z")
Shhh . . . go to bed, honey, the grownups are talking now. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/3 "2002-06-06T04:46:53Z")
I’m still reeling from the US upset of Portugal, myself. ---
**Author:** ![musicguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@musicguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/musicguy)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/4 "2002-06-06T04:51:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Com2Kid \* > I did a search, apparently nobody has bothered to comment on this one before. . . . Actually if you search the Straight Dope Archive, you will find information on this subject. I don’t recall whether they came to any conclusions however. > [@](#): > > and hell, if you have your own lingo, then so be it, Your Deity Of Choice Knows that hetros have been making up words are phrases for ages. (so have Gays for that matter, the semantic hokey pokey is nothing new.) My “deity of choice”??? What are you implying? And which words and phrases have “we” made up. You’re losing me quickly… [/quote] > [@](#): > > But for crying out loud; > > **WHY THE DAMN FAKE ACCENTS** > > Honestly, you want to be just another person, ok, hey, when I meet you, that is what you are. > > Until you open your mouth and start FRIGGIN TALKING STRANGE. Stereotype much? Or do you honestly think that everyone that is gay has a lisp? I personally do not, nor do many gay people that I know. > [@](#): > > That will be all. Thats a relief ---
**Author:** ![Com2Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Com2Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Com2Kid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/5 "2002-06-06T05:00:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by musicguy \* > \*\* > > Stereotype much? Or do you honestly think that everyone that is gay has a lisp? > \*\* Lisp? WTF? I am not speaking about lisps here, I mean that entire faux-hollywoodish thing. Not all gays of course, and indeed likely a very small percentage of them, but I still want to know A: Why B: Where. > [@](#): > > Actually if you search the Straight Dope Archive, you will find information on this subject. I don’t recall whether they came to any conclusions however. Searched for Gays Accent from any date in any forum; turned up nothing relevant. (all of 5 or 6 hits as I recall) > [@](#): > > My “deity of choice”??? What are you implying? It was a joke, I was being overly PC. > [@](#): > > And which words and phrases have “we” made up. You’re losing me quickly… [http://www.starma.com/penis/penis.html](http://www.starma.com/penis/penis.html) [http://www.dribbleglass.com/subpages/euphemisms.htm](http://www.dribbleglass.com/subpages/euphemisms.htm) and of course [http://www.hecklers.com/interactive\_top\_ten/ttdisplay.cfm?ttrecord=1079](http://www.hecklers.com/interactive_top_ten/ttdisplay.cfm?ttrecord=1079) or on the fly [http://walkingdead.net/perl/euphemism](http://walkingdead.net/perl/euphemism) [http://www.unwind.com/jokes-funnies/sexjokes/impotence.shtml](http://www.unwind.com/jokes-funnies/sexjokes/impotence.shtml) Get the idea yet? [euphemisms](http://www.dictionary.com/search?q=euphemisms) Or even the simple term “banged” when used in the proper connotation refers to sex. Hell tons of others common examples, you must be the only person on the earth who just calls sex sex and has NEVER heard of another name for it. . . . ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/6 "2002-06-06T05:03:29Z")
I admit it, I’m gay and have an accent. See, I’m from Eastern Upstate New York, originally, so when I talk, I flatten my vowels, especially my A’s, and have a tendency to drop the final g in “ing” endings. I also distinquish between two different pronunciations of the short A. I also use regional words, like calling a kid who’s misbehaving “bold”. I’m sorry…I’m so ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/7 "2002-06-06T05:07:30Z")
1. Some gay people do it because they happen to really talk like that. Believe it or not, gay people have different voices from one another. Some of us have, naturally, some kind of an accent. Some straight people have some kind of an accent. Stop bitching about how people speak. 2. Some of us put on a camp accent because we want to. It’s fun, at least for some of us. I don’t recall needing your approval to entertain myself and others. 3. As for the web pages you posted… > [@](#): > > _You are an idiot._ There is this thing called a “joke,” Frank, that you should become acquainted with. A joke is a display of cleverness intended to engender yux. Some people, however, require advance notice if they’re to recognize a joke when they see one. In polite society it’s customary when in the presence of such people to signal the onset of a joke by means of some subtle stratagem, such as a siren, large firecracker, or gong. > > - Cecil Adams p ---
**Author:** ![LolaBaby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d2c977/32.png) [@LolaBaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaBaby)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/8 "2002-06-06T05:10:31Z")
I can’t believe I wasted my time reading that stupid piece of shit crap-ass dumbfuck OP. Lots of _ **people** _ make fake accents. ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/9 "2002-06-06T05:11:05Z")
Well shit, I’m not gay, and I have an accent too. Actually, it’s kind of a wierd one. It’s a base of Standard US Announcer Voice with some elements of Spanglish, Too Much Masterpiece Theatre, Yee-Haw, and Utahr. I’m sorry, where were we? ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/10 "2002-06-06T05:14:57Z")
“Woody’s World of Penis Euphanisms???” I think we have a _bonerfied_ closet case on our hands, folks! ---
**Author:** ![LolaCocaCola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7cd45c/32.png) [@LolaCocaCola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LolaCocaCola)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/11 "2002-06-06T05:16:23Z")
That would be _Euphemisms_ Derr. ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/12 "2002-06-06T05:19:06Z")
I can actually do a number of accents quite well - French, British, Scottish, Indian, Southern USA, Newfoundland (I do this one really well), North Dakodan (my whole family comes from Manitoba, so this one is sort of natural). So, does this mean that I’m gay, and if so, _ **WHERE THE HELL IS MY RAINBOW COFFEE MUG?!?!?** _ 😃 ---
**Author:** ![reprise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ea666f/32.png) [@reprise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/reprise)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/13 "2002-06-06T05:19:19Z")
I just thought I was dipping out because people weren’t interested, when in fact it’s clearly because my parents didn’t send me to elocution lessons. Can someone recommend a voice coach who’ll teach me to convey “hell, I do it both ways and I’m still not getting enough sex”? in the appropriate, aforementioned accent? And could you please get the details to me by Friday night? Thank you. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/14 "2002-06-06T05:22:52Z")
I agree wholeheartedly. I mean, art deco is one thing but that whole Southwestern motif has just _got_ to go. ---
**Author:** ![Phoenix\_Dragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/65b543/32.png) [@Phoenix\_Dragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phoenix_Dragon)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/15 "2002-06-06T05:41:15Z")
Gay fake accents? New to me. There are plenty of people around here that like doing fake accents, and almost all of it a horrible pseudo-southern sound that makes them sound like the stereotypical redneck (Not that the rest of their activities do anything to change that image, mind you). I’ve never heard a gay person who constantly faked an accent. In fact, there are only two gay guys I know who have any noticable accent (A very subtle one), and one you can only catch a little of when he speaks loudly. And I have to say, this is a new stereotype to me. I’ve heard of the “valley girl” and lisp stereotype, but never a fake-accent stereotype. If you’re going entirely based on movie and TV stereotypes, you might want a better source… ---
**Author:** ![Com2Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Com2Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Com2Kid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/16 "2002-06-06T06:04:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phoenix Dragon \* > \*\* > And I have to say, this is a new stereotype to me. I’ve heard of the “valley girl” and lisp stereotype, but never a fake-accent stereotype. If you’re going entirely based on movie and TV stereotypes, you might want a better source… \*\* Ok put it this way; you know that big gay al from south park? I know at least 3 or 4 gay guys who speak that way; all the friggin time. ALL the time. It is their natural voice. Hell the big gay al character was designed to POKE FUN at that stereotype, my question is why is it that even a few gays actualy do accord to that stereotype? ---
**Author:** ![Com2Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4af34b/32.png) [@Com2Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Com2Kid)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/17 "2002-06-06T06:07:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Com2Kid \* > \*\* > It is their natural voice. \*\* Read > [@](#): > > They have made it into their standard voice. err; Ok, I mean the way that andy dick talks. That should be a bit more specific ---
**Author:** ![istara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e79b87/32.png) [@istara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/istara)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/18 "2002-06-06T06:14:11Z")
Some gay people I know have the “accent” (if that’s what it is), some don’t. Like the difference between Jack and Will in _Will & Grace_. I don’t know whether it’s assumed or natural, it doesn’t bother me too much. I’ve also met a very few straight guys with a similar accent. ---
**Author:** ![Eternal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@Eternal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eternal)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/19 "2002-06-06T06:50:16Z")
Most gays that have that “accent” probably adopt it to either advertise their homosexuality or to acknowledge and make fun of the stereotype that they should have that accent. I can’t imagine they would use it all the time. It’s like a butler adopting a fake English accent around his employer. You know how common that is. And although several people seem to be baffled that this “accent” exists, I too have known gay men who talk like this. ---
**Author:** ![London\_Calling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@London\_Calling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/London_Calling)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611/20 "2002-06-06T06:58:21Z")
Obviously the OP is phrased in a very aggressive manner but it has to be true to say there is an accent the public associate with being gay – not all gays have it/use it but nonetheless, if you offer Joe Bloggs ten accents on a tape and ask him which one he associates with being gay and which one as being from England, chances are the general public consensus will be pretty unanimous. For me, if there is an interesting question here, it’s how that accent has changed (or not) from what it might have been in the period when being openly gay could lead to imprisonment/prior to the advent of mass voice media compared with now. In one sense, I’m tempted to see it in rather the same way as, say, the ‘posh’ English accent in so much as it’s non-regional. But ‘posh’, one would think - for those not born into families from a similar background - is a product of peer (school) pressure, perhaps subconscious. ‘Gay’ seems equally non-regional. Given the general influence of voice-led mass media, I find myself wondering how significantly that may have ‘affected’ this non-regional accent. ? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gays-whats-up-with-the-accent/112611.md?page=2)