# The gay voice

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gay-voice/94423>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 20, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gay-voice/94423 "2001-11-20T17:12:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![evilyam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f475e1/32.png) [@evilyam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilyam)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gay-voice/94423/1 "2001-11-20T17:12:25Z")

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I’m sure you’ve all noticed that some gay men have a certain quality to their voice. I’ve read it described as “precise, almost prissy, and he inflected certain words with an odd emphasis.” So I’m wondering where this comes from. Not all gay men have it, so I don’t know what the means. My thought is that it works something like Castillan Spanish. One famous person a long time ago had the voice (like the old king’s lisp), so other people emulate it, possibly subconsciously. Other thoughts?

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**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gay-voice/94423/2 "2001-11-20T17:21:13Z")

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Hi and welcome.

Cecil Adams answered this question.

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950526.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a950526.html)

If you search Comments on Cecils Columns [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/forumdisplay.php?forumid=1)

You may find other threads about it.

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**Author:** ![andygirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@andygirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andygirl)\
**Post date:** [November 20, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gay-voice/94423/3 "2001-11-20T17:54:03Z")

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Well, I’m an Alto II. I would peg my partner as an Alto I. Matt\_mcl is probably a Tenor I.

Sometimes people choose to “act gay” so that others will be aware of their inclination. The gay accent can be turned on or off like so much tap water in most cases, and I personally think it’s just a part of identity construction.