# Voice quality in flamboyant gay men **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401 "2007-11-06T13:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2007, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/21 "2007-11-06T23:44:14Z")
[QUOTE=hajario] Do a search for “gay accent” and you’ll find a lot of threads on this, some of which became fairly heated. [/QUOTE] Good luck searching on the word “gay”, which has only three characters. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/22 "2007-11-07T00:04:34Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] I think this would count as begging the question. [/QUOTE] Thank you \*so much \*for using this term correctly. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/23 "2007-11-07T00:23:35Z")
[QUOTE=panache45] This is my answer too. Why do some straight guys talk the way they do? That deep, raspy, course voice that I call the “Spike TV/NASCAR/Tractor Pulling” voice. No one will convince me that that voice evolves naturally with no cultural influence. [/QUOTE] I am bemused by the implication that cultural influence on the way human beings speak is an unnatural thing. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/24 "2007-11-07T00:30:22Z")
Then again, there are some straight men who have “gay-sounding” voices. I, and I think many people, first assumed that Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s band leader, was gay, based largely on his voice (the fact he wrote “It’s Raining Men” didn’t hurt). But he’s been married since 1990 and has two kids. Similarly, I was stunned to learn that Ira Glass, of NPR’s _This American Life,_ is straight. I had always assumed, from nothing other than his “accent,” that he was gay. I’m willing to admit that these cases may simply prove I have faulty gaydar, but I’ve spoken to others who had come to the same conclusion about these two gentlemen. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/25 "2007-11-07T00:57:18Z")
[QUOTE=WF Tomba] Are there any recordings of Oscar Wilde speaking? [/QUOTE] Unfortunately apparently nothing authentic to date, though occasionally people do claim to have discovered examples. But one Helen Potter manually recorded his inflections while delivering a lecture, in a type of notation designed for that purpose, and published the result in 1891. The text and her notations are reprinted by Ellmann in an appendix to his standard biography of Wilde. I’m not sufficiently sensitive to pitch to judge the result, but Potter’s notes are apparently the best record available of how he spoke, at least on stage. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/26 "2007-11-07T01:51:55Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Then again, there are some straight men who have “gay-sounding” voices. I, and I think many people, first assumed that Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s band leader, was gay, based largely on his voice (the fact he wrote “It’s Raining Men” didn’t hurt). But he’s been married since 1990 and has two kids. > > Similarly, I was stunned to learn that Ira Glass, of NPR’s This American Life, is straight. I had always assumed, from nothing other than his “accent,” that he was gay. > > I’m willing to admit that these cases may simply prove I have faulty gaydar, but I’ve spoken to others who had come to the same conclusion about these two gentlemen. Weeelll…don’t take this the wrong way or nothing…but both Paul and Ira are Jewish. In addition, Paul is Canadian. And you can’t tell me _those_ factors might not have an influence on one’s speech. I would think just as much as one’s orientation…or as little. All depends. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2007, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/27 "2007-11-07T02:38:19Z")
[QUOTE=commasense] Then again, there are some straight men who have “gay-sounding” voices. I, and I think many people, first assumed that Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s band leader, was gay, based largely on his voice (the fact he wrote “It’s Raining Men” didn’t hurt). But he’s been married since 1990 and has two kids. Similarly, I was stunned to learn that Ira Glass, of NPR’s _This American Life,_ is straight. I had always assumed, from nothing other than his “accent,” that he was gay. I’m willing to admit that these cases may simply prove I have faulty gaydar, but I’ve spoken to others who had come to the same conclusion about these two gentlemen. [/QUOTE] I’m gay, and have somewhat-accurate gaydar. I have \*\*\*never \*\*\*gotten any gay vibes from these two guys. I once was in a discussion concerning the sexual orientation of Regis Filbin and his producer, Michael Gellman. Most of the women in the group thought Gellman was gay. All the gay men thought Regis was gay (but wished that Gellman had been). The straight guys thought both were gay, and the one lesbian couldn’t care less. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/28 "2010-08-08T15:50:20Z")
> [@Beware\_of\_Doug](#): > > > [@commasense](#): > > > > Then again, there are some straight men who have “gay-sounding” voices. I, and I think many people, first assumed that Paul Shaffer, David Letterman’s band leader, was gay, based largely on his voice (the fact he wrote “It’s Raining Men” didn’t hurt). But he’s been married since 1990 and has two kids. > > Weeelll…don’t take this the wrong way or nothing…but both Paul and Ira are Jewish. In addition, Paul is Canadian. And you can’t tell me _those_ factors might not have an influence on one’s speech. I would think just as much as one’s orientation…or as little. All depends. Canadian here. Sorry, I don’t know who Ira Glass is but Paul Shaffer is a plain and simple music nerd. Think Neil Sedaka, Herb Alpert or, probably, your church choir director. There’s something a little “soft” in the way (stereotypical) music nerds speak and behave. The accent/mannerisms are similar enough that music nerds are usually assumed to be gay in high school–well, except by smoking hot female drama nerds who have to go out with them because all the male drama nerds are–you know. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/29 "2010-08-08T15:53:24Z")
Whoops, um, braaaains! ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401/30 "2010-08-08T16:41:47Z")
Since there is a current thread on this topic [here,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573809) I am closing this old one to avoid confusion. Colibri General Questions Moderator [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/voice-quality-in-flamboyant-gay-men/425401.md?page=1)