# Why Do Some Adult Women Have 'Little-Girl' Voices? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 18, 2003, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397 "2003-09-18T16:00:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Wyatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b19c9b/32.png) [@Wyatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wyatt)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2003, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/61 "2003-09-20T18:30:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CanvasShoes \* > \*\*My throat is always a little bit sore, and sometimes a LOT sore. Sometimes by the end of the work week there’s not much voice left. My boyfriend probably appreciates that 😃 > (My throat is generally a little sore though, even when it’s summer break). \*\* Two suggestions, even taking into account what you’re using your voice for… 1. Find an Alexanders Technique practitioner, you’ll be amazed what it will do for your voice, and probably several other cronic pains … 2. Check in with an allergist … if your voice is a little sore, even when you’re on a break … good chance there’s some ‘stuff’ going on. [end hijack] ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/62 "2003-09-21T00:02:04Z")
Thanks **Scarlett…** and **Wyatt** , I HAVE considered taking voice lesson (to help lower my voice), but no I didn’t realize that I could actually be “using” it wrong. Funny because I sang in elementary, church and HS choir, but I hadn’t even thought about. I’ll definitely check into the “Alexanders Technique” practitioner (wonder if there are any in Texas?) I only have to finish out this semester before I leave in Dec., but I’ll be looking into it for any new dance/aerobics jobs I might start in the states. Also, in a bit of contrast to those who find that they tend to allow a bit _more_ of a childlike voice when in need of help, I tend to be more cognizant of how I sound and work HARDER to sound “grownup” at those times. Weird huh? ---
**Author:** ![Ariadne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@Ariadne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ariadne)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/63 "2003-09-21T02:12:41Z")
I think it’s incredibly obnoxious to “diagnose” that someone was molested just based on how their voice sounds. I have a squeaky shy little-girl voice on the phone and with people I just met, because that’s just how I sound when I’m nervous. I also giggle. As soon as I’m less nervous around the person, my voice is deeper, though still relatively high-pitched (5 feet tall, short neck). If I stuttered, sweated, or had weird facial tics when meeting new people, what would you all decide my childhood had been like then? Reading this thread has just made me angrier and angrier, especially when someone said that even if a woman with a childlike voice said her childhood was perfectly normal, that just meant she wasn’t admitting that she’d been abused, but she eventually would. The arrogance of that attitude is astounding. I hope that nobody I’ve ever met has been rude enough to make assumptions about my family based on my voice, but after reading all the posts I worry that someone has and hasn’t even bothered to mention their obnoxious assumption so that I could correct them. There you go, you’ve made a smurf angry. ---
**Author:** ![Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Krisfer\_the\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Krisfer_the_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 21, 2003, 4:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/64 "2003-09-21T04:34:51Z")
**Ariadne** you GO girl! ---
**Author:** ![Helena-jo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/45deac/32.png) [@Helena-jo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena-jo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/65 "2013-01-11T22:11:32Z")
We are taught not to be judgemental or prejudice about people who are different. In most peoples eyes it would be wrong to make assumptions about someone who is black, fat, disabled, a dwarf or even has big ears. I am in my 30’s but have a childs voice. If I could change it I would. I expect my voice will never change. It is exhausting to put on a fake voice all day, I think I would also feel stupid. Why should I have to be fake anyway. For some reason my voice has not changed in tone since I was little (maybe 5 or 6). Maybe there is something wrong with me? 😕 I am not offended when people ring up and ask to speak to my mummy or daddy. To be fair I do sound like a child. However it makes me very angry when stupid people ask me if this is my real voice, laugh at me or decide my voice is put on. Why the hell would anyone put on a fake cartoon voice? I am also offended when people make strange assumptions. No …I was not abused or babied or the youngest in my family. I am not small, weird, bitchy or stupid. This is actually my real voice, like it or lump it. Please don’t expect me to change :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/66 "2013-01-11T22:29:32Z")
Welcome to the boards **Helena-Jo**. Just so you know this is an old thread so some of the people may not be around aanymore to respond. But please stick around and check out some of other fine threads. Just a heads up though. We like to keep it somewhat civil so no name-calling or cursing out (you may of course still curse in general if you fucking feel like it.) other posters except in one forum called “The BBQ Pit”. That’s what it’s there for. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/67 "2013-01-12T05:31:53Z")
A woman I work with has a speaking voice on the phone, as though she constantly has a mouth fulll of spittle, impossible to understand a voice mail from her. I suspect she thinks it’s cute. ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/68 "2013-01-12T07:05:58Z")
> [@Surreal](#): > > Why do some adult women have voices that make them sound as if they were six years old? > > I recently called a local business here, and the person who picked up the phone sounded this way. I almost asked her ‘Could you please hand the phone over to your mommy or daddy?’. But she seemed too knowledgeable to be six years old, so I continued the conversation, even though I felt like I was talking to Cindy Brady. > > When I visited this place, I met this woman and she appeared to be in her fifties. > > I never known any men whose voices sound child-like, but I’ve known a few women with the Victoria Jackson-style little-girl voice. > > What causes this? Is it being done deliberately for attention?? Did something traumatic happen to them at a young age, causing them to become emotionally ‘stuck’ at that age??? > > Thanks. I usually tend to read that as intentional cutesy affectation. ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/69 "2013-01-12T10:05:02Z")
I know this is a zombie thread but I’d like to chip in as somebody who sounds childlike but was not abused. In my case I have a speech defect. I have trouble pronouncing the letter “R”, especially when it’s combined with an “L” as in “girl” or “curl”. I think they started speech therapy at school when I was about seven and I know I went both in elementary school and in high school. (I was taking two languages and I still remember the day when my French teacher told me I was using American "R"s, my Spanish teacher-who knew I was in AP French-told me I was using French "R"s, and the speech therapist told me I wasn’t saying them at all). My voice isn’t particularly high-pitched but I do get asked if my mommy is home. Other people insist on asking what country I’m from, or if I’m from New York or Boston. If I stop and think about it I can speak fairly slowly and clearly and enunciate well but when I’m talking at my usual speed the "R"s just disappear. I don’t think I’m a “pwincess pwecious” type, and I would definitely have a better voice if I could but apparently I have a lazy tongue-sort of like the rest of me. I know it took multiple tries to record an answering machine message I could tolerate. So not everybody who sounds like that actually wants to; some of work very hard not to but sound like a child anyway. ETA: Now you’ve got me doing vocal exercises-“Around the rock the ragged rascal ran” 🔁 Someday I even aspire to try to sing Beyonce’s song Run the World (Girls) which is about the most difficult song for me to sing ever. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/70 "2013-01-12T19:24:19Z")
> [@isthatsowrong](#): > > She wanted to sleep with me but it was too creepy. Hearing a little girl’s voice say **“I want to have sex with you”** made me feel like a pervert, even though she doesn’t look like a child. bolding mine I know this is a decade-old thread but who the hell tells a guy, “I want to have sex with you.” ?? :dubious: Did she follow that up with, “by that I mean I would like to have your penis inserted into my vagina.” ? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/71 "2013-01-12T20:17:15Z")
Shrug, I’ve had a guy tell me “I want to have sex with you”. Actually, the whole sentence that didn’t get him hit with an alabaster vase because I didn’t have one handy was “I can’t wait to try that bed of yours… I want to have sex with you soooo bad” - this from a guy who jumped away when I tried to take his hand or to give him a kiss on the cheek. I imagine if he ever wanted to have sex with a guy, he might say that same line. So might someone with a background similar to his. ---
**Author:** ![SirGalahad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/71c47a/32.png) [@SirGalahad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirGalahad)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/72 "2013-01-12T20:32:28Z")
The size of the larynx and structure of the vocal cords (vocal folds, if you prefer), along with the layout of the sinus’ will pretty much determine the average pitch and timbre of a voice, male or female. Body size doesn’t influence this as much as we’d think, but testosterone plays a role, I believe. You’ve met great big guys with tiny voices, surely. Wayne Newton is a tall guy who talks like a gerbil, for instance As for a childish affectation, I’ll bet that’s an acquired mannerism, whether held over from childhood or cultivated later in life, to portray a “sexy” or even “fragile” demeanor. ---
**Author:** ![Tamex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Tamex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamex)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2013, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/73 "2013-01-12T20:55:30Z")
I’ve met a woman who has a little-girl voice who turned it into a career as a voice actress, mostly dubbing anime into English. She said that they are always looking for adults with child-like voices, because so many characters are children. (If you listen to the original Japanese, even the adult female characters will have high-pitched speaking voices). I have no idea if she had been abused as a child. I certainly hope not. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/74 "2013-01-13T03:53:11Z")
My voice is very young sounding, as late as my 30s, I’d get the “is your mom home” thing occasionally. I certainly was not actively trying to sound “cutesy” or pwecious pwincess, but I do try hard to remember to lower the pitch of my voice and I never use baby-talk type vocabulary. When I’m tired, or rushed, I probably forget to lower my voice pitch, so I still get the “you sound way too young to be 50something” thing on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/75 "2013-01-13T03:54:51Z")
ARGH! A zombie little girl voice thread. Sigh… ---
**Author:** ![AaronX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7bcc69/32.png) [@AaronX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AaronX)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/76 "2013-01-13T05:09:55Z")
I wonder how you people would describe Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory’s voice? Is that the little girl voice you’re talking about? ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2013, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/77 "2013-01-13T05:57:11Z")
[http://www.google.com/search?q=kristen%20chenoweth&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-UvyUN\_pCoP48wSh6IGQAg&biw=1024&bih=672&sei=BEzyUL3lO5OQ8wSekoDYDA](http://www.google.com/search?q=kristen%20chenoweth&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi&ei=-UvyUN_pCoP48wSh6IGQAg&biw=1024&bih=672&sei=BEzyUL3lO5OQ8wSekoDYDA) Kristen Chenoweth is the first one who comes to mind, but I think she is gorgeous and fabulous. ---
**Author:** ![blueblonde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a88e4f/32.png) [@blueblonde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blueblonde)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/78 "2013-01-14T12:03:14Z")
There’s a difference between having a naturally high pitched voice, and the little girl voice affect…I have a high pitched voice (and I’m 5’10" so I don’t think it’s related to height). I wish it was deeper, because I get the “is your mom home” on the phone all the time, but it’s just the voice I was born with! ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/79 "2013-01-14T15:19:05Z")
> [@psychobunny](#): > > I know this is a zombie thread but I’d like to chip in as somebody who sounds childlike but was not abused. In my case I have a speech defect. I have trouble pronouncing the letter “R”, especially when it’s combined with an “L” as in “girl” or “curl”. I think they started speech therapy at school when I was about seven and I know I went both in elementary school and in high school. (I was taking two languages and I still remember the day when my French teacher told me I was using American "R"s, my Spanish teacher-who knew I was in AP French-told me I was using French "R"s, and the speech therapist told me I wasn’t saying them at all). My voice isn’t particularly high-pitched but I do get asked if my mommy is home. Other people insist on asking what country I’m from, or if I’m from New York or Boston. If I stop and think about it I can speak fairly slowly and clearly and enunciate well but when I’m talking at my usual speed the "R"s just disappear. I don’t think I’m a “pwincess pwecious” type, and I would definitely have a better voice if I could but apparently I have a lazy tongue-sort of like the rest of me. I know it took multiple tries to record an answering machine message I could tolerate. So not everybody who sounds like that actually wants to; some of work very hard not to but sound like a child anyway. > > ETA: Now you’ve got me doing vocal exercises-“Around the rock the ragged rascal ran” 🔁 > Someday I even aspire to try to sing Beyonce’s song Run the World (Girls) which is about the most difficult song for me to sing ever. There was a girl I knew casually from “around” when I was a kid (we went to different schools) who has such a speech defect. I ran into her the other day and didn’t recognize her but as soon as she opened her mouth I was like “Holy cow that’s that girl!” Anyway she looked absolutely gorgeous and is now a higher-up at a bank and has a husband and kids, and still talks a mile a minute - speech defect be damned! ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397/80 "2013-01-14T17:43:33Z")
> [@NajaNivea](#): > > I’ve heard this referred to as the “I’ve been molested” voice. I have zero idea how accurate that is, but the two women I’ve personally known who sound like five-year-olds on the phone have both been through horrific physical and sexual abuse, both by their respective fathers. > > ~Mixie I have to believe there is absolutely some truth to this. If you’ve ever listened to Love Lines; every time Drew Pinsky hears the “molested voice” and ask them how old they were when they were molsted. I’d guess 90% of the time they claim they molested as a child. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-some-adult-women-have-little-girl-voices/202397.md?page=5)