# Why does Michael Jackson talk like a girl? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 21, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527 "2003-11-21T16:45:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/1 "2003-11-21T16:45:14Z")
Is he on estrogen? is he just a natural born “high talker?” Has he ever made any public explanation for it? It’s weird. I don’t think ever heard any _other_ grown man who talks like that. Is it just an affectation? What’s going on? Does anybody know? ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/2 "2003-11-21T16:52:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > **Is he just a natural born “high talker?” … Is it just an affectation?** I just think it’s a combination of both of the above. A concrete answer will be hard to come by. Mike Tyson and the late Walter Payton are (were) in the ballpark when it comes to high-pitched voices. Of course, Jackson easily surpasses the both of them. I am trying to recall his brother Jermaine Jackson’s speaking voice for comparison. I think Jermaine’s voice is somewhat high as well, but without the affectations Michael has learned to adopt. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/3 "2003-11-21T17:28:11Z")
Well, he _does_ refer to himself as “Peter Pan”, so it seems likely that it’s an affectation. This guy is a serious argument for arrested development. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/4 "2003-11-21T17:42:10Z")
Wasn’t Jackson taking female hormones? I’ve heard those rumors many times, but they’re proving difficult to substantiate. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/5 "2003-11-21T17:52:41Z")
This brings to mind an old joke(possibly offensive to some people). Michael Jackson is living proof that only in America can a poor black boy grow up to be a rich white woman. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/6 "2003-11-21T18:06:02Z")
> [@](#): > > I am trying to recall his brother Jermaine Jackson’s speaking voice for comparison. I think Jermaine’s voice is somewhat high as well, but without the affectations Michael has learned to adopt. On Good Morning America this morning they had a audio clip of Jackson’s brother (I think it was Jermaine) - anyway sufficed to say, he had a very deep voice. Jackson was put in the spot light at 5 years old. He shows classic symptoms of peter-pan syndrome (I know I know, he even calls himself that), and I would not be surprised for the defense to take a partial insanity plea if there is such a plea. I doubt jackson will see the inside of a cell though… ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/7 "2003-11-21T18:21:38Z")
> [@](#): > > I doubt jackson will see the inside of a cell though… True, since after all this case will probably come down to a question of “he said / it said”. 😃 ---
**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 21, 2003, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/8 "2003-11-21T18:49:35Z")
I think he talks like a girl because internally she is one. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/9 "2003-11-21T18:50:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by bordelond \* > **Mike Tyson and the late Walter Payton are (were) in the ballpark when it comes to high-pitched voices. Of course, Jackson easily surpasses the both of them.** Dave Stewart (the former baseball pitcher, not the guy from Eurythmics) is another one. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/10 "2003-11-21T19:06:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by panache45 \* > \*\*I think he talks like a girl because internally she is one. \*\* Bite me. Taking female hormones will not raise a grown man’s voice, or affect beard growth. ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/11 "2003-11-21T19:09:47Z")
> [@](#): > > Taking female hormones will not raise a grown man’s voice, or affect beard growth. Begg’in your pardon me lady, the the male sex change process involves taking copious sustained amounts of female hormones. Which over time can affect voice, muscle tone, and growth of facial hair. ---
**Author:** ![akrako1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@akrako1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akrako1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/12 "2003-11-21T19:24:37Z")
I remember watching a Lisa Marie Presly interview where she claimed that Michael’s girly persona is faked - part of his image. She claimed that not only does he have a normal, low pitched voice, but when he’s private he’s just like everyone else - noting that he sits around drinking beer, watching sports and swearing at the teams. She stated that she tried to convince him to give up the persona, maybe it worked in the past, to establish himself, but that it wasn’t working anymore. I guess Michael didn’t take her advice. But that begs the question of the OP, if it’s not a physical ‘problem’, then why does Michael choose to talk that way? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/13 "2003-11-21T19:31:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Phlosphr \* > \*\*Begg’in your pardon me lady, the the male sex change process involves taking copious sustained amounts of female hormones. Which over time can affect voice, muscle tone, and growth of facial hair. \*\* But, I repeat, taking _female_ hormones will not raise a _grown man’s_ voice, or affect beard growth. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Raven\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@The\_Raven\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Raven_1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/14 "2003-11-21T20:06:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by akrako1 \* > \*\*I remember watching a Lisa Marie Presly interview where she claimed that Michael’s girly persona is faked - part of his image. She claimed that not only does he have a normal, low pitched voice, but when he’s private he’s just like everyone else - noting that he sits around drinking beer, watching sports and swearing at the teams. \*\* Oh my God… if this is true, I would give a body part to see this. Imagine MJ making like Al Bundy, on the couch in a beer-stained wifebeater, clutching a PBR tall and bitching out the Packers in a pissed-off baritone. 🙂 -Rav ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/15 "2003-11-21T20:13:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I don’t think ever heard any _other_ grown man who talks like that. \*\* Mike Tyson does, but don’t tell him I said that. Lol **Raven** , I would up body parts to see that as well. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/16 "2003-11-21T20:21:22Z")
You know, when I see specials of him as a kid, is it just me, or was his voice before puberty actually LOWER than it is now? ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/17 "2003-11-21T20:30:08Z")
Backing **World Eater** , I’ve heard quite a few boxers with high pitched voices. However, 1) Michael Jackson (as far as I can tell) has not been hit 6 million times in the head, and 1. he lacks the indecipherable tendency that most boxers also have with their voices. ---
**Author:** ![aahala](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a88e4f/32.png) [@aahala](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aahala)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/18 "2003-11-21T20:33:08Z")
I think it’s a reaction to all the whiteout he’s been drinking.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/19 "2003-11-21T20:34:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Governor Quinn \* > \*\*Michael Jackson (as far as I can tell) has not been hit 6 million times in the head. \*\* Well, he may have been, but those tiny little fists can’t do all that much damage . . . ---
**Author:** ![terd\_ferguson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@terd\_ferguson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terd_ferguson)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/20 "2003-11-21T20:36:25Z")
He did say that the _one_ nose job he had was so that he could hit the higher register. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527.md?page=2)