# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![toadspittle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c0e974/32.png) [@toadspittle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toadspittle)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/21 "2003-11-21T20:39:51Z")
I can’t believe this thread has gone on for so long w/o anyone mentioning the rumors I had always heard: Michael was the cutest and most popular member of the Jackson 5. As he grew older and puberty threatened–along with its expected voice changes–his father began administering estrogen to Michael in an effort to preserve his high voice. So, Eve, the rumor (again, rumor) I had always heard was that MJ had taken female hormones while still young–i.e., not as a grown man, which you point out–and that interfered with the normal masculine development of his voice, keeping it higher-pitched than it might have been. Once he was on his own, he gave up the hormones, but the changes were already wrought. Again, rumor. ---
**Author:** ![Kenshi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/bc79bd/32.png) [@Kenshi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kenshi)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/22 "2003-11-21T20:41:39Z")
Maybe he **use** to have a normal voice. There are people out there who start talking a certain way and they become use to it and it **never** changes back. For example people from other country’s who come to America as little children have accents but as they grow up they have a more Americanized way of speaking. ---
**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, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/23 "2003-11-21T21:05:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by toadspittle \* > \*\* . . . MJ had taken female hormones while still young–i.e., not as a grown man, which you point out–and that interfered with the normal masculine development of his voice, keeping it higher-pitched than it might have been. Once he was on his own, he gave up the hormones, but the changes were already wrought. \*\* Once he gave up taking any estrogen, his larynx would have begun to develop from his existing testosterone, and his voice would have deepened. The only way for that to have worked is if he were castrated before puberty and given estrogen—but since he has fairly normal beard growth on what’s left of his skin, that’s out, too. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/24 "2003-11-21T21:11:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\*I don’t think ever heard any _other_ grown man who talks like that. \*\* **Jon Anderson** of the rock group **Yes**. I’ve spent about 30-45 minutes sitting next to him, engaged in perfectly delightful conversation. ( Plus another 10-15 min backstage a few days later, after their show at The Beacon Theatre in NYC ). His speaking and singing voice is incredibly high in the register. He exhibits the normal range of secondary sex characteristics. It’s not a put-on or an act. It’s simply how his vocal chords were post-puberty. In fact, his singing voice on average is MUCH higher than that of **Mr. I Adore Small Boys And What’s It To You** Cartooniverse ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/25 "2003-11-21T22:54:06Z")
I found a cite for my previous posting… from: [http://www.dotmusic.co.uk/news/March2003/news28823.asp](http://www.dotmusic.co.uk/news/March2003/news28823.asp) In a recent interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Presley explained: [Michael] was very real with me off the bat. “He immediately went into this whole explanation of what he knew people thought of him and what the truth was.” She continued: "I was always saying, 'People wouldn’t think I was so crazy if they saw who the hell you really are: that you sit around and you drink and you curse and you’re f\*cking funny, and you have a bad mouth, and you don’t have that high voice all the time. “It’s very strange,” she added. “There’s not a lot of people who he’ll allow to see who he really is - there’s probably only five or six people, not including kids, who have seen who he really is.” ---
**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, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/26 "2003-11-21T22:54:13Z")
I forgot about **Geddy Lee** from **Rush** as well, although I think age and smoking has brought the screech down to a more tolerable level. 🙂 ---
**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, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/27 "2003-11-21T23:09:27Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Panache45 \* > \*\*I think he talks like a girl because internally she is one. \*\* > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Bite me. > > Taking female hormones will not raise a grown man’s voice, or affect beard growth. \*\* Bite yourself. What on earth does this have to do with what I said? ---
**Author:** ![ccwaterback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/df705f/32.png) [@ccwaterback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ccwaterback)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/28 "2003-11-21T23:13:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*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. 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? \*\* Maybe the OP should be: Why does Jacko have so many personalities? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/29 "2003-11-21T23:21:11Z")
Doesn’t he sound exactly like Janet to anybody else?! Seriously, they both have very high, very soft voices. I think if it’s just an act, he’s copying Janet. ---
**Author:** ![Earthling](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/90db22/32.png) [@Earthling](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earthling)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/30 "2003-11-21T23:31:39Z")
Aaron Neville is a [big](http://www.aaronneville.com/photogallery/gallery1i.html), [mean-looking](http://www.aaronneville.com/photogallery/gallery3m.html) dude with a really high-pitched voice. But don’t call his voice girly – call it “fearsomely soulful” like _Rolling Stone_ does. No estrogen or affectation, here. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/31 "2003-11-22T00:26:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Eve \* > \*\*Well, he may have been, but those tiny little fists can’t do all that much damage . . . \*\* **Eve**! Stop being the funniest person on the board! ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/32 "2003-11-22T02:56:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Cartooniverse \* > \*\ ***Jon Anderson** of the rock group **Yes**. \*\* I can vouch for that (you know, in case anyone has the inclination to believe me over **Toon** ). And Jon _is_ quite delightful in person. But much, much littler than I expected. Wasn’t there an audio clip floating around within the past year of Michael on satellite at (IIRC) an awards show, and he slipped out of character? You could clearly hear him say something like “Oh my god” and it was in a normal baritone register. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/33 "2003-11-22T04:52:50Z")
Maybe he’s got a small penis. Seriously. I know of **no** scientific data to back this up, but I recall in one of James Joyce’s novels, he describes a scene in a bar where folks are joking with a well-known baritone singer about a recent performance of his, and pointing out that because of his skin tight pants, you could tell that he was in possession of an exceedingly large member, and some of my gay male friends have informed me that men with high voices 99.999999999999% of the time have rather diminutive members. ---
**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 22, 2003, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/34 "2003-11-22T05:19:58Z")
I guess I lean towards the affectation explanation. I don’t think he’s trying to sound like a woman so much as a child, though. ---
**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 22, 2003, 5:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/35 "2003-11-22T05:36:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tuckerfan \* > \*\*Maybe he’s got a small penis. Seriously. I know of **no** scientific data to back this up, but I recall in one of James Joyce’s novels, he describes a scene in a bar where folks are joking with a well-known baritone singer about a recent performance of his, and pointing out that because of his skin tight pants, you could tell that he was in possession of an exceedingly large member, and some of my gay male friends have informed me that men with high voices 99.999999999999% of the time have rather diminutive members. \*\* Correlation is not causation. If this factoid is true, which I do not grant (he said, in his high-pitched voice), it probably points to an underlying cause for both conditions. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/36 "2003-11-22T05:46:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by commasense \* > \*\*Correlation is not causation. If this factoid is true, which I do not grant (he said, in his high-pitched voice), it probably points to an underlying cause for both conditions. \*\* True, but saying his voice is high and squeaky because he’s got a tiny dink sounds better than saying that the genetic make up which causes a male to have a high pitched voice is also responsible for them having what some might consider to be a diminutive penis. ---
**Author:** ![Colinmarshall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Colinmarshall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colinmarshall)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/37 "2003-11-22T05:58:37Z")
MJ can definitely summon a fairly low voice when the situation calls for it. Check out the song “2000 Watts” from _Invincible_. He uses a typical R&B-singin’-black-guy voice (_much_ lower than we’ve ever heard him) and he doesn’t seem to be straining a bit. ---
**Author:** ![kimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f0a364/32.png) [@kimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kimera)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/38 "2003-11-22T08:17:48Z")
Taking estrogen, even at an early age will not change a person’s voice. That’s why most transgendered people do voice-training. A famous case in point is Harisu, a transgendered Korean pop-star. Although Harisu has been taking hormones since before purberty and looks /exactly/ like a female born that way, you can tell when she talks that she was born male. [This site](http://www.tsroadmap.com/physical/voice/voice2.html) details how most Transgendered people change their voice. There are surgeries, but, as mentioned on the site, they don’t have very good sucess rates. ---
**Author:** ![Shrinking\_Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@Shrinking\_Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shrinking_Violet)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/39 "2003-11-22T11:37:53Z")
I’m wondering if he’ll be forced to “drop” the persona (if indeed that’s what it is) in court? Surely he’ll have to be “real” there? Julie ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527/40 "2003-11-22T12:32:59Z")
In Michael Jackson’s previous appearance in the Santa Barbara Superior Court last November, when a promoter was suing Jackson for backing out of a concert, he was as childish as ever on the witness stand, hooting and squeaking “eeeow!” several times into the microphone before his testimony, speaking softly during his testimony, folding his hands primly on his lap, and making funny faces for fans in the courtroom. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-does-michael-jackson-talk-like-a-girl/214527.md?page=3)