# Women with little girl voices **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 14, 2022, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182 "2022-06-14T20:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/81 "2022-06-18T04:28:22Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > This suggests a correlation: your link does not allow me to hear the test. not sure why. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/82 "2022-06-18T04:43:30Z")
I came across another example while reading an unrelated article. It was about cast members of SNL that were apparently not very popular with their fellow cast members. ”Victoria Jackson?” asks castmate and _SNL_ legend Jan Hooks. “[I just have a particular repulsion to grown women who talk like little girls.](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Live_From_New_York/3Qx0AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=a%20particular%20revulsion) It’s like, “You’re a grown woman! Use your lower register!” ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/83 "2022-06-18T05:21:44Z")
Demi Moore, 5’5" deep voice Scarlett Johansson 5’3" deep voice Julie Kavner 5’7" deep voice A lot of anecdotes but no real evidence. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/84 "2022-06-18T05:25:18Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Demi Moore, 5’5" deep voice > > Scarlett Johansson 5’3" deep voice > > Julie Kavner 5’7" deep voice [The average height of an adult American woman is 5’4"](https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-is-the-average-height-for-women/); two of your three counter-examples are above-average in height, and Johansson is only slightly below average. I’m not sure what your point here is. ---
**Author:** ![Galactus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galactus/32/3581_2.png) [@Galactus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Galactus)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/85 "2022-06-18T05:35:58Z")
average height women with deep voices. > [@Galactus](#): > > A lot of anecdotes but no real evidence. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/86 "2022-06-18T05:58:25Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > > [@BigT](#): > > > > It sounds to me like she’s speaking with a higher larynx position, and I notice her tongue seems to be pulled up and back as she speaks. Her vowels seem narrow as well. And this is exactly what a voice actor would do to play a cutesy-voiced character. Heck, it’s also the voice that they tend to give a ditzy type. > > > > On the other hand, it does sound rather natural from her, like this is the way she always speaks. It very much may be her natural accent. However, it’s not one I hear all that much anymore⁢ > > Sounds like you’re simply describing her physical anatomy. No, I’m describing how she produces the sound, not her physical anatomy. It may be her natural accent, but, ultimately, an accent is just how one habitually speaks. Just like someone with a British accent could attempt to speak like an American, I suspect she could attempt to speak with a neutral or low larynx and with her tongue and jaw opening more fully. And she could definitely choose to change her prosody–the melodic aspect of her voice. The rest of my post was my poor attempt at giving myself a bit of wiggle room, and I retract it. I just don’t think it’s likely she actually has a vocal tract abnormality. I’ve heard a few people who do, and they sound different than she does, even though there are similarities. Chenowith, mentioned above, is someone who to me sounds like she actually may have an unusual vocal tract. Her vowels sound open, and she can sing very operatically with that voice without any damage. And her natural speaking range isn’t all that high pitched–it just has that helium-style timbre. And what does helium mimic? A smaller vocal tract. (Because sound moves faster in helium than air. ) ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/87 "2022-06-18T19:19:13Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > ”Victoria Jackson?” asks castmate and _SNL_ legend Jan Hooks. “[I just have a particular repulsion to grown women who talk like little girls.](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Live_From_New_York/3Qx0AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=a%20particular%20revulsion) It’s like, “You’re a grown woman! Use your lower register!” Following that quote led me to an article where Jackson offers a very brief explanation for her voice. > [@](#): > > Victoria, by the way, claims her weird voice is the result of a medical defect: a “congenital palatal insufficiency.” Of course, I’m not saying that she’s correct - Jackson does not present as a smart person. > **[Victoria Jackson Goes From Comedy Heights to Being the Tea Party's Princess](https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/victoria-jackson-goes-from-comedy-heights-to-being-the-tea-partys-princess-6452038?showFullText=true)** > > Victoria Jackson hurtles through intersections and down side streets while using her left hand to hold a Flip cam to her face. The inside of her car ­— a weathered Honda Civic with "Nobama," Marco Rubio, and Tea Party bumper stickers — smells like... ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2022, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/88 "2022-06-19T04:53:38Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > “[I just have a particular repulsion to grown women who talk like little girls.](https://www.google.com/books/edition/Live_From_New_York/3Qx0AwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=a%20particular%20revulsion) It’s like, “You’re a grown woman! Use your lower register!” Jennifer Richards can do both: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/roj-gE2t6CU/hqdefault.jpg "Jennifer Richards, Eddie Murphy-- 1983 TV") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roj-gE2t6CU&t=154) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2022, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/89 "2022-06-19T13:04:37Z")
> [@SpacemanSpiff\_II](#): > > A good example would be the Georgette Baxter character from the MTM Show. This is the type of ‘little girl’ voice that I first thought about in the thread. It’s not simply high pitched, doesn’t have to be that high, but it’s speech without energy, soft, almost like a whisper but the speaker is enunciating as much as she can with her voice. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/90 "2022-06-19T21:02:02Z")
Great. Now I got a damn Wallflowers song stuck in my head. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/91 "2022-06-20T18:02:29Z")
I had a neighbor, a woman with one of the highest adult voices I’ve heard. It wasn’t put on, it was her voice. She was a rather overweight woman who was about six feet tall. Singing voices don’t completely correlate with speaking voices, but there is no physical type that’s typically a contralto or a lyric soprano. It has to do with invisible physical traits, like the shape of your larynx. Of course it is perfectly true that some women speak in little-girl voices to men, because they believe it is appealing to them. Which it must be, to some, otherwise the practice would not be so widespread as to be noticed. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/92 "2022-06-20T18:45:27Z")
I thought the deal was with a _lot_ more women talking in high-pitched sing-song voices nowadays. I first noticed this among the lifeguards at a pool we went to before we moved. Now, in our new (literally) neighborhood most of the neighbors are young folk and basically all the women talk almost like Betty Boop. It’s really hard to talk with them since they sound so patronizing. It’s like a voice they would use to mock someone: “Oh, did you get youw itty-bitty feewings huwt?” (I was a college prof, FWIW, so I spent a _lot_ of time among young-ish women back when. And they didn’t talk like this.) ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/93 "2022-06-20T19:06:47Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > Of course it is perfectly true that some women speak in little-girl voices to men, because they believe it is appealing to them. Which it must be, to some, otherwise the practice would not be so widespread as to be noticed So we find those guys, take them into the alley behind the bar, and beat the snot out of them. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/94 "2022-06-20T19:13:59Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > So we find those guys, take them into the alley behind the bar, and beat the snot out of them. yeh, good idea. ---
**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:** [June 20, 2022, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/95 "2022-06-20T23:24:20Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > I had a neighbor, a woman with one of the highest adult voices I’ve heard. It wasn’t put on, it was her voice. She was a rather overweight woman who was about six feet tall. So, like Julia Child? ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/96 "2022-06-20T23:27:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > So, like Julia Child? Now that you mention it, very like. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2022, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/97 "2022-06-20T23:34:40Z")
I always thought it’d be a real bad idea to get into a bar fight with Julia Child. She’s a lot more meat cleaver than June Cleaver. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/98 "2022-06-21T11:56:50Z")
That and the fact that she worked for SOE in WWII. She wouldn’t need a cleaver. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/99 "2022-06-21T13:36:28Z")
Julia Child’s voice was more of a falsetto; something fairly rare among her gender. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182/100 "2022-06-21T14:03:59Z")
> [@Galactus](#): > > Is there any scientific evidence that correlates size with voice pitch? [Peter Dinklage](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQt238sa84E&ab_channel=JimmyKimmelLive) would prove this false. If Peter Dinklage would prove this false, then Andre the Giant would prove this true. How to reconcile this? It would seem @kenobi_65 has the answer: > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > All he might prove is that it’s not a 100% correlation. Moreover, there’s the fundamental pitch of one’s voice, which is at least partially controlled by the speaker, and may or may not be particularly low/high. The thing that I think really affects listener’s perceptions is how the speaker’s vocal geometry accentuates certain harmonic frequencies to a greater or lesser degree. A person with an innately small vocal tract (or one who is deliberately shaping their vocal tract in such a way) can sound like they’ve inhaled helium, even if their fundamental pitch is rather low. Conversely, a person with an innately large vocal tract can sound like they’ve inhaled sulfur hexafluoride, even if their fundamental pitch is rather high. Here is a speech sample of the world’s tallest man. His fundamental frequency is rather high, and yet you can hear that all the fundamental frequencies selected by his vocal tract are considerably lower than what you would typically hear from a smaller person speaking in the same basic pitch. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/JrLzhQA_yWQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Meeting the World's Tallest Man (8.2 ft, 251 cm)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrLzhQA_yWQ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/women-with-little-girl-voices/966182.md?page=6)