Do I Sound Gay?

This documentary was made by film maker David Thorpe.

In the beginning of the film, Thorpe recalls a time where he was traveling by train, after dark, to an LGBTQ enclave on Long Island; in the darkness of the train car, Thorpe began to notice the qualities of the voices speaking. The majority of the people on the train were gay men, as is Thorpe. He was horrified at what he was hearing, and compared the voices he heard that night to braying donkeys. It was at that point that he began to think about the way gay men speak, and how he himself speaks as a gay man.

Throughout the film, Thorpe visited speech pathologists and vocal coaches to work on his voice, working on cadence, pitch, and intonation. He worked for weeks upon end on his voice. At the end of the film, there was a marked difference in his voice.

At one point in the film, Thorpe interviews friends who knew him as a child and adolescent. They don’t remember him sounding gay as a child. However, in college, hid friends thought he did sound gay; this change coincided with his coming out of the closet.

The film explores several theories and stereotypes regarding gay men, and why they speak the way they do. It also looks at gay male couples, and how their voices differ.

Another fascinating topic in the film was the internalized homophobia among gay men. For example, many gay men prefer to have a partner with a “manly” voice, rather than an “effeminate” voice. They’re not interested in women, they don’t want to be with women, ergo they don’t want to be with a man who “sounds gay.”

The film also explores the opposite of the stereotypes, featuring a straight man who “sounds gay” and a gay man who “sounds straight.” Many theories are formed as to why this happens to gay men. One such theory is that the straight gentleman, who had been raised by women, developed a “female” speech pattern and intonation; conversely, the gay gentleman, who was raised in a home comprised entirely of men, developed a “male” speech pattern and intonation.

This was a fascinating film, full of interesting theories and topics to ponder, including stereotypes, biases, masculinity, and homophobia. It also poses the question: is it even possible to "sound gay?"

“Do I Sound Gay”, now streaming on Hulu, YouTube, Amazon Prime, and iTunes. 4 stars.

https://www.doisoundgay.com/