"Do I Sound Straight?": Acoustic Correlates of Actual and Perceived Sexual Orientation and Masculinity/Femininity in Men's Speech

• Published in: Journal of speech, language, and hearing research language, and hearing research, 2018-07, Vol.61 (7), p.1560-1578
• Main Authors: Kachel, Sven, Simpson, Adrian P, Steffens, Melanie C
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Accuracy; Acoustics; Beliefs; Bisexuality; Correlation; English; Females; Femininity; Foreign Countries; Fundamental frequency; Gays & lesbians; Gender Differences; German language; Heterosexuality; Homosexuality; Identification and classification; Intonation; Lay People; LGBTQ linguistics; Males; Masculinity; Men; Meta Analysis; Nasalance; North American English; Personality Traits; Phonology; Physiological aspects; Self evaluation; Sexual Orientation; Sexuality; Sociophonetics; Speech; Speech Habits; Speech perception; Speech tests; Spontaneous speech; Stereotypes; Voice
• ISSN: 1092-4388; 1558-9102
• DOI: 10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0125

Purpose: This study aims to give an integrative answer on which speech stereotypes exist toward German gay and straight men, whether and how acoustic correlates of actual and perceived sexual orientation are connected, and how this relates to masculinity/femininity. Hence, it tests speech stereotype accuracy in the context of sexual orientation. Method: Twenty-five gay and 26 straight German speakers provided data for a fine-grained psychological self-assessment (e.g., masculinity/femininity) and explicit speech stereotypes. They were recorded for an extensive set of read and spontaneous speech samples using microphones and nasometry. Recordings were analyzed for a variety of acoustic parameters (e.g., fundamental frequency and nasalance). Seventy-four listeners categorized speakers as gay or straight on the basis of the same sentence. Results: Most relevant explicitly expressed speech stereotypes encompass voice pitch, nasality, chromaticity, and smoothness. Demonstrating implicit stereotypes, speakers were perceived as sounding straighter, the lower their median f0, center of gravity in /s/, and mean F2. However, based on actual sexual orientation, straight men only showed lower mean F1 than gay men. Additionally, we found evidence that actual masculinity/femininity and the degree of sexual orientation were reflected in gay and straight men's speech. Conclusion: Implicit and explicit speech stereotypes about gay and straight men do not contain a kernel of truth, and differences within groups are more important than differences between them.