Gay men who believe they ‘sound gay’ expect rejection from others, study suggests
Research also shows gay men are more likely than lesbian women to face stigma from straight peers due to the sound of their voice
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Pexels (posed by model)
Gay men who believe they sound gay anticipate stigma and are more vigilant regarding the reactions of others, a study has suggested.
Researchers also found that gay men are more likely than lesbian women to face stigma and avoidant prejudice from heterosexual peers due to the sound of their voice.
The findings by the British Journal of Social Psychology were released this week.
University of Surrey researchers investigated the role of “essentialist beliefs – the view that every person has a set of attributes that provide an insight into their identity – of heterosexual, lesbian and gay individuals and whether these beliefs lead to prejudice and rejection towards others.”
A university rep added: “Previous research in this area has shown that gay men’s and lesbian women’s experiences with stigma can lead to a higher likelihood of emotional distress, depression, and anxiety.”
“Gay men who believe [they] sound gay expect being rejected by others”
Dr Fabio Fasoli, Lecturer in Social Psychology at the University of Surrey told Attitude: “Our research shows that a strong stereotype about the ‘gay voice’ still exists. However, it shows for the first time that this can shape gay men’s experiences in particular. We have seen this on the screen, like for example in the documentary Do I Sound Gay? or in portrayals of gay men in movies and TV shows.
“In our study we found that gay men who believe [they] sound gay expect being rejected by others.
“These gay men are also vigilant about what others may say or how they may react toward them. This can be very stressful. We need to better understand how the stereotype and stigma around the ‘gay voice’ affects people’s lives and try to promote a more inclusive society in which how your voice sounds should not matter.”
The structure of the study
University of Surrey researchers surveyed 363 straight participants to assess their ‘essentialist beliefs’ regarding gay men and lesbians.
They asked a series of questions in regards to ‘discreteness’ (for example: ‘When listening to a person it is possible to detect his/her sexual orientation from his/her voice very quickly’), ‘immutability’ (‘Gay/lesbian people sound gay/lesbian and there is not much they can do to really change that’) and controllability (‘Gay/lesbian people can choose to sound gay or straight depending on the situation’).
Researchers also investigated whether participants held any prejudices (‘I think male/female homosexuals are disgusting’) and avoidant discrimination (‘I would not interact with a man/woman who sounds gay/lesbian if I could avoid it’).
It was found that participants believed voice was a better cue to sexual orientation for men than for women, and their opinions on the discreteness, immutability and controllability of ‘gay-sounding’ voices was linked to higher avoidant discrimination towards gay-sounding men.
In the second part of the study researchers surveyed 147 gay and lesbian participants to examine their essentialist beliefs in relation to self-perception of sounding gay, and whether this led them to expect rejection and be more vigilant – for example, trying to avoid certain social situations and persons who may ridicule them because of their voices.
Researchers found that gay men’s endorsement of beliefs that people can detect sexual orientation from voice (voice discreteness) and that speakers cannot change the way they sound (voice immutability) were associated with a stronger self-perception of sounding gay.
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