2007/09/01 by Benjamin Munson, Molly Babel · 2 citations
Social Sciences · Arts and Humanities · #Linguistic Variation and Morphology #Gender Studies in Language #Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1749-818x.2007.00028.x
openalex publication_date 2007/09/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
Abstract The notion that an individual's sexual orientation can be ascertained through distinctive speech patterns abounds in popular culture. This article reviews the small but growing body of literature examining whether sexual orientation is conveyed and perceived through speech. These studies show some individuals speak in a way that conveys their sexual orientation to naïve listeners. Contrary to many popular‐culture stereotypes, the phonetic parameters that convey gay, lesbian, or bisexual identities are not whole‐sale approximation of opposite sex norms, nor does the perception of sexual orientation through speech appear to involve the simple perception of the sex typicality of a talker's voice. In addition to reviewing these studies, this article discusses their implications for research on language acquisition, language processing, and sociolinguistics.