Do I Sound Gay? is a documentary released in September 2014, that follows David Thorpe, a writer, in his quest to understand his “gay voice” as a part of his identity. The documentary begins with his interaction with a speech pathologist who helps him identify the aspects of his voice that vary from the standard. He reaches out to his friends for their opinions. They express confusion because they believe he is turning his back on the person he has become for his desire to detach his “gay voice” from himself. But Thorpe sees his voice as negatively his identity; he thinks his voice is met with prejudice, even if it is naturally his own.
Thorpe takes his question to the streets. Many interviewees guess incorrectly about his sexual orientation, thus challenging the concept of the voice being an open door to the person. Ron Smyth, a linguist from the University of Toronto, emphasizes this common misconception when he discusses his study of the voices of 25 men. He had 46 listeners respond to each male voice and then had them choose the man’s sexual orientation. The results were largely inaccurate. About 40 percent of men were misclassified as gay or straight.
The documentary then delves into Thorpe’s past, looking for the moment when he developed a gay voice. Several linguists and experts in the field of speech study how we humans get their voices. The experts explain that the voice is modeled after people we spend our time with and look up to. They conclude that Thorpe modeled his speech after the women he loved rather than the men, which caused him to adopt more feminine vowel sounds, elongation of letters, and snakelike s’s.
While speaking to his family and friends, Thorpe realizes that when he first came out he exaggerated his gayness as he explored his identity. His female cousin makes a revealing comparison saying, “Right when you first came out you were sounding super queen and it reminded me of when I first came out. I went and bought a black leather jacket. It was a signal and it reminded me of that. Like you had put on this voice kind of.” He also interviews several celebrities such as David Sedaris, George Takei, and Tim Gunn on how their voices affect who they are. George Takei has a moment that makes David stumble. He says, “What is sounding straight? I don’t think there is such a thing as sounding straight because, well, people have said I sound straight and I’m not.”
Thorpe uses this documentary to dig into a fear that all people can relate to, our voices. And while he seems to be questioning his speaking voice, this film is really calling us to look into ourselves. Our voice is an outward token of who we identify as as individuals. We decide how we express ourselves and who we want to be. If we dislike some facet, we have the means to change it. The perception of our peers, our families, and our popular culture both positively and negatively affect who we believe we are. But Thorpe discovers that accepting these unique aspects is essential to cultivating our own identities. And ultimately our identities define who we are.
