esrosedotblog

SIBILANT

There is a belief that you can tell a gay man by the way he speaks.

Usually this is based on the sound of consonants, particularly the "s" sound.

We had a friend who would commonly joke, when a femmish man passed, by asking "how many s's in "good morning"?.

But it isn't all in the consonants. There is a gay-ish lilt that is particularly urban. You probably won't hear this in Kansas. In fact as gay men get less ghettoized there is probably a lot less of any of it.

I go to a group of all gay men, 50 or so, in the morning and, if I shut my eyes, I can't tell that any but a few are gay. But then what do I know? I never thought I acted or looked or sounded gay but I was told otherwise.

Here is a new study that says it is all in the vowels!

The Science Behind the ‘Gayccent’

I am willing to accept this as I think there is another factor; the in-crowd camp that does go on even among the butchest of men. There has to be a spillover.

Anyway, it is interesting. We often fly below the radar. Or we think we do.

Oh. One other thing. This is not 100%. There are some straight guys who talk just like Bette Davis and there isn't a gay bone in their body. Not even that bone. Fem, all the way through. So, there is nothing that is a sure thing.

And besides, who gives a shit? Are they looking to profile us? Driving while gay?

Maybe.

That's enough.

Labels: gay life