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

Autor/inn/en	Kachel, Sven; Simpson, Adrian P.; Steffens, Melanie C.
Titel	"Do I Sound Straight?": Acoustic Correlates of Actual and Perceived Sexual Orientation and Masculinity/Femininity in Men's Speech
Quelle	In: Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 61 (2018) 7, S.1560-1578 (19 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1092-4388
DOI	10.1044/2018_JSLHR-S-17-0125
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Acoustics; Correlation; Sexual Orientation; Homosexuality; Masculinity; Femininity; Males; Speech Habits; Stereotypes; Accuracy; Phonology; Intonation; Germany + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Akustik; Korrelation; Sexuelle Orientierung; Homosexualität; Männlichkeit; Femaleness; Weiblichkeit; Male; Männliches Geschlecht; Speech habit; Sprachgewohnheit; Klischee; Fonologie; Deutschland
Abstract	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. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01