Do I Sound Gay?

What does a gay voice sound like? Is a more feminine voice in a guy annoying? Do gay men want to sound like the stereotypical higher pitched and flamboyant person? These are some of the many questions explored in this film that is definitely underrated on IMDB. It was an interesting dive into a topic that I think grabs a lot of people’s attention. There were several different people interviewed and we were given a taste of what their voice means to them. One news anchor used to have a southern draw and now his family says he talks like a white man. He said that he didn’t like his accent at all when he heard himself on the tapes. That was a pretty alerting scene that told us that he had to change his authentic background into something different for the public. That story was just like when you have a kid change himself at school to try and fit in. Scenes like that were crucial in order to lay out the final message. When a fashion icon says “We enunciate, if that’s gay” and then blows a kiss, you feel a reinforcement of gay power. What the film actually follows throughout is a man who wants to change his voice because he is tired of what he sounds like. On the way he interviews high up people who are openly homosexual and explores what they think of their voice. There are pleasant family videos from the childhood of the main focus who’s in his 40’s. The man is not confident and that is why he has become obsessed with his voice. This statement ties into the fact of the gay mindset. The film is sprinkled with how gays were persecuted throughout their lives and how they want to hide their identifying voice. In one segment a boy is shown on the news being pummelled by a student in a classroom where nobody is doing anything. The aspect of being gay but feeling slightly uncomfortable in the documentary was definitely one of the strongest parts. One man who lives with his loving husband is so frustrated when he’s on the phone. He calls a hotel and they think he’s a woman. He states “I don’t think I sound like a woman. I think I sound like a little man.” That was a line that made my chuckle. Having that gay voice is not a tell all that a man is homosexual and I loved the film for proving that. I think this is a well-executed piece that chose a gravitating and prominent topic to explore.
(Review by Wyatt Head)