Acoustic correlates of perceived versus actual sexual orientation in men's speech.

The purpose of this study was to explore possible differences in the speech patterns of gay and straight men, both as a function of perceived and actual sexual orientation. Tape recordings of monologue readings from 5 openly gay men and 4 straight men were played to 25 listeners for judgments of perceived sexual orientation. Monologues were analyzed in terms of /s/ duration, /s/ peak frequency, modal speaking fundamental frequency, speech rate, and long-term average speech spectra. Listeners correctly identified the sexual orientation of these speakers at a rate of 79.6%. Multiple regression analysis revealed that gay judgments were significantly associated with higher peak /s/ frequency values and longer /s/ duration values. Acoustic cues associated with perceived sexual orientation generally agreed with acoustic findings as a function of actual sexual orientation. While these results must be interpreted cautiously, findings suggest that members of the community of openly gay men demonstrate certain speech characteristics that are discernible to listeners.