Pitch Characteristics of Homosexual Males

Objective. To investigate the common stereotype that homosexual males show pitch patterns that mirror those of heterosexual females. Study Design. Static group comparison. Method. Comparison of speaking fundamental frequency and pitch variation of 30 homosexual males, 56 heterosexual age-matched males, and 54 age-matched heterosexual females as demonstrated in a sample of read speech. Results. In the homosexual males, average fundamental frequency and pitch variation were significantly higher than in the heterosexual males but also significantly lower than in the heterosexual females. Conclusions. Results do not confirm the stereotype that gay male speech mirrors the patterns of women's speech with respect to pitch characteristics. It would seem that the pitch patterns of gay male speakers constitute an example of sociophonetic variation.