Re: The gay lisp
 

I have never, ever heard a straight man talk with the gay lisp.

Re: The gay lisp
 

[ QUOTE ]
I have never, ever heard a straight man talk with the gay lisp.

[/ QUOTE ]

how would you know the person speaking is gay or straight, if the only evidence you have is whether or not he has a lisp?

Re: The gay lisp
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I have never, ever heard a straight man talk with the gay lisp.

[/ QUOTE ]

how would you know the person speaking is gay or straight, if the only evidence you have is whether or not he has a lisp?

[/ QUOTE ]

let me rephrase: i have never, ever heard a man I knew to be straight talk with a gay lisp.

Re: The gay lisp
 

DD,

"I have never, ever heard a straight man talk with the gay lisp."

Really? You've never met any effeminate straight guys?

Re: The gay lisp
 

I know one ostensibly straight guy (has steady girlfriend, comments on hot chicks, etc.) who talks like that. Everyone thinks he's a flamer when meeting him for the first time.

Re: The gay lisp
 

I've often wondered about this. apart from other things in this thread, some things to consider:

some of this is just a result of hanging with other gay guys. ie I run with the hipster crowd, I'll probably end up wearing white belts. I run with the gay crowd, I'll probably end up talking like they do. Similar to the way many groups of people tend to adopt the same running jokes.

it also may just be a common way of expression and attraction. Similarly, why do many lesbians cut their hair to look like men's hair? B/c they may feel more comfortable this way, and it also may serve to attract fellow lesbians.

(granted, the % of lesbians with butch haircuts is lower than the % of lisping gay guys, but I think it's a somewhat similar phenomenom)

Re: The gay lisp
 

[ QUOTE ]
DD,

"I have never, ever heard a straight man talk with the gay lisp."

Really? You've never met any effeminate straight guys?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I've met plenty of effeminate straight guys. Just not any that talked with a gay lisp.

Re: The gay lisp
 

Am I the only one who suspects that the "gay lisp" is an urban legend? I suspect that people are conflating effeminate speech with a "gay lisp." I've met a lot of gay guys, some of which spoke effeminately, some of whom didn't, but I have never, ever met one that actually "lithped." A lisp is a speech impediment. If an effeminate gay man had a lisp, I could imagine that it would exacerbate the effect in the eyes (or ears, rather) of the straight audience. After that it simply becomes a stereotype. I've never heard it outside of a comedian immitating a gay man.

A challenge to the Gay Lisp Theory advocates:

A) What gay celebrities are known to have exhibited a "gay lisp"?
B) What percentage of known gay celebrities would you guess they make up?
C) Can you show that percentage to be significantly different from the percentage of lispers in the general population?

I think the gay lisp is equal parts urban legend and stereotype.

Re: The gay lisp
 

Borodog,
I think you are just arguing semantics.

Re: The gay lisp
 

[ QUOTE ]
Am I the only one who suspects that the "gay lisp" is an urban legend? I suspect that people are conflating effeminate speech with a "gay lisp." I've met a lot of gay guys, some of which spoke effeminately, some of whom didn't, but I have never, ever met one that actually "lithped." A lisp is a speech impediment. If an effeminate gay man had a lisp, I could imagine that it would exacerbate the effect in the eyes (or ears, rather) of the straight audience. After that it simply becomes a stereotype. I've never heard it outside of a comedian immitating a gay man.

A challenge to the Gay Lisp Theory advocates:

A) What gay celebrities are known to have exhibited a "gay lisp"?
B) What percentage of known gay celebrities would you guess they make up?
C) Can you show that percentage to be significantly different from the percentage of lispers in the general population?

I think the gay lisp is equal parts urban legend and stereotype.

[/ QUOTE ]

The theory, at least as I see it, is NOT that all gay men speak with a gay lisp, but rather that all men who speak with a gay lisp are gay.