Re: The gay lisp
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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.
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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.
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