A heterosexual actor’s voice becomes 30% higher when he plays a gay role. Tribute to a stereotype? Probably. Only this stereotype has nothing to do with reality, studies of acoustic specialists have proved.
The voice of a heterosexual actor becomes 30% higher when he plays the role of a gay, British psychologists Valentina Cartei and David Reby found out. Even Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire* or Sean Penn in Harvey Milk** speak in squeaky, effeminate voices – and audiences take it for granted. But this stereotype has nothing to do with reality: studies by acousticians show that the voices of homo- and heterosexual men do not differ in pitch!***
* Dir. Neil Jordan, 1994
** Dir. Gas van Sent, 2008
*** Journal of Phonetics, 2006, № 24; The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2004, № 116.
See also: Why do we need stereotypes