New publications
Sexual orientation is revealed by vowels
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
We often base our opinions of a person on the way they speak. These hasty judgments are not always wrong, even if they are based on just one syllable, say psychologists from Ohio State University (USA).
"It's a common, everyday phenomenon," says study author Eric Tracy. "We talk on the phone to people we don't know all the time, and from that conversation alone we form an opinion about the personality traits of the person we're talking to - their gender, age, race, and sexual orientation." That's all well and good, but what exactly allows us to make such decisions? Mr. Tracy decided to keep it simple and focus on sexual orientation, especially since previous research has shown that we only need one monosyllabic word to figure it out.
In a series of experiments, Mr. Tracy and his colleague Nicholas Satariano had seven gay and seven straight men say a few of these words. Listeners were offered either a whole word, or the first two sounds, or the first consonant. One consonant was not enough, but the first two sounds (not even a word!) were enough to guess sexual orientation with 75 percent accuracy. “We believe that the vowel became the carrier of meaning,” Mr. Tracy emphasizes.
“I don’t know what exactly listeners notice about this vowel,” the scientist adds.
The results of the study will be presented at the Acoustical Society of America conference.
By the way, Jose Benki from the University of Michigan (USA) and his colleagues (for another conference) have scientifically proven that measured speech (about three and a half words per second) seems the most convincing to the interlocutor. If you speak faster, he will think that you are throwing dust in the eyes, if slowly, he will consider you a boring pedant. In no case try to make the speech lively and bright, diversifying the intonation - this will only make it difficult for the listener. If you strive for the ideal, learn to pause frequently (four to five times per minute): this is how boa constrictors explain the structure of the universe to rabbits. If there are a few more pauses - no big deal, it is still perceived better than fluent speech.
[