The prevalence of lisping in gay men

This study evaluated the stereotype that gay men lisp. Two clinicians who were unaware of the specific purpose of the study and the populations involved judged randomized audio-recordings of 175 gay males, 100 heterosexual males and 100 heterosexual females for the presence of lisping during reading of a standardized text. In the gay males a significantly higher prevalence of lisping was found than in the heterosexual males and females. Breakdown of the results of the gay participants in two different age groups showed a higher prevalence of lisping in the younger age group than in the older age group. No relation was found between lisping and age of coming-out or lisping and the probability of being gay as assessed by a questionnaire about sexual orientation. The origin of the high prevalence of lisping in gay men needs further investigation.Learning outcomes: The readers of this article will able (1) to discuss articulatory behaviour as a possible marker that may distinguish gay from heterosexual men (2) to discuss the prevalence of lisping in gay men.