losing the "gay voice" (and sirens)

[Wilson Gray]

WRT "problem," I meant that, if it isn't the case that those gay men
who don't have gay voice don't have it as a matter of chance and not
because, having caught on at an early age that gay voice is, as black
voice once was, a serious social handicap and took steps to lose it,
as I did WRT my black voice, then those gay men who do have gay voice
and want to lose it won't be able to do so simply because they want
to.

I was born near-sighted and there's no way that I could have taught
myself to have 20/20 vision the way that I taught myself not to have
black voice, which I had only as a result of being born into a black
family.

Hm. Looking at my thought that way reminds me of a debate re allowing
gay couples to adopt. It was argued that gay parents would rear gay
children, thus increasing the population of people whom God has
condemned to hell. But then someone pointed out that, for all
practical purposes, *every* gay adult is the scion of a straight
family. Hence, if straight parents can rear gay children, why can't
gay parents rear straight children?

IAC, it seems that my argument is, unfortunately, empty of content,
since gay voice isn't merely a consequence of having been born into a
gay family, as black voice and white voice are merely the consequences
of having been born into a black or a white family.

-Wilson

On 2/29/08, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>  Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>  Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>  Subject:      Re: losing the "gay voice" (and sirens)
>  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>  I watched it last night at your recommendation since I'm in a later
>  time zone.
>
>  It was very fast, but I'm pretty sure Jon Stewart referred to a
>  rotating light (a "flashing light" like on the top of fire engines) as
>  a siren. I've always suspected people refer to rotating lights that
>  way because we don't really have a good word for them.
>
>  BTW, why are we in trouble if gay people don't have the gay voice?
>  Neither I nor any of the other three gay people I hang around with
>  have it at all. I tried once or twice to use it just to see if I could
>  but completely unable to. BB
>
>  On Feb 28, 2008, at 9:34 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>
>  > is it
>  > the case that they taught themselves not to use it, a la your humble
>  > correspondent and black voice, or is it the case that they didn't have
>  > it to begin with? If it's the former case, then there's clearly a way
>  > around the problem. Unfortunately, I don't have the Nunberg-like balls
>  > (he once asked me why I don't talk black) to ask my friend why he
>  > doesn't talk gay, I unfortunately have nothing useful to say about
>  > that possibility. But, if it's the latter case, well, Houston, we have
>  > a problem.
>  >
>  > If you didn't see tonight's Daily Show, _please do catch tomorrow's
>  > re-run_!!!
>
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>


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