Filmmaker Asks: ‘Do I Sound Gay?’

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Like a lot of people, David Thorpe doesn’t like the sound of his own voice. Unlike the majority of those who cringe a bit when they hear their speaking voice on tape, however, Thorpe didn’t just not like his voice because it sounded nasally or he had an accent. He didn’t like it because he thought his voice sounded too gay.

And even though he is a gay man himself, the way he sounded bothered him to the point of obsession.

“I felt such an emotional disconnect to the way I sounded, almost as if my voice wasn’t a part of me,” Thorpe said in an interview with Color Magazine. “I wanted a more powerful voice, although I wasn’t exactly sure what that meant. That’s what started me on my journey; I wanted to sound more confident, more powerful.”

Thorpe’s journey to find his true voice is the subject of the new documentary film, Do I Sound Gay? The film, which Thorpe wrote, directed and starred in, includes Thorpe’s visit to a noted speech therapist, a slew of interviews with other gay men talking about how they think they sound, and an exploration of the subject’s past to see where his voice came from and how it affected his growing up.

“I didn’t start with the idea of making a feature documentary; I was going to write a book since I’m a writer and not a filmmaker,” Thorpe explained. “I realized right after I started, though, that the story needed the audio component for audiences to truly understand what I was looking for. They had to hear my voice at the beginning and then hear it as it – or if it – changed as the story moved along.”

Although he is clearly the center of the film, Thorpe’s use of interviews – both with well-known celebrities and with people he meets on the street, as well as friends who have heard his voice for many years – adds a depth to the story that helps it reach for a more universal meaning.  The fact that popular gay celebrities like Tim Gunn from Project Runway and George Takei from Star Trek, openly talk to the camera about the pride they take in the way they sound, is nicely balanced with archival footage of gay celebrities from the past, like Liberace and comedian Paul Lynde, closeted men who “acted gay” but never actually declared their sexuality publicly primarily because to do so at the time would have ruined their careers.

“The most surprising interview for me was David Sedaris,” Thorpe said, referring to the bestselling author and columnist. “There’s a moment in the interview where he talks about how he still feels anxiety when he talks to people and senses their reaction to the sound of his voice. He’s a world famous author who sells out auditoriums for his speaking engagements, but he still feels that shame deep down inside.”

As for what Thorpe found at the end of his journey, the director sums it up without spoiling it for people going to see the movie. “What I sound like is a physically integral part of who I am as a person,” he said. “It’s not some ethereal thing. There’s no magic to it. It’s who I am.”

Do I Sound Gay? is now playing at the Kendall Square Cinema.