question about women using little girl voices

[donsu]

what's with this trend of women using little girl voices?

it's so strange to expect to hear a woman's voice but instead get this little girl voice.

and girls and young women using this little girl voice in a whiny, back of the throat way?

it seems to be mostly white women but I have heard some teenage black and hispanic girls doing the same.

it's a put on voice. any woman can copy it with a little practice.

curious.

[ott]

1. Maybe...

They're trying to attract men with pedophiliac tendencies.

[wryter2000]

2. It's submissiveness

Women don't realize it, but they're announcing themselves to be submissive with this. An even more common one is tag questions -- making a statement into a question with a rising inflection on the end. Teenagers do this the most.

Husband: What's for dinner?
Wife: Meatloaf? (As if doubting her answer or asking if meatloaf is okay.)

These things make me want to scream.

P.S. I'm a woman.

[brainshrub]

8. I hate tag questions?

They make me want to scream? Especially when I'm listening to a radio interview?

I'm a guy.

[tedoll78]

3. I hear this on the radio show..

Love Lines.

Dr Drew says that these voices are solidified at the point in a girl's development when she experienced something strongly negative. It's most often some sort of abuse. Once the event occurs, the woman's voice doesn't develop past that point, and she is stuck there vocally and, in some ways, psychologically.

Not sure if I believe it, but it's appeared true to me a number of times.

[supernova]

4. I'll add to that

I think it has to do with:

smaller voice = percieved as younger = less powerful, more vulnerable, helpless


It's a way to atract a male who is more dominance-minded, IMO.

For me, yuck! Any man who's attracted to me must be attracted to the way I really am, no helpless put-ons allowed, on either of our parts.

[trumad]

5. Let's not just pick on the Girls

[supernova]

9. LOL, trumad!

:D

True enough. And ain't it interesting how his ex-wife looks rather, um... butch?

[Deja Q]

15. D'oh, you got there first!

Michelle Jackson was the first person I thought of!

:D

[smirkymonkey]

23. Absolutely!!

I happen to have a very low, deep voice (naturally, not a put on) and I can't tell you how many men have told me how much they like my voice. Fortunately, not all men go for the baby, little girl voice.

I know a lot of men who actually can't stand it, and say it diminishes their opinion of women who put on such an act.

[Lars39]

6. As I've gotten older, my voice has gotten deeper.

I don't know why any woman would want a whispy *I'm helpless* voice. I've also wondered if unconsciously deepening my voice to get a point across to males has opened my vocal cords. I can yell anybody in from the back pasture. ;)

[southerngirlwriter]

17. I know why!!!

I often adopt a little-girl voice to MANIPULATE MEN.

No, I'm not talking about sex or boyfriends or relationships.

When I go to get my oil changed, if I speak in my normal voice and ask questions, the mechanics are impatient and arrogant and don't explain things to me in enough detail for me to understand. When I ask them to clarify, they get even more arrogant.

If I use my little-girl voice, they explain everything carefully and thoroughly and usually wink and slip me a coupon or will give me a discount and circle it on the sales slip.

When calling a large company, a little-girl voice to a male operator always gets me a "darlin'" and a prompt transfer to the right person.

I have no idea why men react that way to a little-girl voice. I'm certainly not anything close to pretty or attractive at all. I'm often assumed to be a lesbian because I don't wear makeup and carry myself authoritatively. ( :shrug: ) So I don't think it's their way of trying to flirt or whatever.

All I know is this: a little-girl voice and batting my eyelashes a few times gets me whatever I want from merchants, mechanics, etc., and that doesn't bother me one bit. If men are so easily manipulated, they deserve it.

Flame if you must.

[Lars39]

20. lol. So you're the reason I'm always put on hold!!!!

;)

[TXlib]

22. We are prisoners to our dumb-sticks.

Please pity us.

[nini]

30. Instead of a little girl voice, how about telling them you're paying ..

.. for this service and if they can't treat you like an adult you'll go elsewhere..

[southerngirlwriter]

38. I can't always go elsewhere.

And why pick a fight? I usually end up laughing at them when I hang up. Sometimes, instead of going through a phone tree of ten or twelve levels to get to where I want, I'll hit 0 five or ten times, which short-circuits the system and takes me right to an operator. If it's a male, I say in my little girl voice, "Um, I wasn't sure who I needed to talk to. Who do I need to ask about X?" I get something like, "That's all right, darlin'. You want to talk to Department Q. I'll put you right through." Boom! I'm there in less than thirty seconds, all because men (not all men, but most in my experience) are easily manipulated. So, they deserve it. And I get the last laugh. It's MUCH easier than arguing with them and demanding that they treat me like an adult. MOST men (again, not all men, but most men in my experience) are never going to treat me like an equal. So I use their sexism against them and get what I want. Then I hang up the phone and laugh my ass off. :shrug:

[peacebuzzard]

37. It does work!. I had unconsiously adopted this method.....

and not analyzed it. I use it because it is just easier. I think because it is a nonthreatening and non aggression approach. And like esp. when you are dealing with the alpha males in their he-male roles of plumbers, construction, services, and bored call center males you get there faster. Lol! I do not use it if it is of no consequence and the short cut is not the objective. Funny notes.O8)

[GreenPartyVoter]

7. I ahve always sounded 8 years old, no matter what I do

For me it's no my fault.

Voice is getting a bit deeper as I age, though. Maybe by the time I hit 90 I'll sound 12? *lol*

[Kamika]

10. heh I've done that without realizing it..

It's just to appear cute and stuff.. don't make anything big out of it..

Just that guys like it when we act all innocent etc, then they want to cuddle and protect etc etc :D

[dArKeR]

11. If this is a serious discussion: You can find this all over Asia.

I guess it's a little like homosexuality, whatever it is it developed independently all over the Earth and in isolated cultures.

And some of the nicest girls I've ever met, from any country, speak like this.

Don't make fun of people.

[mmm]

12. they are looking for a man!

[nini]

13. I HATE that.... (when it's faked)

To me it seems like they're pulling the helpless little girl crap. Be a freaking adult woman and knock off the helpless coy act. :puke:

urgh

[southerngirlwriter]

19. I would knock it off,

if it wasn't so damned effective at getting me exactly what I want quickly. (See my above post -- I'm talking about the annoying logistics of life, not personal relationships).

[nini]

29. Sorry, I prefer to go elsewhere if they pull any crap with me..

any man (or woman for that matter) that doesn't do the job they are being paid to do will not get me to play games. I get a bit assertive back at them and if they aren't being reasonable, I go elsewhere. I'm not going to play games with a business if I'm the one paying. Oh HELL NO.. there are enough businesses out there that will welcome my dollars and my repeat business.

[Skittles]

14. very often it is a sign of childhood sexual abuse

arrested develpment, so to speak. And some men, who apparently enjoy women in school girl outfits, no doubt get off to little girl voices too. :puke:

[donsu]

16. I hadn't known about the sex abuse cause

did know being overweight can be a sign of abuse. (don't scream and flame, I said 'can be')

sex abuse is such a life altering event.

[shanti]

18. oh, you've hit on one of my pet peeves!

i cannot STAND to hear grown women doing this! i used to work with a 56 yr old white woman who did this and it was like fingernails on a blackboard. she worked across the hall from me and i could hear her using this coy voice especially with men. it made me want to just slap the taste out of her mouth! we never got along and eventually she left the department for greener pastures. i've heard that she's having problems with women in her new job too, lol.

[Dookus]

21. It bugs me too

You know who does it quite often, and really bugs me by doing so? Nina Totenberg.

Watch Inside Washington regularly and you'll hear her do it - usually trying to talk like a teenager. It's embarrassing.

[7th_Sephiroth]

24. i have a friend in new orleans named memory

smallest 22 year old you will ever meet,i swear she is a size -1 with a small voice to boot, but piss her off and jeez, she goes to a squeak, sometimes its just thier natural voice

[curse10]

25. I see this in class from a few women

It bugs the living shit out of me. They get giggly in fuckin contracts?! It's not a funny subject. And there is no reason to talk that way.

[ikojo]

26. In addition to the voice thing, something that irritates me

is when a woman tilts her head to the side when she is having her picture taken.

Why is that? I have never seen a man tilt his head to the side when he is having his picture taken.

Is it a submissive thing as well? Or is it something to say, "I'm cute."

[shanti]

27. maybe

they're trying to find their "good side", lol. everyone has one.

[ikojo]

28. So men don't tilt their heads to the side...

is it only women who have to do this?

[Djinn]

32. Bingo

it seems to be a fav with Paris Hilton for a while I thought she had a neck problem!!

Personally when I encounter women who use the little girl voice or head tilt or even worse baby talk I like to point out how irritating they are - ask them if they need their nappy changed or if they need to take a nap.

My boyf for some unexplainable reason likes watching Newlyweds and that Jessica Simpson is a fucking champion at it, every time she can't do something (which is always) she cocks her head to the side pouts and calls out in a baby voice to her poor husband (who seems like a decent enough guy) - since when is being fucking hopeless a admirable or even cute thing once above the age of 5? is it just me or is this trait more prevalent amongst blondes

[qwertyMike]

31. F*ck I HATE that

My 41 year-old ex-wife uses that when she wants me to help her out of something of her own making.

Otherwise she sounds like a (w)(b)itch

Still love her though

[m-jean03]

33. I can't handle that skinny chick on Angel

Her voice drives me nuts.

[Kat45]

34. It always bugs me to hear a woman singing in a little girl voice.

They don't necessarily talk like that, but they sing like that.

[mlawson]

35. It's very prevalent here. And nowadays, many of them squeal,

and SKIP up to some guy who enters a room! Had this stuff been done back in the 60s/70s, they would never have lived it down; ridicule from other women, forever.

[Maddy McCall]

36. My former friend did that shit...it was lie dectector material...

Everytime she lied, her voice would go up three octaves.

DisGUSTING!

[SammyWinstonJack]

39. What about those of us who come by it naturally?

Some of us actually don't have to "practice." I would rather not have a "little girl voice." Trust me.

[donsu]

40. don't worry - people can usually tell when the voice is real

nt

[La Lioness Priyanka]

41. customer service

i use the same kind of speech as a man (i learn this is my gender adn language class)..i sometimes use little girl voice to sound less threatening....

[maggrwaggr]

42. They're just imitating Jackie Kennedy

Liv Tyler last night seemed to be channeling Jackie O