Do I Sound Gay?

All sorts of things bother you after a breakup. Director and scriptwriter David Thorpe suddenly couldn't stand that he speaks too “gay” - simply “like a fag.” His original undertaking for a more manly, or at least more neutral, voice turned into a complex reflection on the stereotypical gay enunciation. He sets on a journey with the help of linguists, speech therapists and voice coaches to break his own habits and uncovers cultural structures around gender, sexuality, identity and self-respect in speech.  Avoiding a pretentiously academic approach, he demonstrates the performative voice character and the issue of voice authenticity, for instance,  while reciting “Here's an embroidered cushion” with extremely masculine intonation. The mosaic of carefully assembled observations of friends, professionals and random passersbys will enchant you with its refreshing self-irony, just like it did the viewers at Toronto Film Festival, where Thorpe's debut won the audience award for the best documentary.