A New Documentary Asks Do I Sound Gay?

A scene from “Do I Sound Gay?”

“I never have to come out to anyone. I say, ‘Hello,’ and it’s a done deal.”

That might be my favorite line from the trailer of the new documentary, Do I Sound Gay?, which features Margaret Cho, Tim Gunn, Don Lemon, Dan Savage, David Sedaris and George Takei, and asks the pretty profound question: Is there such a thing as a “gay voice”?

The trailer for the documentary looks a bit like a modern-day take on My Fair Lady and Pygmalion, except this Eliza Doolittle is a gay man, the film’s director David Thorpe, as he interviews voice coaches, linguists, and celebrities, in an attempt to answer several key questions: “Why do some people ‘sound gay’ but not others? Why are gay voices a mainstay of pop culture but also a trigger for bullying and harassment?” Thorpe was recently featured on NPR, and gave an interview about his filmmaking experience:

The Philadelphia engagement of the documentary opens on July 17th at the Ritz at the Bourse.