|
The influence of sexual orientation and testosterone levels on speech acoustic features| old_uid | 16249 |
|---|
| title | The influence of sexual orientation and testosterone levels on speech acoustic features |
|---|
| start_date | 2019/02/25 |
|---|
| schedule | 14h-17h |
|---|
| online | no |
|---|
| summary | Potential differences between homosexual and heterosexual men have been studied on a diverse set of social and biological traits. Regarding vocal acoustic features, researchers have hypothesized a feminization in homosexual’s speech production but have so far produced mixed results. Moreover, to our knowledge, studies investigating the potential effects of testosterone levels as a function of sexual orientation on speech acoustic features, as a mean to explain potential differences, are non-existent. Lastly, most of the studies on homosexual’s speech have been mostly conducted with English native speakers, which calls for an investigation in other cultures. In order to study these aspects, we compared testosterone levels (assessed through saliva samples) and vocal acoustic characteristics between homosexual and heterosexual native French men. Furthermore, we tested if homosexual men showed a feminization of such features by comparing them to heterosexual women. In addition to mean pitch and its modulation, we also investigated two other understudied acoustic features that is the jitter, a proxy of vocal roughness, and the Harmonics-to-Noise ratio, a proxy of vocal breathiness. Results show that homosexual men significantly displayed higher pitch-modulations patterns and breathier voices compared to heterosexual men, with values shifted towards those of heterosexual women. However, testosterone levels did not predict any differences in all speech acoustic characteristics. Nonetheless, when studying overall speech differences, homosexual men were feminized up to 9.35%. Finally, we discuss our results in light of the biological and social models explaining the vocal acoustic differences between homosexual and heterosexual men. |
|---|
| oncancel | sous réserve |
|---|
| responsibles | Steuckardt, Pélissier |
|---|
| |
|