The Interaction of Gender, Occupation, and Fine Phonetic Detail

Abstract

Does a woman working as a soldier speak in a more masculine manner? And does being told a man is a kindergarten teacher make him ‘sound’ more feminine to the listener? We explore these questions in two studies examining the production of speech by 36 participants in three gender-(a)typical occupations (soldiers, kindergarten teachers, individuals in leading positions) (Study 1), and the perception of identical speech framed as that of kindergarten teachers or soldiers (Study 2). In addition, the influence of self-ascribed femininity on variation in fine phonetic details is investigated. Results of Study 1 show no differences in mean fundamental frequency between the three occupational groups, but do show a higher second formant (reflecting a more fronted articulation) in kindergarten teachers than in soldiers and leaders, potentially associated with a clearer, friendlier speaking style. Independent of occupation, men who rated themselves high on femininity were found to have higher mean f0 and more dispersed vowels than men who rated themselves low on femininity. In addition, intra-speaker variation in f0 patterns was found between same gender and different gender dialogues. Results of Study 2 corroborate stereotypical attributions of warmth depending on the assumed occupation of the speaker. Stimuli assumed to come from kindergarten teachers were rated significantly more friendly and more emotional than the same stimuli assumed to come from soldiers by younger listeners, while older listeners rated the assumed kindergarten teachers as less warm than the assumed soldiers pointing to a change in attitude towards these occupations. Findings are relevant in the light of changing gender roles, occupational stereotypes and the expression of gender through voice.