Does voice signal sexual orientation? Testing the gaydar accuracy,masculinity and femininity of Portuguese and Brazilian men based on vocal stimuli / ¿La voz indica la orientación sexual? Prueba de la precisión del gaydar,la masculinidad y la feminidad de los hombres portugueses y brasileños basándose en estímulos vocales

Abstract

This project examined the categorizations of individuals based on their voices. Specifically, we recorded the voices of 24 men belonging to the intersecting social categories of nationality (i.e., Portuguese and Brazilian) and sexual orientation (i.e., straight or gay). In Study 1, Portuguese and Brazilian listeners (n = 75) evaluated speakers on the strength of their perceived nationality and sexual orientation. Results indicated participants were more accurate at guessing nationality (when compared to sexual orientation) and had slightly higher accuracy with Portuguese speakers. Additionally, speakers were more likely to be correctly categorized as straight, supporting the straight categorization bias. Study 2 extended these findings, investigating participants’ perceptions of prototypical masculinity or femininity for each of the speakers’ groups. As predicted, listeners perceived straight speakers as more likely to engage in masculine behaviours, while gay and Brazilian speakers as more likely to engage in feminine behaviours. Findings provide valuable insight to the advancement and generalization of intersectional research, particularly within the Portuguese language.