Don鈥檛 Worry About Your Gay Voice
I was recently asked if there was anything I would want to tell my younger self. I said 鈥榙on鈥檛 worry about the gay sounding voice.鈥�
When I was growing up, my gayness stood out like Beyonc茅 in Destiny鈥檚 Child. And it was my voice that was the biggest give away.
I could dress, act and behave like a straight person, but the high-pitched twang was a dead giveaway that I was different.
For years I tried to speak deeper and sound more 鈥榤asculine鈥�, but there 飞补蝉苍鈥檛 much I could do to stop the 鈥�yaaaasss鈥� flying out of my mouth.
People used to say, 鈥業 thought you were straight until you opened your mouth.鈥�
听As I became more comfortable in my sexuality, I stopped caring about the pitch of my voice and realised I could make people laugh. Over time, my voice became my biggest asset. I could read someone to filth if they came for me. I could win most debates. It actually became hard to shut me up.
However, as I started my professional career and attended听meetings with CEOs, business leaders and people with a lot more knowledge and experience than me, I lost my voice again. In meetings I would go blank. I would stumble and 肠辞耻濒诲苍鈥檛 articulate my thoughts.
After months of trying to figure out why I was failing, I came to a realisation that I was worried they wouldn鈥檛 take me seriously because I was gay, my voice being the dead giveaway.
I had thought that they would see the negative qualities I had attributed with being gay: frivolous, ridiculous, less than.
听Self-loathing, and being called 鈥榞ay鈥� as an insult most of my life had a huge subconscious impact.
I started some self-loving exercises and broke down all the incredible qualities that are attributed to being my gay self like; passionate, fearless, and fabulous.
The next meeting I had, I was more confident in myself and totally owned it. I was able to create a better relationship with the client and they trusted my new strategy.
I wish I could tell my younger self to stop caring about your gay sounding voice. Your gay voice is the best thing about you.
