Does it matter if you ‘sound gay’? And what exactly does that mean anyway? These are questions the new documentary Do I Sound Gay? uses to explore issues such as internalised homophobia and whether we should embrace things such as the ‘gay voice’ in a world increasingly demands us to be straight-acting.

The film is now looking for $115,000 on Kickstarter to get the documentary completed and ready for distribution.

Director David Thorpe says, “In the tradition of funny-but-serious first-person movies like Supersize Me, Roger and Me and Good Hair, you’ll follow me as I encounter a colorful cast of linguists, historians, voice coaches, speech therapists, friends, family, and total strangers on the street, gay and non-gay, who share their wisdom and touching, funny stories about the “gay voice.” You’ll also hear intimate confessions and hilarious anecdotes from LGBT icons – Margaret Cho, Tim Gunn, Don Lemon, Dan Savage, David Sedaris and George Takei – as they open up about the “gay voice.” Thanks to all the incredible people I met, I was able to embrace my authentic voice.”

As the quotes below from the LGBT luminaries who feature in the documentary show, talking about the ‘gay voice’ certainly brings out a lot of prescient and interesting issues.

If you want to help out, head over the Kickstarter.

In February Ellen Page made headlines with a speech where she publicly revealed she is a lesbian. Now she’s been talking to Flare Magazine about coming out, and alongside that is an incredible set of photos of the actress, some of which you can see above and below.

Page spoke of the difficulties she faced being in the closet, saying “You think you’re in a place where you’re all, ‘I’m thrilled to be gay, I have no issues about being gay anymore, I don’t feel shame about being gay,’ but you actually do.

“You’re just not fully aware of it. I think I still felt scared about people knowing. I felt awkward around gay people; I felt guilty for not being myself. The more time went by, the more something just happened, and, Oh my god — I want to love someone freely and walk down the street and hold my girlfriend’s hand.

“I felt happy and confident and the difference was huge. I feel more creatively inspired than I have in years. And I’m sure it has to do with a lot of bricks being taken out of the backpack.”

Ellen also talked about the arguments for and against coming out that she heard, saying, “You hear things like, ‘People shouldn’t know about your life because you’re creating an illusion on-screen’.

“But I don’t see other actresses going to great lengths to hide their heterosexuality. That’s an unfair double standard.”

And if you’re a lady hoping to one day have the Juno star on your arm, you don’t need to give up all hope just yet as Flare says that Page ‘would like her future girlfriend, if she’s reading, to know that she can’t wait to hang out with her.’ [Read more…]