Why Does Elizabeth Holmes Voice Sound Funny
There is a scene in Hulu's new series, "The Dropout," where Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, wearing a white blouse, stands in front of a mirror and practices saying, "This is an inspiring step forward." With each iteration, her voice deepens.
As the earth has learned about Theranos' spider web of deception – whether through John Carreyrou'southward bestselling book, "Bad Claret," Apple'south podcast series "The Dropout" or Hulu's streaming serial of the same name – Holmes' supposed endeavor to modify her vox is a item that captivates audiences. The behavior might strike some people as bizarre, fifty-fifty sociopathic.
But because of my training in vocology, which is the study of vocalism, and my interest in speech biases, I'm intrigued past why Holmes may have felt compelled to modify her vocalism in the starting time place. I see the story of her voice every bit role of a broader cultural fixation on the way women speak and sound.
Reactions to Holmes' vocalisation
Whenever Holmes is in the news, some questions always come upwardly:
What'due south with that distinctively depression vocalism? Is she faking it?
I accept non been able to find definitive proof, in the form of video or audio recordings, to evidence that Holmes' voice is noticeably dissimilar in its current grade than at some previous time.
One video claims to capture Holmes shifting between 2 very different voice modes.
Even so, information technology could have been easily edited. And dramatic, sustained pitch changes in oral communication can exist associated with heightened emotional states without indicating a put-on voice. At the same time, people who know Holmes have claimed that she inverse her voice in club to cultivate a persona as a Silicon Valley wunderkind.
Only a clinician like a laryngologist can make a voice-related medical diagnosis. But since I tin't definitively answer if Holmes' vocalisation inverse intentionally, it is worth considering what natural or medical processes could cause a like effect. Hormones direct bear upon the voice, including pitch and the perception of roughness or hoarseness. Women'due south voices tend to decrease in pitch range during menopause.
Holmes' young age at the time she became known for her vox may rule out an age-related hormonal vocalization modify, but a similar outcome could be found with certain hormone therapy. There are likewise several voice disorders that impact pitch range.
If she did information technology … how?
There are all sorts of reasons people seek phonation therapy or coaching to address vocal insecurities. Whether they're concerned nearly their phonation range or simply seeking skills to become better communicators, the voice is resilient and tin can be developed with training. At that place are besides wonderful resources available for gender-affirming vocalization back up for transgender people.
And then what is the physiological process at play when someone intentionally lowers their vox?
Engaging a tiny laryngeal musculus called the thyroarytenoid causes the song folds, which are housed inside the larynx (or "voice box"), to relax and become shorter and thicker. Imagine decreasing tension on a prophylactic band. These shorter, thicker folds vibrate at a lower frequency, resulting in a lower-pitched voice, just every bit a thicker or more lax guitar cord has a lower pitch.
It is likely the atypical nature of Holmes' vocalisation is related not just to its low pitch, but too its resonance, the unique tonal quality and placement of the vocalization. Holmes might accommodate her resonance by consciously lowering the larynx. Doing so creates a longer infinite above the larynx, which boosts the deeper, darker tones in the voice.
Women's voices subject to scrutiny
In my part as a theatrical voice coach, I'm sometimes asked to aid women actors lower their voices. I've encountered directors and producers with significant distaste for college-pitched women'south voices, particularly when this pitch range is combined with nasal resonance.
In movies and on Television, characters with high-pitched voices are ofttimes portrayed as comical, dim-witted and generally undesirable. Recollect of Lina Lamont, the character from "Singin' in the Pelting" memorably played by Jean Hagen. Her high, piercing voice became a source of consequent laughs.
Might sexist attitudes about women's voices cause women in leadership roles to experience pressured to adjust their pitch range downwards?
Former British Prime number Minister Margaret Thatcher, nicknamed the "Iron Lady," famously down-shifted her voice to burnish her stature. Research on perceptions of pitch in women's voices shows higher ones are associated with physical attractiveness, while lower voices are associated with dominance.
Meanwhile, many women radio and podcast hosts are barraged with negative listener feedback about "song fry," the creaky mode of speaking made famous by Kim Kardashian.
Nevertheless physiologically, to create this sound, the vocal folds must vibrate at a low frequency, associated with depression pitch. This much-maligned song feature is at one end of the pitch spectrum. But there's another equally hated speech feature that is achieved at the other end: the loftier-rising last intonation pattern, or "uptalk." This characteristic is noted for the dramatic upwards pitch at the end of each thought, which can make statements audio like questions.
The insistence that women in media change the pitch of their voices often comes with trivial concern for the anatomical and physiological factors that volition limit how much pitch change is ultimately possible. My current research is investigating perceptions of women's speaking voices in the performing arts and because whether it's time to part ways with some sometime aesthetic preferences.
Either style, the fragile trip the light fantastic toe of trying to strike a happy medium – the Goldilocks voice profile, where one can be taken seriously as a leader without existence perceived as inauthentic, grating or patronizing – seems to be elusive. Women'due south voices are the subject of endless scrutiny at both ends of the range – it seems they just can't win.
If everything virtually this story were the same except the gender of Theranos' CEO, I wonder whether his voice would even be remarked upon. If it were, might the same song qualities exist perceived every bit positive traits conforming a capable, serious-minded leader?
Elizabeth Holmes undoubtedly lacks the practical skills and moral compass to exist a great leader. But all the noise well-nigh her vox, and the potential that she inverse it to get ahead, just may reveal a sexist double standard that women seemingly can't escape.
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Source: https://theconversation.com/whats-behind-the-obsession-over-whether-elizabeth-holmes-intentionally-lowered-her-voice-177961
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