Talk:Sexy baby voice

Latest comment: 5 years ago by 2.201.0.62 in topic Breaking voice

30 Rock

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The 30 Rock use of sexy baby (partial clip on YouTube) is as follows (emphasis added):

Liz: ... Society puts a lot of pressure on us to act a certain way, but TGS is a safe place, so you can drop the sexy baby act and lose the pigtails.

Abby Flynn: But I like my pigtails. My uncle says they're sexy.

Liz: Enough with the gross jokes. And that voice! I want you to talk in your real voice.

Abby Flynn: This is my real voice! And the whole sexy baby thing isn't an act. I'm a very sexy baby. I can't help it if men are attracted to me. ...

While the exact phrase sexy baby voice don't appear in the scene, the phrase sexy baby is used to describe a character who uses the voice. While media coverage of the phrase doesn't cite this episode (from February 2011), instead going only as far back as In a World..., it is possible that it influenced Lake Bell. Ibadibam (talk) 19:19, 15 October 2015 (UTC)Reply

Upspeak combined with sexy baby voice used by adults (unfortunately I've encountered it only in young women)

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I read the piece and noted that one area not covered was the effect this type of speech has when directed toward older persons. Being a 75 year old woman, I find this type of speech, when used toward me by receptionists, salespeople, professionals in dental and medical offices, to be demeaning. It's as if the person speaking in this manner feels I may not be competent to understand information given to me. Thank goodness I encounter few (always women) who are addicted to this unprofessional speak. I'm an average height, weight, well-dressed person, and yet this speech makes me feel as if the speaker views me as a child, or their sweet pet. Basquetty (talk) 16:11, 19 October 2016 (UTC)Reply

@Basquetty: Thanks for your input, but we can cover this aspect of the topic only if reliable sources have also covered it; see WP:V.  Sandstein  16:18, 19 October 2016 (UTC)Reply

Breaking voice

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When you hear the audio file, of course the most notable thing is the high pitch. But what I find very typical is the way she deliberately makes her voice break, slipping into a kind of throaty timbre, especially in "like this", "have this", "that I'm like", "just that", "less than" (if that's what she says). Is this part of the concept of sexy baby voice or is that a more general thing. Because this seems to be very common in young female American speakers, and I've been wondering about it for some time. Thank you.

Ah! Nevermind. There's more about this in Valleyspeak. Apparently it's called "vocal fry". Very weird habit. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.201.0.62 (talk) 00:49, 23 March 2019 (UTC)Reply