Androgynous Radio Personalities

August 31, 2005 12:15 PM

RadioMediaFilter: I have a sneaking suspicion radio personalities on popular music stations are purposely selected for their androgynous-sounding voices.

I've noticed in several different markets now, radio station personalities on popular or alt rock stations do not typically have the male or female vocal characteristics. You know it, that nasally, high-pitched, fast-talking voice often accompanied by shrill but short-lived laughter. Personally, I find it nauseating, but that's not the point today.

My marketer's mind assumes this is done to reach both sexes, not alienating the other due to our subconsious "attraction/unattraction" to voices of the same sex.

Let your mind decide who you are listening to, but is there any substantiated/documented truth to this theory?

posted by omidius to Media & Arts (4 answers total)

I once heard a DJ that I could not tell if it was a man or a woman. But that's the extent of my knowledge.
posted by delmoi at 12:25 PM on August 31, 2005

Response by poster: We have validation I'm not dreaming! Thank you delmoi! ;o)
posted by omidius at 12:27 PM on August 31, 2005

There's someone on Radio Netherlands' international service whose gender I have never been able to determine after several years of listening.
posted by teg at 12:42 PM on August 31, 2005

I dunno... I tend to find that male DJs on classic rock or hard rock radio stations have very typically male voices and female DJs on those stations seem to have distinctively feminine voices.

You might be describing a phenomenon that's typical of a specific genre of broadcasting because I've never encountered it.
posted by Jon-o at 2:25 PM on August 31, 2005