Looking for sounds that shout their gender
March 21, 2022 11:27 AM Subscribe
What are some sounds that seem very masculine to you? And, conversely, how about feminine sounds?
I'm working on a piece of music that needs some masculine sounds, and some feminine sounds. Are there any sounds out there in the world that make you go, "Hey, that sound is macho!" or "Wow, that's one femme sound!"?
This is obviously a very subjective question without right/wrong answers, so I'm not going to bias anyone by providing examples. In general, I'm looking for non-musical sounds, although if you have music in mind that seems incredibly gendered in some special, unique way, lay it on me.
I'm working on a piece of music that needs some masculine sounds, and some feminine sounds. Are there any sounds out there in the world that make you go, "Hey, that sound is macho!" or "Wow, that's one femme sound!"?
This is obviously a very subjective question without right/wrong answers, so I'm not going to bias anyone by providing examples. In general, I'm looking for non-musical sounds, although if you have music in mind that seems incredibly gendered in some special, unique way, lay it on me.
Feminine: gasping
Masculine: whistling, tapping a ring on a surface
posted by gaspode at 11:42 AM on March 21, 2022
Masculine: whistling, tapping a ring on a surface
posted by gaspode at 11:42 AM on March 21, 2022
People sounds:
Male: grunt
Female: giggle
Non-people sounds:
Masculine: chainsaw, jackhammer, loud power tool, revving car engine, boisterous crowd/party/sporting event, basically anything loud and obnoxious
Feminine: clinking of champagne glasses, cat meowing, birds chirping, wind chimes, light murmuring of small gathering, basically anything delicate and subdued
posted by greta simone at 12:00 PM on March 21, 2022
Male: grunt
Female: giggle
Non-people sounds:
Masculine: chainsaw, jackhammer, loud power tool, revving car engine, boisterous crowd/party/sporting event, basically anything loud and obnoxious
Feminine: clinking of champagne glasses, cat meowing, birds chirping, wind chimes, light murmuring of small gathering, basically anything delicate and subdued
posted by greta simone at 12:00 PM on March 21, 2022
Masculine: the sound of a razor going over a bristly chin
The sound of hawking up and spitting on the ground
Feminine: The tick tock of high heels
A lot of these sound rather stereotype-focussed which makes me feel a bit icky
posted by Omnomnom at 12:11 PM on March 21, 2022 [12 favorites]
The sound of hawking up and spitting on the ground
Feminine: The tick tock of high heels
A lot of these sound rather stereotype-focussed which makes me feel a bit icky
posted by Omnomnom at 12:11 PM on March 21, 2022 [12 favorites]
These are not necessarily positive associations, and I fully admit these are the product of questionable social constructions:
Masculine:
* the blatting of overblown bass in a car
* the whoosh of lighter fluid catching or a gas grill starting
* all sounds associated with firearms: cocking, changing magazines, firing, the clink of falling cartridges, etc
* the sound of chopping wood
* the clanking of weights in a gym
* nail guns
Feminine:
* the sound of rustling silk (technically called "scroop" in the case of taffeta)
* the soft click of knitting needles
* wind chimes
* hair dryers
posted by jedicus at 12:25 PM on March 21, 2022
Masculine:
* the blatting of overblown bass in a car
* the whoosh of lighter fluid catching or a gas grill starting
* all sounds associated with firearms: cocking, changing magazines, firing, the clink of falling cartridges, etc
* the sound of chopping wood
* the clanking of weights in a gym
* nail guns
Feminine:
* the sound of rustling silk (technically called "scroop" in the case of taffeta)
* the soft click of knitting needles
* wind chimes
* hair dryers
posted by jedicus at 12:25 PM on March 21, 2022
Dolly Parton used her fingernails (like a washboard) for the background of “9 to 5” for a less direct approach
posted by raccoon409 at 12:53 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by raccoon409 at 12:53 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Omnomnom, I hear you @ ick. I like your examples for the tie-in to the (apocryphal?) story about the blinded music auditions that had to be rescheduled because the musician wore high heels, which arguably telegraphed (telephoned?) some gender cues to the judges who were supposed to be blinded to everything but the sound.
(edit bc I forgot: playing right in to the stereotypical ick: a slow ziiiiiiiip is feminine, a quick ZIP is masculine.)
posted by adekllny at 1:18 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
(edit bc I forgot: playing right in to the stereotypical ick: a slow ziiiiiiiip is feminine, a quick ZIP is masculine.)
posted by adekllny at 1:18 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
masculine: sports arena sounds, boxing announcer, guitar solos.
Also I think this might be the stereotypically masculine song ever, as it it has a
chainsaw solo and the singer is constantly screeching and laughing and taunting.
feminine: gossip chatter
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:31 PM on March 21, 2022
Also I think this might be the stereotypically masculine song ever, as it it has a
chainsaw solo and the singer is constantly screeching and laughing and taunting.
feminine: gossip chatter
posted by The_Vegetables at 1:31 PM on March 21, 2022
"Well actually" these are some sounds that are associated with activities classified by gender roles, but I think the work would confuse me without also having visuals to confirm who's making each noise.
Maybe I should just know what's the stereotypical cisnormative performance of both masc and femme roles, but most of my fun friends buck the expected norms.
boy sounds:
crying for mommy
male voice choir
girl sounds:
drunk bestie complimenting you in the toilets
a man echoing what she already said
posted by k3ninho at 1:43 PM on March 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Maybe I should just know what's the stereotypical cisnormative performance of both masc and femme roles, but most of my fun friends buck the expected norms.
boy sounds:
crying for mommy
male voice choir
girl sounds:
drunk bestie complimenting you in the toilets
a man echoing what she already said
posted by k3ninho at 1:43 PM on March 21, 2022 [2 favorites]
Masculine: Loud belching, farting, raucous cheering (sports)
Feminine: Heels and finger-nails tapping on hard surfaces
posted by Rash at 2:04 PM on March 21, 2022
Feminine: Heels and finger-nails tapping on hard surfaces
posted by Rash at 2:04 PM on March 21, 2022
I mean, I don’t know how non-musical you are willing to go, but there are some extremely male-coded and female-coded sneezes.
Male: loud, prolonged “WA-HA-CHOOOOOOOO”
Female: high-pitched, somewhat quieter “ah-chee-ew!”
posted by Night_owl at 2:14 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Male: loud, prolonged “WA-HA-CHOOOOOOOO”
Female: high-pitched, somewhat quieter “ah-chee-ew!”
posted by Night_owl at 2:14 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Female: high-pitched, somewhat quieter “ah-chee-ew!”
Heh. Not in my world. Having graduated from the stage of life when there is any practical payoff in trying to make all your emissions "cute," my default was a normal adult human achoo. Then my boyfriend revealed a fun new sneeze modality. His sneezes rattle the windows. My new sneeze is an earsplitting Valkyrie shriek. It is definitely not male. It is definitely not "quieter." You just set the vocal cords on "scream" and then let the full power of the sneeze blast through them. It is so fun.
Female: field-hockey battle cries
Male: the snotstrangled wails and whimperings of man flu
posted by Don Pepino at 2:46 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
Heh. Not in my world. Having graduated from the stage of life when there is any practical payoff in trying to make all your emissions "cute," my default was a normal adult human achoo. Then my boyfriend revealed a fun new sneeze modality. His sneezes rattle the windows. My new sneeze is an earsplitting Valkyrie shriek. It is definitely not male. It is definitely not "quieter." You just set the vocal cords on "scream" and then let the full power of the sneeze blast through them. It is so fun.
Female: field-hockey battle cries
Male: the snotstrangled wails and whimperings of man flu
posted by Don Pepino at 2:46 PM on March 21, 2022 [1 favorite]
In case you want to mix things up with a femmy (to my ears) song about being a boy, you can't go wrong with Bowie.
posted by nixxon at 5:58 PM on March 21, 2022
posted by nixxon at 5:58 PM on March 21, 2022
Response by poster: These are all amazing answers, thank you! So many things I would never have thought of.
posted by nosila at 6:48 PM on March 21, 2022
posted by nosila at 6:48 PM on March 21, 2022
Response by poster: I think the work would confuse me without also having visuals to confirm who's making each noise.
Not to worry, no one is supposed to be consciously aware of masculine and feminine in the work. Just looking for some baseline sounds to provide subconscious soup. :)
posted by nosila at 6:51 PM on March 21, 2022
Not to worry, no one is supposed to be consciously aware of masculine and feminine in the work. Just looking for some baseline sounds to provide subconscious soup. :)
posted by nosila at 6:51 PM on March 21, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
Gun shots, car engines, "pow" punching noises, Grunting, beat boxing
Feminine:
Harp music, humming, Opera
posted by bbqturtle at 11:35 AM on March 21, 2022