Is the “Gay Lisp” a stereotypical speech attribute sometimes used by gay males in English-speaking countries? Some say it is not a technical lisp. The phenomenon of the gay lisp and its study are poorly understood similar to other secondary external attributes or verbal and non-verbal mannerisms of both gay and straight people. Like most stereotypes they have dubious utility and undefined social meaning. Not all gay men lisp and some only use it in certain situations.
These attributes have proven difficult to define and quantify but seem somewhat independent of other variables in the phonology of the English language, such as accent and register. The gay lisp stereotype has never been substantiated in an experimental study. Two studies (Linville, 1998; Munson et al., 2006) did find that a subset of gay men produce /S/ distinctively; however, the way in which /S/ was pronounced—with a high peak frequency and a highly negatively skewed spectrum—made it more distinctive from other similar sounds, rather than less. That is, this was arguably a hyper-correct /S/.
Several speech features are stereotyped as markers of gay male identity:
a.) Careful pronunciation
b.) Wide pitch range
c.) High & rapidly changing pitch
d.) Breathy tone
e.) Lengthened fricative sounds
f.) Pronunciation of /T/ as /TS/ and /D/ as /DZ/
The “gay sound” of some, (but certainly not all), gay men seems to some listeners to involve the characteristic “lisp” involving sibilants (/s/, /z/, /ʃ/, and the like) with assibilation, sibilation, hissing, or stridency.
Professors Henry Rogers and Ron Smyth at the University of Toronto investigated this.
According to Rogers, people can usually differentiate gay- and straight-sounding voices based on certain phonetic patterns. “We have identified a number of phonetic characteristics that seem to make a man’s voice sound gay,” says Rogers. “We want to know how men acquire this way of speaking.“
Sadly enough, Rogers did not comment nor publish the reasons behind the stereotypically dull, boring, monotone voice of straight men or the reason why straight men repeat everything 2-3 times over in one sentence. Too bad; I’d be curious!
A study at Stanford University involving a small sample group investigated claims that people can identify gay males by their speech and that these listeners use pitch range and fluctuation in deciding. Results were inconclusive.
Although he found that listeners could distinguish gay from straight men, he failed to find any convincing empirical differences in pitch between these two groups. This study is representative of others that have failed to find concrete differences in the speech of gay and straight men.
In a similar study of female speakers, it was found that listeners could not tell lesbian speakers from heterosexual speakers. Other studies of lesbian identity do make references to voice use by lesbians typically using lower pitch and more direct communication styles.
Personally, I believe the above to be particularly true ~ only because for the more stereotypical lesbian(s), they attempt to image the straight, low-pitched, dull-voiced heterosexual man. While the stereotypical gay male, would most likely mirror a more fastidious, precise, articulate, and exact form of speech. So gay men articulate more! Who cares – we’re still the plates of fashion, couture and will always have more expendable income! 
Either way, whether you’re a woman who wants to wear pants or you’re a man (gay or straight) who likes to wear women’s clothes, my biggest concern is that you learn to command and speak the English Language FIRST! and simply lighten up.
