My wife and I were having breakfast in Provincetown, MA years ago right around the time that town was beginning to the make the permanent shift from sleepy Portugese-American fishing village with a little homosexuality to a full-blown homosexual destination.
As we had breakfast, we were playing the “Are They or Aren’t They” game, and two guys walked in. We couldn’t tell.
They looked ‘straight’.
They talked ‘straight’.
We were pondering this, when two other guys walked in.
As soon as the guys sitting down saw the guys enter the door, they changed as if a light switch had been turned on.
Never heard two more stereotypically lilted homosexual voices in our lives! It was a stunning turnabout.
It reminded me of a time I went to a vendor booth at a trade show. I saw a sales guy from the company manning the booth who I liked, and I went over to say hello.
Americans (most of us know this) are suckers for Australian accents...we tend to like Aussies, especially friendly and outgoing ones. Kind of reminds us of...well...us, with the flair of the accent.
This guy had a very strong Aussie accent, and everyone who met him remembered him...called everyone mate, etc.
So I walk over, and he was talking to someone...when I got within earshot, the guy had almost no accent at all, could have been an American!!!!!!!
Ahh, I thought...he is a sales guy and that is his angle...:) I still liked him, but thought that was quite funny!
The our ship had liberty in Hong Kong many of us adopted a British accent in the hopes the vendors would not recognize us as easy prey.(didn't work)
The cockney accent stayed with us for a week or so after we shipped out. Fun times 50 years ago,
Listen to Barack Obama or others suddenly ‘go street’. All kinds of vocal mannerisms are affected to be accepted.
Full blown...
GROAN!