And many people refer to this as a “lisp,” which it is not.  To effectively imitate a sterotypical fag hairdresser, one should practically whistle through one’s teeth as one says “sassy” or “sashay.” A reader wrote into The Straight Dope to ask if there’s any basis to this stereotype and what the root of it is.

To answer the question, Cecil first brings up an allegedly typical gay-lisp joke we’d never heard, which frankly is HILARIOUS:

“Which way to the Staten Island ferry?”
“Thpeaking!”

He then goes on to quote a bunch of vague, tedious academic bullshit of the sort you might get from a lesbian sociology professor:

“Whenever a minority is forced to form a ghetto (a place where their numbers can help displace the discrimination), those living in that ghetto will evolve their language and society as does any grouping of humans. Just as the speech and mannerisms of a person who has lived for a time in Harlem differs from the speech of a person who has lived in the Bronx, the speech and mannerisms of the gay ghetto will differ from the speech and mannerisms of those who are free from the prejudice and oppression that gay people experience.”

Totally. Or maybe some gay boys just want to grow up to be Blanche Devereaux.

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Why is lisping stereotypically associated with homosexuality? (The Straight Dope)