Biological and psychological research aside, is it possible that female voices are used simply because most computer geeks are male and develop products in a sexist manner? Why do you think female voices are used? And is it another example of sexism?
From voice-mail systems to GPS devices to Siri and beyond, why are so many computerized voices female? One answer may lie in biology. Scientific studies have shown that people generally find women's voices more pleasing than men's. "It's much easier to find a female voice that everyone likes than a male voice that everyone likes," said Stanford University Professor Clifford Nass. "It's a well-established phenomenon that the human brain is developed to like female voices."
Are computer voices sexist?
CNN recently published an article titled "Why computer voices are mostly female" and shed a bit of light on why female voices are chosen for technological communication in such new devices as the Apple voice-activated iPhone. Here is an enlightening clip from it:
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I am certain I am in the minority here, but I am so tired of "sexism," "racism" "feminism," and all the "isms" we have beat to death like some unfortunate dead horse. Don't get me started on animal activism...
ReplyDeleteWhy can't we accept the fact that we are made differently, react differently, and that certain voices are more operationally functional than others?
Have we really run out of important things to deal with we now have to worry about whether some one has crossed a line somewhere by developing a GPS in a non-masculine voice?