LovebirdsFlying
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OK, today for the first time I have encountered discussion about the “keep sweet voice,” as in the childlike whisper that supposedly all evangelical Christian wives, youth pastors, etc. are trained to use. The media is eating Katie Britt for lunch over it, and they also point to Michelle Duggar as an infamous example. They call it manipulative. They say it is both a sign of oppression, and a means by which to oppress others.
Number one, as a conservative Christian myself with a history in several denominations from Pentecostal to Seventh-day Adventist to Church of Christ, I have never heard any woman speak this way, nor have I heard it encouraged. The Church of Christ would certainly turn purple at me referring to them as a “denomination,” and they absolutely did oppress women, who aren’t even allowed to say grace at the table if there is a man or a teenage boy present. But that “keep sweet voice” was never a thing.
Two, my mind immediately goes to Mister Rogers and to Bob Ross, both known for the hushed, gentle tones in their voices. Ross in particular cultivated a soft voice because once he was discharged from his military service, he vowed never to speak to anyone like *that* again.
Why is it that when Fred Rogers and Bob Ross talked that way, it was gentle and kind-hearted, but when Katie Britt and Michelle Duggar talk that way, it’s manipulative and a sign of religious oppression?
Number one, as a conservative Christian myself with a history in several denominations from Pentecostal to Seventh-day Adventist to Church of Christ, I have never heard any woman speak this way, nor have I heard it encouraged. The Church of Christ would certainly turn purple at me referring to them as a “denomination,” and they absolutely did oppress women, who aren’t even allowed to say grace at the table if there is a man or a teenage boy present. But that “keep sweet voice” was never a thing.
Two, my mind immediately goes to Mister Rogers and to Bob Ross, both known for the hushed, gentle tones in their voices. Ross in particular cultivated a soft voice because once he was discharged from his military service, he vowed never to speak to anyone like *that* again.
Why is it that when Fred Rogers and Bob Ross talked that way, it was gentle and kind-hearted, but when Katie Britt and Michelle Duggar talk that way, it’s manipulative and a sign of religious oppression?
