• Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.

The “keep sweet voice”

LovebirdsFlying

My husband drew this cartoon of me.
Christian Forums Staff
Purple Team - Moderator
Site Supporter
Aug 13, 2007
30,436
4,495
61
Washington (the state)
✟1,029,071.00
Country
United States
Gender
Female
Faith
Christian
Marital Status
Married
Politics
US-Others
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?