Gender differences in visual intelligibility

Results from three studies investigating gender differences in the visual intelligibility of talkers indicated that the gender difference in speech variables used by talkers was not sufficient to explain the gender difference in talker intelligibility. Thus the difference may have been partly due to gender stereotypic expectations. Results showed three main findings: (1) Female talkers were easier to speech-read than male talkers; (2) Female talkers spoke in a different way to male talkers; (3) Female talkers were expected to use clearer speech than male talkers. These results are discussed with respect the ‘stereotype hypothesis’, the ‘gender-dialect hypothesis’, and the ‘self fulfilling prophecy’. It is proposed that stereotypesm play a role in the development and use of gender-appropriate visual speech