WEBVTT - From Inside Voice: Lake Bell and the Sexy Baby Voice Phenomenon 0:00:15.356 --> 0:00:15.796 Pushkin. 0:00:19.476 --> 0:00:21.756 Hello, Hello, Revisionist history listeners. 0:00:21.796 --> 0:00:25.116 Hello, Hello, Hello, Hello, Revisionist history listeners. 0:00:25.196 --> 0:00:28.356 History Listeners, Hello, Hello, Revisionist History Listeners. 0:00:30.116 --> 0:00:32.756 That didn't sound quite right, did it. It's got to 0:00:32.756 --> 0:00:36.876 be more like this. Hello, Hello, Revisionist History Listeners. I'm 0:00:36.916 --> 0:00:39.516 quite grateful that our loyal fans like the sound of 0:00:39.516 --> 0:00:44.516 my voice. But why is that? My dear friend, The actress, director, writer, 0:00:44.836 --> 0:00:49.516 producer Lake Bell is obsessed with people's voices, and frankly, 0:00:49.716 --> 0:00:52.116 I'm a little obsessed with Lake. So it made sense 0:00:52.156 --> 0:00:55.276 for Lake to join Pushkin's ranks with her new audiobook, 0:00:55.596 --> 0:00:58.756 Inside Voice. The book is a deep dive into what 0:00:58.796 --> 0:01:02.436 our voices mean and what they say about us. Lake 0:01:02.476 --> 0:01:06.556 explores the psychology and social science of voice. She talks 0:01:06.556 --> 0:01:10.356 with icons like Drew Barrymore, Jeff gold Bloom, and Pam Greer. 0:01:10.996 --> 0:01:14.116 And when she started questioning herself, she talked to me 0:01:14.836 --> 0:01:17.076 she was struggling with how to write about the phenomenon 0:01:17.396 --> 0:01:20.876 of the sexy baby voice. How could she enjoy and 0:01:20.956 --> 0:01:26.396 respect Paris Hilton. They're Kardashians and various flavors of real housewives, 0:01:26.716 --> 0:01:32.236 all sexy babies, but definitively absolutely not want her own 0:01:32.316 --> 0:01:34.756 daughter to grow up to be one. It made her 0:01:34.756 --> 0:01:38.236 feel like a judgmental jerk. So I was the shrink 0:01:38.276 --> 0:01:39.996 and Lake got on the couch and we had fun 0:01:40.076 --> 0:01:42.676 working through that one. I may even have tried to 0:01:42.716 --> 0:01:46.236 put on a little sexy baby voice myself. Enjoy this 0:01:46.316 --> 0:01:49.476 sample chapter and then go buy yourself a copy at 0:01:49.556 --> 0:01:55.236 Inside Voice, audiobook dot Com, Audible, Spotify, or anywhere audiobooks 0:01:55.276 --> 0:01:58.436 are sold. I'll be back before year's end with some 0:01:58.636 --> 0:02:02.876 bonus episodes of revisionist history. 0:02:05.876 --> 0:02:09.716 When you guys think of like a strong woman's voice, 0:02:09.756 --> 0:02:14.836 what does that sound like? Someone just like fluent and confident? 0:02:15.156 --> 0:02:20.596 Anyone come to mind? Michelle Obama? Yeah, I think just 0:02:20.636 --> 0:02:23.276 arian because she's been very advocated for the God is 0:02:23.276 --> 0:02:23.836 a woman thing. 0:02:23.956 --> 0:02:27.716 So I'm just like Ariana Grande Queen Latifah. 0:02:28.396 --> 0:02:30.076 I would have to say, Michelle Obama. 0:02:31.116 --> 0:02:35.116 Kirsty Ally, I think has a very deep, powerful voice. 0:02:35.596 --> 0:02:39.196 My mom, Yeah, my mom for sure, Yeah, my mom. 0:02:39.396 --> 0:02:43.276 Oprah the same here, I would go, I agree with 0:02:43.316 --> 0:02:43.636 that one. 0:02:43.796 --> 0:02:50.596 Oprah Dafan the Oprah Okay. Lena Horn, yeah, speaking voice too. Yeah, 0:02:50.676 --> 0:02:55.076 Lena Horn is my wife. My life is stronger and 0:02:55.396 --> 0:03:01.156 I really love her and I proud for you. What 0:03:01.196 --> 0:03:09.276 about an alluring sexy female voice? Jennifer Aniston, Angelina, Jolie. 0:03:09.516 --> 0:03:10.316 Kerrie Washington. 0:03:10.836 --> 0:03:15.996 Oh that was good, Angelina, Jolie Coobe, Siri. 0:03:16.236 --> 0:03:22.156 I think Siri? Yeah maybe, Oh you could be different. 0:03:22.196 --> 0:03:25.476 See boys, I don't know. I just think of Catwoman. 0:03:26.916 --> 0:03:29.076 When I think of a sexy woman, I'm like Catwoman. 0:03:29.716 --> 0:03:30.556 Kim Kardashian. 0:03:34.516 --> 0:03:37.876 So your turn. When you think of a strong woman, 0:03:38.316 --> 0:03:41.756 what does she sound like? Does she sound like this? 0:03:42.756 --> 0:03:46.596 We want people who are redefining what it means to 0:03:46.636 --> 0:03:51.796 be strong, to be powerful, to be inspirational, to be aspirational, to. 0:03:51.796 --> 0:03:57.836 Be astoundingly aged, defying or does she sound like this? 0:03:58.276 --> 0:04:00.996 Kylie called Chloe and said, Hey, I want to take 0:04:01.036 --> 0:04:04.596 over your party. Just send me the list. Three seconds later, 0:04:04.916 --> 0:04:08.596 Chloe text me, did you tell Kylie about the parties? 0:04:08.876 --> 0:04:11.396 And I don't know what are you talking about? What party? 0:04:12.156 --> 0:04:16.836 Make no mistake, both of these women are powerful. Another test, 0:04:17.316 --> 0:04:19.916 when you think of a sexy woman, what does she 0:04:19.916 --> 0:04:21.596 sound like? Does she sound like this? 0:04:22.236 --> 0:04:23.356 Isn't this a coincidence? 0:04:23.436 --> 0:04:25.876 I know you you're the one that doesn't like to 0:04:25.916 --> 0:04:27.916 talk about the heat too bad. 0:04:28.356 --> 0:04:29.196 I tell you about my. 0:04:29.236 --> 0:04:34.516 Child, or does she sound like this? I like Barnette's 0:04:34.556 --> 0:04:39.596 sexy voice and laugh a lot. I kind of like 0:04:39.716 --> 0:04:42.236 that he gave off a vibe that he was a player. 0:04:43.276 --> 0:04:49.396 One of the more questionable, nay controversial trends to come 0:04:49.476 --> 0:04:54.756 out of gen Z is the sexy baby voice. What 0:04:54.916 --> 0:04:58.516 is that you say? Let me remind you my evening's 0:04:58.556 --> 0:05:01.476 going amazing because I have a ruse. 0:05:02.076 --> 0:05:04.916 I like was gone for a whole week and still 0:05:05.196 --> 0:05:06.556 all we can talk about is Crystal. 0:05:06.596 --> 0:05:08.036 All we can think about is Crystal. 0:05:08.516 --> 0:05:09.796 I like, don't want to make this a. 0:05:09.836 --> 0:05:13.636 Night about to honor and kick off this discussion. Here 0:05:13.756 --> 0:05:16.876 is a never before seen and heard scene from My 0:05:16.996 --> 0:05:19.756 Future in a World, a film that I wrote, directed 0:05:19.756 --> 0:05:23.996 and start in entirely about the voiceover industry, because, as 0:05:24.036 --> 0:05:28.956 we've already established, I'm clearly obsessed. This deleted scene depicts 0:05:28.996 --> 0:05:34.196 my character Carol, trying to coach a sexy baby into 0:05:34.236 --> 0:05:36.156 finding her true sound. 0:05:37.076 --> 0:05:37.436 Roll it. 0:05:37.796 --> 0:05:39.516 So when he told you here's writing a book where 0:05:39.556 --> 0:05:42.116 you just like, holy shit, that's amaze balls. 0:05:43.956 --> 0:05:47.916 Can I do a vocal experiment on you? Why? 0:05:48.836 --> 0:05:49.156 Why not? 0:05:50.316 --> 0:05:51.996 Because that's a weird question to ask. 0:05:52.076 --> 0:05:55.516 I don't even know you Carol, you were just interviewing me. 0:05:55.876 --> 0:05:56.356 Still weird. 0:05:56.756 --> 0:05:58.676 I'm a vocal coach, I'm a writer. 0:05:59.876 --> 0:06:03.316 Be good for the story. 0:06:04.356 --> 0:06:09.876 Fine, fine, okay, good. So you're just gonna count a ten, 0:06:10.356 --> 0:06:12.396 but when you get to the odd numbers, you're gonna 0:06:12.436 --> 0:06:14.196 use the lowest point in your register, and when you 0:06:14.196 --> 0:06:15.916 get to the even numbers, you're gonna use the highest 0:06:15.916 --> 0:06:18.396 point in your register. And then right after you're just 0:06:18.396 --> 0:06:24.116 gonna speak without thinking. So you're gonna go one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, hey, 0:06:24.436 --> 0:06:25.076 nine ten. 0:06:25.476 --> 0:06:34.196 Here's my voice. 0:06:34.356 --> 0:06:39.716 One two, three, four, five, six seven nine ten. 0:06:40.636 --> 0:06:47.476 Here's my voice. Oh my god. Right, that's so weird. 0:06:48.116 --> 0:06:51.756 It sounds lower, and it sounds. 0:06:52.836 --> 0:06:53.556 A mass pulse. 0:06:55.396 --> 0:06:59.196 Let's make something crystal clear before we delve into the 0:06:59.316 --> 0:07:03.196 sexy baby zone, which is also a no judgment zone. 0:07:04.356 --> 0:07:08.516 This is a safe place to regard and appreciate a 0:07:08.636 --> 0:07:13.796 unique cultural phenomenon. In fact, I have long been inspired 0:07:13.876 --> 0:07:16.756 and in awe of this vocal trend and seek to 0:07:16.916 --> 0:07:21.796 focus on it through a cultural lens. What factors brought 0:07:21.836 --> 0:07:24.196 it into the American English language in the first place, 0:07:24.436 --> 0:07:28.156 and how did it evolve over time for any one person. 0:07:29.396 --> 0:07:34.076 In my formative years, it was Paris Hilton. I thought 0:07:34.156 --> 0:07:40.316 she was extraordinary, hilarious, awesome, larger than life, and there 0:07:40.356 --> 0:07:43.836 was something really special there. Sure, much of the allure 0:07:44.076 --> 0:07:48.076 was the outfits and the status, but there was something 0:07:48.356 --> 0:07:52.596 unique about Paris that nobody else could quite emulate. Nobody 0:07:52.636 --> 0:07:59.956 could get to that level of her stardom. Why the voice? 0:07:59.996 --> 0:08:04.796 She captured the world with a voice that broadcasted both 0:08:05.356 --> 0:08:13.156 little girl submission and overt sexuality concurrently unfathomable feat or 0:08:13.596 --> 0:08:13.916 was it? 0:08:14.116 --> 0:08:16.276 I just have like a drive inside of me, like 0:08:17.116 --> 0:08:20.436 I love creating, I love doing what I do. 0:08:20.476 --> 0:08:23.196 I love making people happy, and I love making money. 0:08:23.876 --> 0:08:25.716 Paris, thanks so much for being here. I appreciate I 0:08:25.756 --> 0:08:27.676 know that he waves been crazy. It was like ninety 0:08:27.716 --> 0:08:28.636 seven degrees. 0:08:28.356 --> 0:08:28.716 Of a day. 0:08:28.876 --> 0:08:29.436 That's hot. 0:08:29.556 --> 0:08:30.436 Did you see that. 0:08:30.396 --> 0:08:33.076 Ross and Rachel might be dating a real life that's hot? 0:08:33.276 --> 0:08:34.996 How would you pronounce Vin Hart's last name in a 0:08:34.996 --> 0:08:35.676 British accent? 0:08:35.756 --> 0:08:40.876 That's hot? It is hot? And yet I want to 0:08:40.916 --> 0:08:48.636 admit that I struggle. Okay, there's a struggle here. If 0:08:48.756 --> 0:08:53.876 my personal cultural north star is creating space for a 0:08:53.916 --> 0:09:01.836 female vocal sound to imbue trustworthiness, all knowing electable authority, 0:09:02.916 --> 0:09:08.596 then how does the rampant trend of the sexy baby 0:09:08.716 --> 0:09:14.876 voice impact that effort? I mean, I can admit that 0:09:14.996 --> 0:09:20.036 I enjoy the wildly moorish entertainment provided by the Audis 0:09:20.076 --> 0:09:23.596 Paris Hilton, the storm that is, the Kardashians and every 0:09:23.636 --> 0:09:27.556 Real housewives of whatever the fuck they're all flooded with 0:09:27.596 --> 0:09:31.556 sexy babies. But here's the kicker. Do I want my 0:09:31.796 --> 0:09:35.716 daughter to grow up and speak like that? The answer 0:09:35.876 --> 0:09:40.316 is hell no. And see now I feel bad. Now, 0:09:40.356 --> 0:09:45.876 I feel like some judgmental jerk. I'm genuinely in an 0:09:45.916 --> 0:09:48.996 existential crisis on this issue. So I opted to phone 0:09:49.036 --> 0:09:52.436 a friend. But not just any friend. I needed a 0:09:52.556 --> 0:09:55.596 deep thinker who also happened to be a best selling author, 0:09:55.916 --> 0:09:59.756 a public speaker type that the whole world has stamped 0:09:59.756 --> 0:10:04.516 an authority on unpacking big and controversial ideas. So I 0:10:04.636 --> 0:10:08.476 turned to the iconic public speaker, best selling author of 0:10:08.636 --> 0:10:13.196 multiple zeitgeist making books like The Tipping Point and Outliers, 0:10:13.236 --> 0:10:18.036 among others, and of course, founder of Pushkin Industries. That's right, 0:10:18.756 --> 0:10:23.516 Malcolm Gladwell. Malcolm has been hearing about my deep seated 0:10:23.596 --> 0:10:27.436 sexy baby struggle four years at this point, and Frankly, 0:10:27.476 --> 0:10:29.676 he's the only person who can flip the script and 0:10:29.756 --> 0:10:33.396 interrogate me on this very issue that I myself have 0:10:33.516 --> 0:10:35.036 brought to the proverbial table. 0:10:35.476 --> 0:10:38.276 Wait wait, okay, hold up, there'd be much more specific 0:10:38.276 --> 0:10:40.516 and break it down. First of all, we have these 0:10:40.516 --> 0:10:45.076 elements that you've identified. Are they all equally important or 0:10:45.356 --> 0:10:48.836 are they they they all play You can't rank them. 0:10:48.876 --> 0:10:52.316 You can't say, sexy baby is sixty percent, this, twenty percent? 0:10:52.356 --> 0:10:53.356 This, No, it's a cocktail. 0:10:53.396 --> 0:10:57.476 It's a cocktail. Okay, number one, the vocal fright. 0:10:57.756 --> 0:10:59.076 I would say number one, pitch. 0:10:59.236 --> 0:10:59.556 Pitch. 0:10:59.676 --> 0:11:02.756 Okay, I would go straight to pitch, because first you've 0:11:02.756 --> 0:11:05.716 gotta this is very hard for me to do, is 0:11:05.756 --> 0:11:08.556 to kind of dial in because I enjoy kind of 0:11:08.556 --> 0:11:10.836 putting all cocktail together because it's like once you have 0:11:10.876 --> 0:11:13.716 a martini, it's like you always want the mix. So 0:11:14.356 --> 0:11:18.916 if I can just get the pitch, it's so we're here, 0:11:19.996 --> 0:11:22.796 and I'm already starting to fry a little bit, but 0:11:22.836 --> 0:11:25.956 I'm trying not to so that I can just take pitch. 0:11:26.556 --> 0:11:29.716 This is pitch. So this is like if I were 0:11:29.756 --> 0:11:33.476 to be talking to you in an intellectual way, but 0:11:33.556 --> 0:11:35.036 I'm just pitched up. 0:11:35.516 --> 0:11:39.596 Okay, yes, now then you layer on that. Now, by 0:11:39.596 --> 0:11:42.636 the way, do you ever we're not talking about Sexy Baby, 0:11:42.636 --> 0:11:45.156 We're talking about Lake Bell. Hi. Do you ever operate 0:11:45.476 --> 0:11:46.116 in that pitch? 0:11:46.996 --> 0:11:47.236 Never? 0:11:47.476 --> 0:11:47.716 Never? 0:11:47.996 --> 0:11:52.516 Okay, yeah, even a a in a sexual encounter, if 0:11:52.516 --> 0:11:55.636 I may, I do not find myself pitching up to 0:11:55.916 --> 0:11:59.276 that level or because that's the only time I could think. 0:11:59.556 --> 0:12:00.516 Sorry, very revealing. 0:12:00.756 --> 0:12:02.716 When you spoke to your children when they were babies, 0:12:02.756 --> 0:12:04.876 did you go off that h No, oh you did. 0:12:05.316 --> 0:12:09.156 No. I would never go this high for anything. But 0:12:09.196 --> 0:12:12.116 first of all, it's you know, it's athletic. That's one 0:12:12.156 --> 0:12:14.676 of the things about Sexy Baby is that it's like 0:12:14.796 --> 0:12:17.996 hard to do, like you have to work hard at it. 0:12:17.996 --> 0:12:19.716 It is an athletic. 0:12:19.236 --> 0:12:21.396 Feat layer in the next thing. 0:12:21.676 --> 0:12:26.556 The next thing would be fry. And I'm guilty of 0:12:26.596 --> 0:12:28.396 a little fry here and there. I think we all are. 0:12:28.436 --> 0:12:29.996 We have a sprinkle of fry. You know, it's like 0:12:29.996 --> 0:12:32.276 a cultural trend. It's like skinny jeans. You know, it's in, 0:12:32.956 --> 0:12:34.836 and then we all kind of adopt it and we 0:12:34.876 --> 0:12:39.316 don't even notice. So notice, no, you know, I got 0:12:39.316 --> 0:12:43.116 a little there. So when you have this and then 0:12:43.796 --> 0:12:46.956 you start adding in the fry, So. 0:12:47.116 --> 0:12:49.356 Teach me how to do fry. Assume I've never heard 0:12:49.356 --> 0:12:49.956 of it. 0:12:50.756 --> 0:12:53.676 Again, I'm not a professional, but I will say the 0:12:53.836 --> 0:13:00.476 fry is a croak. It's in the back of your throat, 0:13:02.076 --> 0:13:04.956 so you're gonna roll it kind of like you're a frog. 0:13:06.156 --> 0:13:12.196 So closer. So so give me like a like why, 0:13:12.996 --> 0:13:15.156 like why close? 0:13:15.436 --> 0:13:16.196 I'm getting there. 0:13:16.876 --> 0:13:19.436 The thing is, you have some you have some, take 0:13:19.476 --> 0:13:26.116 some water, you have some. You're swallowing it, so you're going, ah, 0:13:26.796 --> 0:13:29.916 you're getting stuck in a tightness in your throat versus 0:13:29.956 --> 0:13:31.876 like forward opening it up. 0:13:32.076 --> 0:13:32.396 Just a. 0:13:33.956 --> 0:13:34.556 Yeah, so. 0:13:36.476 --> 0:13:38.636 Getting in. I don't know how to form a word 0:13:38.676 --> 0:13:38.996 with that. 0:13:38.996 --> 0:13:41.836 Too, like why why? 0:13:42.756 --> 0:13:45.396 Why? Why? Wait? Do that? Do? 0:13:45.916 --> 0:13:48.156 Like why? Ah? 0:13:48.236 --> 0:13:48.596 Yeah? 0:13:48.676 --> 0:13:49.156 You see? 0:13:49.396 --> 0:13:53.396 So like why no you don't the fry in the uptalk? 0:13:54.236 --> 0:13:58.116 Is there a place in the sentence where those two 0:13:58.156 --> 0:14:01.676 things operate. So we're always in the upper register, So 0:14:01.796 --> 0:14:05.596 pitch is a constant, but we're not frying everything. 0:14:06.196 --> 0:14:09.196 Uh, fry is like seasoning. You can't fry all the 0:14:09.236 --> 0:14:11.556 way through or else you would just have a croak sound. 0:14:12.596 --> 0:14:16.196 So fry is really kind of like there's a dance there. So, 0:14:17.156 --> 0:14:21.876 for instance, in my normal speech, I would say, for instance, 0:14:22.316 --> 0:14:24.636 and that's a plateau. We're just like on a road 0:14:25.196 --> 0:14:31.516 going forward. For instance, is obviously a classic up talk 0:14:31.636 --> 0:14:34.116 with a little sprinkle of fry and pitch up. 0:14:34.556 --> 0:14:37.916 What work is fry doing? Is it comic? Is it 0:14:37.956 --> 0:14:38.676 for emphasis? 0:14:39.036 --> 0:14:41.356 I think it comes from a place of like sex. 0:14:41.596 --> 0:14:45.956 This is part of the sexy flavor of spice, because 0:14:45.996 --> 0:14:48.556 I think when I've interviewed people, Hey, you know what's 0:14:48.596 --> 0:14:51.676 the most alluring sexy voice in a woman? It tends 0:14:51.716 --> 0:14:55.676 to be croakier voices. It tends to be smokier voices. 0:14:56.236 --> 0:14:59.716 And whether they're high voices or low voices, they all 0:14:59.876 --> 0:15:03.076 seem to have that element in them. 0:15:03.116 --> 0:15:07.076 And it's paradoxical because it's a smoky kind of guttural 0:15:07.116 --> 0:15:10.036 thing that's taking place at a very high Yeah. 0:15:10.396 --> 0:15:14.356 Yeah, I'm trying to think of like men who fry, 0:15:14.396 --> 0:15:16.156 because there's a ton of men who fry as well. 0:15:16.316 --> 0:15:19.876 You know who fries? Who fries? Henry Kissinger, he fries. Yeah, 0:15:20.036 --> 0:15:21.916 but it's a it's a kind of German. 0:15:21.676 --> 0:15:23.556 Fry, a Truman fry. 0:15:25.036 --> 0:15:27.116 No, it's a kind of like but it is the 0:15:27.116 --> 0:15:27.996 friendship upset. 0:15:28.076 --> 0:15:33.836 Yeah, I will mistake anything on the proposition that before 0:15:33.916 --> 0:15:37.196 the end of this year, Goebachev will be in Washington, 0:15:37.276 --> 0:15:40.636 and I'll take only a little lesson the proposition that 0:15:40.756 --> 0:15:43.236 before the end of next year President Reagan will be 0:15:43.276 --> 0:15:43.836 in Moscow. 0:15:45.236 --> 0:15:47.396 But wait, you did something else and Sexy Baby that 0:15:47.476 --> 0:15:49.676 you haven't talked about, which is you were also running 0:15:49.716 --> 0:15:50.636 some words together. 0:15:50.836 --> 0:15:53.836 So that's the that is quality. So yeah, that's a 0:15:54.036 --> 0:15:57.996 little I will say that kind of creeps into performance 0:15:58.116 --> 0:16:00.276 a little bit to help me get in there, you know, 0:16:00.356 --> 0:16:02.956 just as an actor and as a performer, for instance, 0:16:02.996 --> 0:16:06.756 with accents, I have either a hand jester or you know, 0:16:07.116 --> 0:16:10.516 a catchphrase to get you into an accent, like Irish 0:16:10.636 --> 0:16:14.036 is pulled Bach on the bull on the bout. I 0:16:14.076 --> 0:16:15.836 don't know if I'll ever need to put anything in 0:16:15.836 --> 0:16:18.356 a bucket, but in an Irish accent probably you know 0:16:18.396 --> 0:16:22.756 what I mean. So like that's like my in there. 0:16:22.996 --> 0:16:27.156 In my experience with hearing Sexy Baby in the wild, Yes, 0:16:27.836 --> 0:16:32.076 in there, sentences without spaces. Imagine typing a set. Yeah, 0:16:32.116 --> 0:16:35.156 there's no punctuation, there's no punctuation whatsoever. It's that that 0:16:35.436 --> 0:16:36.036 irritates me. 0:16:36.196 --> 0:16:39.556 And like what really bothers me about climate change or whatever? 0:16:39.676 --> 0:16:43.076 Is that like we're now working together, and like if 0:16:43.076 --> 0:16:46.756 we could just like work together, like you didn't meet, 0:16:46.916 --> 0:16:52.516 so much more of our power together and like that 0:16:52.716 --> 0:17:02.836 for me is just like swim we're it, meaning we're it. 0:17:03.956 --> 0:17:05.876 If I was like an oil company and I wanted 0:17:05.916 --> 0:17:08.156 to really get people to be skeptical of climate change, 0:17:08.196 --> 0:17:11.516 I would just run of what you just said. 0:17:12.156 --> 0:17:17.956 That's here's the yell. Drying a car like gas or 0:17:17.996 --> 0:17:20.236 whatever is like just like American. 0:17:21.356 --> 0:17:23.556 But there's so there's there's that running together, and then 0:17:23.556 --> 0:17:25.836 there's also a little bit of slurring that you're adding. 0:17:25.876 --> 0:17:27.996 There's no you're right, there's like a little bit of sorry, 0:17:28.116 --> 0:17:29.956 I think that I just want to say something that's 0:17:29.996 --> 0:17:34.276 really important. It's just like it doesn't mean you're not smart. 0:17:34.516 --> 0:17:37.276 The accent and the dialect. Why I have a bone 0:17:37.276 --> 0:17:38.996 to pick with it is because like I am a 0:17:39.036 --> 0:17:42.156 feminist and like I don't want to think of women 0:17:43.076 --> 0:17:47.596 as little sexy babies that can't think for themselves, and 0:17:47.676 --> 0:17:52.196 so it's really hard for me. I really think of 0:17:52.236 --> 0:17:56.156 it as a trend that's gotten out of control. You know, 0:17:56.236 --> 0:17:59.436 it was kind of cute for a beat. It was 0:17:59.476 --> 0:18:02.436 in a movie or two, you know, and there was 0:18:02.476 --> 0:18:07.556 a kind of a texture of sound that was born 0:18:07.796 --> 0:18:14.236 from the California a surfer girl community, valley esque environment. 0:18:14.356 --> 0:18:18.836 But I do think that that compounded with the history 0:18:19.076 --> 0:18:20.916 like before that, where did it come from? It's like, okay, 0:18:20.956 --> 0:18:23.956 there's Betty Boop, And I think that Betty Boop is 0:18:23.996 --> 0:18:27.516 a good place to start just as a reference, because 0:18:27.956 --> 0:18:33.756 it's very distinct. She is sexualized, she's not homely, the 0:18:33.836 --> 0:18:35.716 ideas that she's alluring. 0:18:36.036 --> 0:18:38.676 But there's no fry in Betty Boop. 0:18:38.076 --> 0:18:41.636 Boo, No, there's not. There's not. Betty Boop is kind 0:18:41.636 --> 0:18:45.836 of the original sexy baby though, just as a concept. 0:18:45.476 --> 0:18:46.956 That's the where the archetype comes from. 0:18:47.036 --> 0:18:50.356 Yeah, boo do do boop boop be doop. 0:18:50.756 --> 0:18:53.276 But there's been a great deal of linguistic innovation, yes, 0:18:53.316 --> 0:18:57.156 between then, and how does Marilyn Monroe fit into this evolution? 0:18:58.356 --> 0:18:59.756 That's breathiness, is it? 0:19:00.156 --> 0:19:03.796 Yeah? But she also is broadcasting a bedroom voice, so 0:19:04.796 --> 0:19:08.996 why I just don't know, and a little baby voice 0:19:09.156 --> 0:19:14.356 but you know, oh well listen, peaky. You know that's 0:19:14.636 --> 0:19:18.676 very high pitched. So you've got the grounds there for 0:19:18.796 --> 0:19:21.396 that starting place, which is we didn't really get the 0:19:21.636 --> 0:19:24.796 breathiness in the sexy baby voice. But we got that pitch, 0:19:25.556 --> 0:19:31.036 you know, and that alluring sexy nature of bedroom talk 0:19:31.516 --> 0:19:34.116 that's like outward and being exposed to everyone. I mean, 0:19:34.156 --> 0:19:36.236 that was her whole thing. So that's why I have 0:19:36.316 --> 0:19:37.756 the word sexy in it. 0:19:37.756 --> 0:19:40.716 It's super interesting because if we think of Paris Hilton 0:19:40.796 --> 0:19:44.756 and Kim Kardashian as people who are taking the intimacy 0:19:45.276 --> 0:19:48.596 of the sex tape and kind of taking it public, 0:19:49.836 --> 0:19:55.556 Marilyn Monroe's famous Happy Birthday sung to JFK when she 0:19:55.796 --> 0:19:58.236 was presumably in the middle of having an affair with 0:19:58.636 --> 0:20:01.036 is the same thing, right. I mean, she's essentially saying, 0:20:01.036 --> 0:20:02.996 I'm having an affair with this guy. Right, That's the 0:20:03.036 --> 0:20:05.596 whole point of the happy Birthday thing, is this is 0:20:05.676 --> 0:20:08.756 the way we are when we're in bed together, and 0:20:08.796 --> 0:20:10.796 I'm doing it in front of the entire country. It's 0:20:10.836 --> 0:20:14.236 like such an incredible like it's like this, fuck you 0:20:14.356 --> 0:20:17.596 first of all to Jackie. I mean, it's just but 0:20:17.636 --> 0:20:20.316 it's an extraordinary it is an extraordinary cultural moment. 0:20:24.356 --> 0:20:26.036 Day to you. 0:20:28.356 --> 0:20:29.876 Happy birthday. 0:20:32.596 --> 0:20:36.996 So Paris Hilm comes along in the aughts, right, talking 0:20:37.076 --> 0:20:39.596 like this, and it becomes a kind of sensation and 0:20:39.596 --> 0:20:45.436 it proves quite culturally contagious, and I'm wondering why why 0:20:45.476 --> 0:20:49.276 would the sexy baby voice come back at that moment. 0:20:49.796 --> 0:20:52.916 It boils down to sex tapes, kind of like the 0:20:52.956 --> 0:20:55.476 women that we're talking about. If we're going to bring 0:20:55.556 --> 0:20:59.596 up Paris and Kim, they both had that right. They 0:20:59.596 --> 0:21:04.076 had a sex tape that was leaked. And by the way, 0:21:04.116 --> 0:21:07.316 speaking of another classic voice and a sex tape, pamel Anderson. 0:21:07.596 --> 0:21:12.796 Now that voice, you know, is effective, and so I 0:21:12.876 --> 0:21:16.436 feel like there's something there where it's like taking the 0:21:16.476 --> 0:21:22.156 bedroom voice and broadcasting it and allowing for that intimacy 0:21:22.396 --> 0:21:26.476 to be a part of the brand. Rhymestones. There's no 0:21:26.636 --> 0:21:29.476 such thing as too many rhinestones, because it's hot to 0:21:29.476 --> 0:21:31.036 bling as much as possible. 0:21:32.556 --> 0:21:35.916 You have complicated feelings about sexy Baby, which I want 0:21:35.916 --> 0:21:37.636 to kind of dig into a little bit. You've alluded 0:21:37.716 --> 0:21:41.396 to them here and there, but you have a sexy 0:21:41.436 --> 0:21:42.276 baby problem. 0:21:43.956 --> 0:21:47.916 I have unwelcome judgment in my views on it because 0:21:48.596 --> 0:21:52.596 even in Penning in a World, it was part of 0:21:52.676 --> 0:21:56.476 the you know, sort of joke of it was, what 0:21:56.756 --> 0:22:01.076 is this trend, this plague that is infecting our women? 0:22:01.396 --> 0:22:05.196 And it felt like regression. It felt not like progress 0:22:05.636 --> 0:22:09.796 just on a feminist bent. It is a sound that 0:22:10.196 --> 0:22:13.716 parkens Our ears back to a time when you are 0:22:13.756 --> 0:22:16.836 a child, when you have to ask for things, you 0:22:16.836 --> 0:22:22.156 don't have agency, And so why is that sound? A 0:22:22.236 --> 0:22:26.796 submissive little girl sound somehow sexy. All of a sudden, 0:22:27.076 --> 0:22:29.356 I had a bone to pick with that. You started 0:22:29.356 --> 0:22:34.076 to see women who were in their forties have great jobs, 0:22:34.396 --> 0:22:38.076 their lawyers, their CEO or whatever, and they started to 0:22:38.116 --> 0:22:40.596 have this sound. And that's where I got confused and 0:22:40.676 --> 0:22:44.516 upset because I thought, Okay, so you're saying, especially as 0:22:44.516 --> 0:22:49.676 a mother, society is allowing for or supporting this idea 0:22:50.156 --> 0:22:54.476 that women can sound like little girls and be leaders. 0:22:54.716 --> 0:22:58.756 And that for me was difficult because I don't want 0:22:58.756 --> 0:23:01.116 my daughter to think that that's how you're supposed to sound. 0:23:01.196 --> 0:23:04.196 I don't want my son to think that women should 0:23:04.236 --> 0:23:06.796 sound that way. And I feel bad for feeling uncomfortable 0:23:06.796 --> 0:23:09.516 because I think that women should sound. However, the dam this. 0:23:09.516 --> 0:23:11.196 Is why I don't understand. I don't understand why you 0:23:11.196 --> 0:23:13.196 feel bad about being uncomfortable. 0:23:13.596 --> 0:23:17.996 Because I'm a woman. We feel badly for judging other women. 0:23:18.836 --> 0:23:22.956 But hold on the argument that you're making in your book, 0:23:23.676 --> 0:23:25.836 is that a lot of the way we sound is 0:23:25.836 --> 0:23:30.196 a choice. So women, a certain group of women have 0:23:30.396 --> 0:23:34.956 chosen either consciously or unconsciously, to sound this way. They 0:23:34.956 --> 0:23:38.516 don't have to sound this way, right, They have options. Yes, 0:23:38.956 --> 0:23:41.716 our voice is our own. We control the way we sound. 0:23:42.796 --> 0:23:45.436 And you're simply saying that's a bad choice or a 0:23:45.476 --> 0:23:46.716 problematic choice. 0:23:47.236 --> 0:23:52.876 You are saying that I should feel comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. 0:23:53.036 --> 0:23:57.196 Yes, well, I'm wondering why you're so conflicted about the 0:23:57.236 --> 0:23:59.396 fact that you find this voice to be an issue. 0:23:59.476 --> 0:24:04.476 Okay, So because, for instance, I have a pal let's 0:24:04.476 --> 0:24:09.916 call her RS, and she has a very high pitched voice, 0:24:10.516 --> 0:24:14.876