I'm watching 19 Kids and Counting and Michelle Duggar has that Utah Mormon Woman voice. The baby talk voice. The irritating as hail voice. The one that is made infinitely worse because you've heard your Mormon neighbor yell at her kids in the backyard before she adopts her sweetie pie voice to talk to you. The one that is infinitely worse when "put on" by reasonably voiced Mormons when asked to give a talk, or bear their testimony or say a prayer. But weirdly, you sometimes hear in fundamentalist Christian women too. Do these women think they sound sweet and spiritual with their little girl voices - with their breathy, porn star voices? In a way, Mormons ape their leaders and are encouraged to be like a little child so maybe you can see some reasons for the voice. But is this common in the very religious women? Or rather, women who want to define themselves as very religious? Because it makes me want to peel my skin off with a rusty cheese grater.

I just don't like the Drugger family. I posted on Facebook that I am judging them without shame and that they shouldn't have so many kids. A friend to me shouldn't judge. Whatever.

I bet she talks like that because she only get to talk to kids most of the time. I think of it as a overly mothering mother voice. She doesn't know she does it any more.

They do think they're sounding spiritual and reverent. But I think it also has a lot to do with being child-like. We weren't supposed to be childish, but we were always told to be child-like.

And maybe they think they can 'admonish' you (a word they love) while using a soft voice, so you can't get mad at them for criticizing you and telling you to be obedient.

Be obedient, as a little child. Yep. It's freaky on an adult.

It's totally wrong; adults aren't supposed to sound like children. Isn't there a Bible verse about "when I was a child I spake as a child. . . when I became a man I put away childish things"? The 'child' voice seems a bad violation of scripture.

But both Moism and fundamentalist christianity want women (and to some extent even men) to remain childish because that's the only way people can be controlled. If members ever realize they're thinking, reasoning, intelligent adults, they're apt to leave.

Mentally I always called it the 'I'm so holy' voice.

Even now that I know they're not, watching their show reminds me of Mormon stuff and makes me feel icky.

I just watched the video of their "big announcement" on GMA. Ew, ew, ew. The way she looks at Jim Bob for approval while she's talking makes me wanna kick her ass. She really, *really* needs ass kicked.

:)

When I first saw the show, I thought, "OMG these are mormons" and I was so pleasantly relieved to find out that they were not.

I find Jim Bob and his wife, Michele is it(?), to be very genuine just from what you can tell on TV. Must drive morgbots crazy to see a big family, being so happy and wonderful in their Baptist religion. I get a kick out of that. In my humble opinion, they're not put on's, whereas morgbots are very much puttin' it on thick. Loved the episode where Michele kick butt on the water ski's in her dress...to funny. The Duggars rock.

They definitely have it together better than any large mormon family I have seen. Out of thousands, the Duggars win.

+1

The voice

Every time i hear a voice like that i picture that person screaming "I want to manipulate you!"

Perhaps 'that voice' is a result of having one's uterus down around one's knees from having such an obscene number of kids. I don't have the right plumbing, so I can't say for sure; but if I were Michelle Duggar, my voice would definitely have turned weird because of the old 'full quiver' syndrome ... in my sinful, twisted, exMo world - they are certifiably insane!

The duggers worry me. Everyone says no one should judge the way anyone parants a child but i'm seriously conserned they dont have the skills to survive in this modern world.

The girls cant wear troussers and all the children have a low level education women will be relying on men all thair lives and unable to take care of themselves the voice is a part of that.

Not only that but they soon will have 20 of these kids.

And that last one the little girl that had to fight for her life before its really begun may still have alot of chalanges in her life and do those parants know how to teach a child that may still have some dissabilities and may need somene to find her true talents instead of desideing those talents are relegious.

I wonder if theres a girl with the cure for cancer hidden away in some secret bit of her mind sitting in that house doing huge ammounts of washing.

"...A soft answer turneth away wrath"

Yes...but, when it's just frontal patronization it's unconvincing.

I notice how mormons have a testimony inflection, a prayer inflection, a sacrament talk inflection, a priesthood ordinance inflection, etc.
You really notice it in general conference where ALL the women speakers have the sweetsie-syrupy voices...because they're only talking to women and children. The men aren't led by women, remember?
But the men do it too, totally. All the apostles have their trademark inflection and mannerisms, in fact I think that's part of how they're selected for the job.

...not like themselves.

Mormons think they are on a stage in front of the whole world, but they are sadly mistaken. They are only a crappy little sideshow.

In one Hindu magazine I read a article about how Hindu women should keep their voices quiet and sweet sounding to reflect femininity their spiritual natures.

Women who can't be themselves tend to be passive/aggressive and in denial about their inner feelings.

I've tried watching the Duggars on TV and I only last about five minutes. Even less when Michelle speaks.

I saw some video footage from her earlier years of marriage. When their oldest was born they weren't all fundy yet.

She still totally spoke like that. I think it might actually be her honest tone of voice. Most women I know who speak like that are totally putting it on. It's obnoxious.

By that I mean habitual. Women learn it because it suits their goals and personalities and becomes an honest part of how they present themselves.

Yes, some do it on or off depending on the situation just as the GA's exaggerate that low earnest tone when they're giving talks.

Too funny CA Girl for pointing out her voice that is often worse than fingernails on a chalkboard.

I'm disgusted she's pregnant again. I believe Michelle had HELLP Syndrome with her last pregnancy and that little baby was born extremely premature and ill. There is a 19-27% risk of developing it again with consecutive pregnancies not to mention all the other risks she has due to age, uterine fatigue, etc....

When they're on the TV, the show should be called "The Chronicles of the Clown Car Vagina".

Just sayin'...

Ron

Ohhhh Ron, laughing out loud again and spewing coffee!

The little girl voice is used to intimate that they have neither boobs nor vagina and could never do the nasty (places then up there with the imaculently deceived virgin mary) or perhaps to attract an FLDS replacement hubby.

This is a sect springing from more mainstream "Christianity".

My take on the voice is that it's supposed to show how "sweet" and "feminine" the moron using it is. I just hope some of the kids eventually break free and live their own lives. Poor kids!

So what was michael jacksons excuse?

http://www.raisinggodlytomatoes.com/

This site has been toned down a great deal. She doesn't discuss spanking a squirmy baby or toddler while being diappered now. She doesn't mention the paddle on the table during home schooling her 10 children.

They are sweet, obedient children on TV. There are dire consequences for not being 'cheerful and obedient." They are not encouraged to obtain a GED, certainly not the girls. They are bred to breed.

Very early on I saw her whailing away on a little toddler because he hehaved vaguely like a normal little toddler and not a stodgy old adult.

She learned that this kind of blatant behavior cuts down on donations and praise from the TV audience.

I consider her a monstrous mother.

It may be the female manifestation of adult babyhood.

My TBM family refers to this as "the temple voice"

The men speak in their "thus-saith-the-Lord" voice.

I would say that the voices are robotic or programmed.

I agree that the women, are taking on a persona of humility, holiness, submission, and childishness. The men are trying to be authoritarian domineering, and GA-like.

Evidently, the husbands men like the voice. I'm not a man, so maybe that's why I don't think it is attractive or sexy. (I don't think temple clothes are either.) Maybe some men have a pedophiliac side to them, or maybe they want Mommy? I know adult Mormon couples who talk baby-talk to each other.

AS a joke, I imitated that voice, in a veiled threat to my kids, and said something scary, like, "Now, my precious darlings, you'd better be good little girls and boys and clean your rooms or Mommy will have to set everything on fire." The older kids laughed, but my littlest one started to cry, and I felt really bad. The point is, by any standard, that voice is CREEPY.

I hate it when I joke with my grandchildren but they don't understand it's a joke and get upset by it. I have one grandson who is VERY sensitive. But he knows we love him and believes us when we reassure him that it was pretend, not real.

Referring to post by Long out

OMG!!! I think this lady used to be my next door neighbor! I can't remember her last name for sure.

She talked in that sweet syrupy voice all of the time. Til one day...She had all of her kids out on the screened in porch home schooling them. She was losing it! She was screaming at them like a banshee. It sounded like she was having a nervous break down. I felt so sorry for those kids. Their only escape was their grandparents house 4 doors down. They always seemed terrified of us and were not allowed to play with our kids. The kids never smiled. I think it was pure hell in that house. Dad was never home. He had to work all the time to support that brood. When we moved she was pregnant with her 10th.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/09/2011 04:19PM by mia.

The D(B?)uggars deeply bother me.

When they had the last child, which was premature, I wondered how much of that expensive medical care was being pushed off to Medicaid or written off (and passed on to all of us...) by the hospital.

We've got to prevent people from ending up like they are. The planet can't take very many people like them.

I think they're irresponsible to bring so many children into the world. Call it law of diminishing returns the younger ones are being raised assembly-line fashion. Also it doesn't appear they have any aspirations for college educations.

Does anyone remember the MTV/radio show "Lovelines" with Dr. Drew and Adam Carolla? They could peg a child sex abuse victim in no time based on that little girl voice.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Loveline_games


General Caller Betting - Without talking to a caller for more than 15–20 seconds Dr. Drew and Carolla would put them on hold and place $1 bets on the caller's past. The theory being that they have fielded so many calls by so many people that they could hear the specific problem in the caller's voice and detect what events led to their present. Example:

Caller: I'm just depressed all the time.
Carolla: I can hear the little girl voice, Drew. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?
Drew: My wife has my wallet. I'm good for the dollar.
Carolla: I'm going with...father, no, a weird Uncle touched her at the age of...9.
Drew: I hear molestation too, but I'm going with kid-on-kid. This was someone she played with. Maybe a year or two younger.
Carolla: Caller?
Caller: My best friend in 3rd grade forced me to touch her repeatedly.

*********************************************************

Their uncanny ability to call that nearly every time has given me a whole different persepctive on that voice. And I find myself torn between the "nails on the chalkboard" feeling and a feeling of deep compassion.

I think the Sweet Sister general conference voice is of a lightly different nature. That is about manipulation.

In a different, but related note, When I was 19 I worked at the Comfort Inn across from then Cougar Stadium. My manager gave me a talking to over my "hard" tone I used when answering the phone explaining that when people think of Utah, they think of softer tones, not the hard tones of Chicago. I was dumbfounded. Apparently I was supposed to be Mommy rather than a professional front desk clerk competent to book a room. *eye roll*

Of course the flip-side of the baby voice is the Sherry Dew-esque authoritarian voice, which originated even decades before she was born. I've known many TBM women, many older than Dew, that spoke just the same way. Even my own grandmother spoke this way to a point.