This American Life discovers fundie baby-voice

[thoughtful]

Where did this most beautimous image come from?

http://rodriguesfamilyministries.com/main/?page_id=174

[eri]

http://rodriguesfamilyministries.com/main/?page_id=174

I meant the funny part. Did you make it? I died laughing

[thoughtful]

I meant the funny part. Did you make it? I died laughing

Oh -- yes, I made it. I've gotten to the point where it takes me about a minute to do these, with this site:

http://wigflip.com/roflbot/

Because sometimes ridiculousness is just what is needed! :D

[eri]

I keep listening to the parts where she talks. Does anyone else think she sounds . . . drunk?!?! (I know she isn't!)

[Geechee Girl]

Wow! Paige is a linguistical marvel; no shade. I've been told I have a voice for children's animé. Bless her heart, I was having sympathetic pain hearing that fall.

[August]

I naturally have a whispery, immature voice. I sound 10-15 years younger than I am. I can't help it and I don't like it. I don't know where I got it because my mom and sisters have loud voices, but my brother is also softspoken like that.

It is probably socially enforced in the fundie world, but it can be natural too.

I have a friend with a very high pitched voice. If you would prefer to sound different, there are voice coaches who can help you do that to some degree.

[jerkit]

I'm listening to it right now. And I don't if I'm going to make it. This is SO AWKWARD.

[Walking Cat Bed]

I'm a fairly soft-spoken person, BUT I've learned to counteract that to be taken seriously. Basically, avoiding up-speak AND vocal fry and speaking with authority (statements vs. questions; "I noticed this thing in the reading assignment, it was interesting because xyz" vs. "so what did everyone else think about this thing in the reading assignment? I um thought that um maybe it could be um...") and, honestly, not talking as much. I have classmates in my graduate program (who are in their early twenties, vs. me at 30) who make several comments full of qualifiers and up-speak. I don't talk nearly as much (and probably come across as standoffish or kind of bitchy) but I try to be as direct as possible and only ask questions when I'm deliberately asking a question.

Which may be why I didn't fit in when I was in the teacher education program during my (very Southern Baptist) undergrad.

[Maxwell]

If you want to put faces with voices there are pictures of both girls here:

longestshortesttime.com/2015/03/01/podcast-51-real-teens-fake-babies/

[Idolatry]

This is so awkward. And the disclaimer about her voice!!!!!! HAHAHAH!

[jerkit]

My heart sort of broke when she said that giving yourself away by losing your virginity is the worst mistake a person can make.

I doubt she's an actual fundie because she goes to public school and participates in music theater at that public school, but she's fundie lite for sure.

[cranky_kong]

Paige's voice sound's like a man pretending to be a woman. SO bizarre!!!

[scoutsadie]

OMD, cranky_kong, yes - like the Monty Python guys! (My favorite skits are the ones in which they play women.)

[FJSharkJump]

All these comments and I thought, "How bad could it be? Probably a lot of people exaggerating. People get carried away in their commentary trying to be funny. That's what happens on the internet."

And today I listened to the podcast.

O

M

G

Her voice is amazing! So far beyond any FundyBabyVoice I have ever heard. I promise any fellow Exaggeration Assumers out there that there is no way to overstate the extreme FundyBabyVoice nature of this girl's FundyBabyVoice. It's truly astonishing!

[VodouDoll]

It is truly the FBV platonic ideal.

[August]

I can just see Priscilla staying up late rewinding and playing the podcast over and over, trying to reach Paige's level of amazingness.

[gustava]

Finally heard this last night. Glad I'm not her teacher. That voice would drive me insane.

[FaustianSlip]

Man, bizarro voice. I actually have a cousin that (I think) goes to that high school. I wonder if he knows Paige/knows of her? I feel like everyone must at least know who she is with that crazy-ass voice.

[Cheetah]

I listened yesterday. Wow. Just... bizarre. I did think it was pretty funny that she was so surprised by how hard the baby was to take care of.

[SoybeanQueen]

The vocal fry may drive me nuts before I get to the FBV!

[homeslice]

I love that the narrator addresses the issue of Paige's voice. It was so distracting that it was part of the podcast.

[NachosFlandersStyle]

Paige gave me flashbacks to a very sheltered, religious roommate I had in college. Sara's baby voice was not quite on that level, but she had that same nervous perfectionism in her voice. She always sounded flustered and uncomfortable. We rarely spoke, but when we did she sounded like she was terrified of me but straining mightily to be polite and personable.

I still wonder what became of Sara- we only lived together for a semester, and I never learned much about her, but she was one of my real-life gateway fundies.

[August]

The vocal fry may drive me nuts before I get to the FBV!

I know, he annoys me too, but the stories are so good to listen to. In a recent episode he apologised for it.

[church_of_dog]

Listening now. Realizing I know two people in real life who sound roughly like Paige -- not quite as squeaky but they both have that breathy, intense affectation to their voice. Neither are fundies, though one of them might be fairly religious.

It strikes me as someone who is trying really hard to sound persuaded or convinced or like they truly believe something, like they think that somehow the intensity of their voice is a measure of the intensity of their beliefs. Or something like that.

[Quiverfullofit]

I keep listening to the parts where she talks. Does anyone else think she sounds . . . drunk?!?! (I know she isn't!)

I thought the voice was from the beginning of the video and thought you were all over-reacting, but then I finally got it and oh my.

Like a drunk tired child.

Reminds me of a comedy show character.

(I got a 100% on the same assignment in hs, haha)