New research challenges the common belief that vocal fry is a speech trait mostly found in young women. Acoustic analysis and listening tests show the creaky voice quality occurs more often in men and increases with age.
Jeanne Brown of McGill University led the study after collecting speech samples from 49 Canadian adults online. Researchers measured acoustic markers such as irregularities in fundamental frequencies and breathiness, revealing higher rates of vocal fry among male speakers. Creakiness also rose steadily as speakers got older, contradicting the stereotype that ties the trait to youth and femininity.
