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From: rivero@dev8a.mdcbbs.com
Newsgroups: soc.feminism
Subject: Re: female voice-over
Message-ID: <1991Apr15.102526.1@dev8a.mdcbbs.com>
Date: 18 Apr 91 17:42:20 GMT
References: <1991Apr5.220612.13190@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu><1991Apr8.092931.1@dev8a.mdcbbs.com> <28021170.13754@maccs.dcss.mcmaster.ca>
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> Related to this might be the almost-universal use of female voices for
> things like automated messages systems (eg. most phone mail systems
> that I've encountered) and computer messages (mostly sci-fi, in this
> case.... eg. Star Trek.).

Actually, use of the female voice in such systems (which do not
require "authority" of a male voice) are based on a large body of
research which shows that the female voice is more likely to be
understood in a "noise polluted" environment. Gene Roddenberry was
aware of this data when he decided to give Star Fleet computers a
female voice.

Michael