Guys Just Can't Do Sexy Voices

The ability to make one's voice sound hot is, apparently, limited to women. At least that's what a new study finds: Researchers in Pennsylvania asked women to "speak as if they were trying to impress someone with whom they were romantically interested." The subjects did it easily, almost all by speaking in low, hoarser tones. "There is a stereotype of what is a sexual voice in our culture—a low, breathy voice," says researcher Susan Hughes of Albright College.

For men, things didn't work out quite so well. In fact, when they actively tried to sex up their voices, they became a little less appealing, Hughes notes. Men could, however, apparently make themselves sound more confident, which may make them more attractive. That sound of confidence, researchers suggest, is related to "earning potential." In other words, as Rachel Sugar puts it at Nerve.com, "Women are sexy if they sound attractive. Men are sexy if they sound rich." (Another interesting recent sex study finds that women sometimes fake orgasms for their own pleasure.)