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Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by fratlas on Sunday May 07, 2017 @11:28PM (#14289045)
Sexism: Siri's secretary-like, menial role is still marketed with a woman's voice.
Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by sago on Sunday May 07, 2017 @11:48PM (#14289112)
An observation, not a disagreement:

While P.A.s are stereotypically female in culture (e.g. Most often in films, novels, TV shows). 'High-value' assistants in several cultural contexts are usually portrayed as male: maitre d's, butlers, concierges.

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Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by wahnfrieden on Sunday May 07, 2017 @11:50PM (#14289121)
Unpack another layer or two - why do you interpret that to be more pleasant. It may be more socialized than you think at first glance. That's the problem with "for me"isms: you're just expressing climatized bias.
Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by nilkn on Monday May 08, 2017 @01:06AM (#14289377)
As a straight male, my answer is dead simple: female voices are attractive, pleasant, and comforting to me in large part because I experience romantic attraction exclusively towards women.

I can't speak for non-heterosexual men or for women on this question though.

Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by dTal on Monday May 08, 2017 @11:14AM (#14292201)
How confident are you of this introspection? Might it not rather be (for example) that female voices are evocative of motherhood?

Speaking for myself, while I would prefer a high-pitched voice for a digital assistant (male or female - Data sounds friendlier than HAL, for instance), I would prefer it not to be sexualised. Can't say for sure until I've tried it, but I think it would be disturbing if a computer attempted to flirt with me.

Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by fratlas on Sunday May 07, 2017 @11:44PM (#14289099)
I actually would agree with that, I'm just answering why it might be construed as a problem. Women's voices are also clearer in high noise environments.
Re:Go Ahead and Date Your Digital Assistant by jessaustin on Sunday May 07, 2017 @11:51PM (#14289122)
Women's voices are often harder to understand for those who have lost sensitivity to high octaves. That is a typical pattern of hearing loss for older people, both women and men. Of course the ridiculous fashion in which some people choose to speak exacerbates this, but it would be a mistake to assume that such people aren't hired to answer phones.