There is a scene in Hulu’s new series The Dropout where Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, wearing a white blouse, stands in front of a mirror and practices saying “This is an inspiring step forward.” With each iteration, her voice deepens.
As the world has learned about Theranos’s web of deception, Holmes’s supposed attempt to alter her voice is a detail that has captivated audiences. The behavior strikes some people as bizarre, even sociopathic.
Kathryn Cunningham, an assistant professor of theatre at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, explores why Holmes may have felt compelled to change her voice and how the story of her voice may be part of a broader cultural fixation on the way women speak and sound. Read the full article on The Conversation. Within five days of publication, the piece has been read more than 50,000 times and republished by 31 media outlets.
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CONTACT:
Lindsey Owen (865-974-6375, lowen8@utk.edu)