I can't stand "cutesy voice". That is, people who put on a high pitched squeal when they talk, who choose to say things like "wuv" over "love" or say things that are dark in a cute way. It's made worse if these people act as though they always speak this way when they don't, or they affect the mannerisms of an anime or something. Generally I just tolerate it because I choose not to be in the company of someone who's willing to infantalize themselves just because, but I always think of those people as dumb, even if they aren't. I am a generally easy-going, relaxed person. I do not get physical often, and I communicate my feelings when I feel comfortable doing so. (For context, I grew up in a place where physical violence is a common although looked down upon occurrence. I'm also a small female, and I am stressing that I didn't want to get physical because I'm accustomed to things like this becoming quite physical for no reason.)
The other day I was out with a friend of mine who is an artist, helping set up/sell her items. She was set up next to a woman who wasn't selling as much. This woman was talking, constantly, in "cutesy voice". And I know that this is not "just the way she speaks" because she didn't always speak that way, she just lapsed in and out of it. She put on the voice with customers, or when she was asking for unreasonable favors and almost always followed up with a high pitched laugh that was also being faked. Sometimes she would have a full on conversation in her normal voice and then go "Oops! Teeheehee! I'm so silly-willy!" and switch to cutesy voice. It didn't seem like she was doing it because she was being forced to, and it did seem like she had to remind herself to do it.
I asked her at the time if she could stop doing it. I don't remember the exact phrasing, but it was along the lines of, "Do you mind not talking to me like that, please?" She responded by agreeing to stop, and then she would maybe go one line without the voice. Then she would go, "Oops!" And go back to cutesy voice. I also ignored her, but the set up of the event means that artists get called away a lot. We do have to talk to each other ("can you watch my table," "can you get lunch for me" "I'm going to the bathroom" etc."). My friend is called away fairly often because she does a lot of work with the organizers. So often, I'm at the table alone. I like working at this event, so I want to resolve this without leaving the event completely.
I'm not bothered by her talking to her customers this way but she will often "forget" I asked her to not use cutsey voice to me after talking with a customer. I sort of can forgive that, except that yesterday she barely sold anything. She would still go back to cutesy voice even though there was no reason to "reset" back to it.
I just dealt with it by ignoring her or only answering questions that weren't in cutesy voice, but at the end of the day I had a physical hatred towards this woman.
My hatred of cutesy voice does not mean that I don't want people to use it. I mean I don't, obviously, but they don't have to care about my opinion. However I would like to not reach a point where I hate someone because they use that voice, I feel like that's a bit unfair. I do want to somehow tell them to cut it out when they're talking to me. It's awkward and patronizing and traps me in a conversation I don't want to have. I'm not sure if I can politely say to someone like this to not address me that way without being rude. I have no idea how to breach this topic with people who talk to me like that.
There is a very high chance that my friend will need help and I have to talk to this particular woman again and I just want to be able to tell her to stop doing it so that I don't spend the rest of my day hating someone who isn't doing anything but getting on my nerves and tapping into my pet peeve. How can I tell someone not to talk to me using a voice they're putting on that annoys me?
I accidentally edited this out but: when my friend was at the table and was talking with this woman, I often had to walk away. Also, there were times when she made unreasonable requests, like that we buy her lunch or that we just leave the table-- she would always request this in cutesy voice.