Young women are increasingly associated with vocal fry — a creaky, guttural and exaggerated way of speaking. Celebrities like Zooey Deschanel, Britney Spears, and Kim Kardashian have all been criticized for "frying" their voice. But is this linguistic fad really that bad?

According to a recent video from BrainStuff, human beings "have three main vocal registers" — modal (most common), falsetto (highest register), and fry. Air passes through the gap in the vocal folds or chords, a slit known as the glottis, and it causes the folds to vibrate and "resonate through the air in the cavities of your head to produce the fundamental sound of your voice." Host Lauren Vogelbaum explained manipulating these folds is how humans control the pitch and quality of their voice.

So when women are criticized for vocal fry, it means their vocal chords are pressed together, creating "a loosely closed glottis gap." Vogelbaum said breath bubbles out and creates pulses, essentially rattling against each other and producing the creaky voice. Vocal fry is called laryngealization, glottal fry, and glottal scrap.

Dr. Jim Daneiro, the head of the Voice and Swallowing Clinic at the University of Virginia, said this register could have adverse effects. Specifically, he said those who talk often, loudly, or aggressively are at an increased risk of developing traumatic lesions on their vocals, polyps, or a cyst. Think of coaches, teachers, and professors.

To Kate Burke, a drama professor at the University of Virginia, vocal fry has worse repercussions than increased risk for injury.

"What's heartbreaking about the trend for destructive speech patterns is that yours is the most transformational generation – you're disowning your power," Burke said in a press release. "Young women, give up the vocal fry and reclaim your strong female voice."

Watch Vogelbaum's video above to learn more about how vocal fry and other voice registers work.