Gender-Affirming Voice - Where do I start?
So you realized that your voice is not an accurate and authentic reflection of yourself? Or maybe it is stopping you from being perceived by others the way that you would want? You’re ready to make a change but you have no idea where to start.
You can look online but there are so many resources and it can be so overwhelming! It is also very hard to understand what will work and what will not, without any feedback you don’t even know if you’re doing it right!
I hope this guide will help you. Please remember that this is not the ‘ultimate guide’. Everyone is different and this is just one perspective from a cis-gendered speech pathologist so please take the advice with a grain of salt.
#1
These are the first three steps that I recommend taking.
#2
All images are from Renée Yoxon.
The most important parts of your body, when it comes to voice are the following:
1) Your lungs. Your lungs are what provide you with breath - the power to carry your voice.
2) Your larynx. You can find this by keeping your hand on your neck while swallowing - it is the part that goes up and down, and the ‘Adam’s apple’ is a part of your larynx.
3) Your vocal folds. These are housed in the larynx. There are various cartilages that move your vocal fold muscles to bring them closer together and farther away (thus creating different pitches). Their vibration is the source of sound for your voice
4) Your vocal tract is then completed by the cavities of your mouth and nose. Making this space bigger or smaller has a big effect on your voice
#3
I sometimes have folks come and say, my voice is XYZ, I don’t know if it is realistic for me to want a different voice. In my experience, no matter where you start, you CAN change your voice to a place where you like it more. Below are all the different attributes that you can work on to modify the voice. Remember, it is all a spectrum - it is not about doing one thing or another, rather finding the spot in the range of possibility that feels good and sounds good to you. No voice is the same and every voice is special.
#4
I always recommend folks look online so they can get an idea of what to expect during therapy. As well, listening to other people who have gone through the voice journey can be motivating. Here are just a few resources that myself and my clients have found helpful.
While I do recommend looking online to get some ideas of what voice therapy looks like, I strongly recommend practicing with a professional. Whether it is a speech-language pathologist or a voice coach, you want to make sure that you are practicing in a safe way and receiving feedback about what you are doing is usually very important for achieving results.
I hope that this helped you feel more confident about exploring your voice and I wish you the very best on your voice journey!
