Transgender voice Useful Reference Voice and Communication Therapy for the Transgender/Transsexual Client A Comprehensive Clinical Guide Eds. Richard K. Adler, Ph.D., CCC-SLP; Sandy Hirsch, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Michelle Mordaunt, M.S., CCC-SLPRichard K. Adler, Ph.D., CCC-SLPSandy Hirsch, M.S., CCC-SLP Michelle Mordaunt, M.S., CCC-SLP

Transgender voice  Male to female Can be one of the more challenging aspects of gender transformation Hormonal treatments do not typically influence voice  Female to male less of an therapeutic issue due to hormonal effects on vocal fold mass – result is a masculinization of voice

Anatomical Obstacles  Vocal fold size  Vocal tract size

Therapeutic approaches  Pitch shift Get close to female range Dramatic pitch changes can result in vocal problems  Pitch Variation Greater/more varied pitch inflections  Voice Quality Slight increase in breathiness of voice “reduce” vocal effort – “lighten” the voice  Pragmatics, nonverbals, etc

Man, unmodified synthesis: Man shifted toward woman, pitch and formants: Man shifted toward woman, pitch only: Man shifted toward woman formants only: Woman, unmodified synthesis: Woman shifted toward man, pitch and formants: Woman shifted toward man, pitch only: Woman shifted toward man formants only: (men: msi1463.wav; women: women: wsi1746.wav)

RESULTS

Therapeutic approaches  Surgical Surgically increase tension of vocal folds