Do we need voice training?

On a couple of occasions well meaning acquaintances have let me know that I should “work on my voice”. Although I try to avoid shouting (hard in a noisy club) I’ve been reluctant to talk in what I see as an affected way. My journey is one of becoming “me” and so changing “me” to suit the cultural sensitivities of others doesn’t seem genuine.

The urge to change ourselves to fit more comfortably into cultural norms of male and female is something we all experience to a greater or lesser degree. Is the need to “blend in” driven by a insecurity and a lack of confidence, or is it the other way round? Does the presentation of a more conforming binary image lead to improved confidence? Probably a bit of both.

If I’m going to be brutally honest, on reflection, many of the obsessions of contemporary trangender life look a lot less like “expressing your true gender” and more like “acting out a culturally accepted role”.

I started my journey crossdressing convinced that all I was doing was acting – the wig, the nails, the heavy makeup, the deliberately female costume. Acting is fine for an occasional evening out, but if expressing your self becomes a part of your life then acting isn’t the way to go.

If your gender expression actually causes embarrassment and distress to others then perhaps there is a strong case to change your image. Voice training in such circumstances is probably a valuable exercise. But it shouldn’t just be one of the tick boxes on the transgender journey – something you do because you think it will make you a better, more genuine, person.

On a couple of occasions well meaning acquaintances have let me know that I should “work on my voice”. Although I try to avoid shouting (hard in a noisy club) I’ve been reluctant to talk in what I see as an affected way. My journey is one of becoming “me” and so changing “me” to suit the cultural sensitivities of others doesn’t seem genuine.

The urge to change ourselves to fit more comfortably into cultural norms of male and female is something we all experience to a greater or lesser degree. Is the need to “blend in” driven by a insecurity and a lack of confidence, or is it the other way round? Does the presentation of a more conforming binary image lead to improved confidence? Probably a bit of both.

If I’m going to be brutally honest, on reflection, many of the obsessions of contemporary trangender life look a lot less like “expressing your true gender” and more like “acting out a culturally accepted role”.

I started my journey crossdressing convinced that all I was doing was acting – the wig, the nails, the heavy makeup, the deliberately female costume. Acting is fine for an occasional evening out, but if expressing your self becomes a part of your life then acting isn’t the way to go.

If your gender expression actually causes embarrassment and distress to others then perhaps there is a strong case to change your image. Voice training in such circumstances is probably a valuable exercise. But it shouldn’t just be one of the tick boxes on the transgender journey – something you do because you think it will make you a better, more genuine, person.