Testosterone (T) And Gender Voice Modification

Written by: AC Goldberg / Transgender Voice / March 24, 2021 / 10 minutes read

Some people who are transgender/nonbinary use testosterone in order to change elements of their gender presentation. On occasion, someone who has been on testosterone for many years continues to be misgendered due to their vocal presentation. Why does this happen? Is there a way to make sure your voice changes with testosterone? How does vocal change occur, and why doesn’t it happen for all people?

Let’s take a dive.

Voice is a complex instrument. The components of voice that are usually gendered by others when listening to yours are: resonance, pitch and prosody. Other characteristics such as breathiness, volume and richness are less tied to listener perception of gender but still a part of vocal presentation.

What changes does T make on its own? What stays the same?

Testosterone thickens the vocal folds, thereby, for many, deepening the sound of the voice because the new mass changes the frequency at which the folds vibrate. People whose voices deepened in their teens due to their own endocrine systems’ production of testosterone also experience vocal fold lengthening, growth and overall changes in the physiology of the larynx. It is not a given that vocal folds will lengthen when someone’s system is exposed to testosterone later in life. Further, a person who uses testosterone later in life will not begin growing again if they’ve stopped growing. Sometimes, this results in what is referred to as “entrapped FTM vocality.” When there is an increase in vocal fold mass, but not necessarily in length, the thickened folds become “entrapped” in a larynx that hasn’t resized to fit them. The reason people are misgendered if this happens to them is because their pitch may change less than they anticipate, and their resonance will stay the same as it was pre-T.

Whereas this is not the universal experience of people who take testosterone later in life in order modify their gender presentation, there is a growing body of research that points to one thing; transgender and nonbinary individuals who use T may benefit from working with an S-LP if their voices don’t land where they expect. If you think your voice is “entrapped” and you want to change how it sounds, you can!

Testosterone thickens the vocal folds, thereby, for many, deepening the sound of the voice because the new mass changes the frequency at which the folds vibrate.

What can an S-LP do for a transgender or nonbinary person whose voice hasn’t changed to a desirable sound from testosterone alone?

A lot! An S-LP can help you figure out how to modify your voice so that it aligns with your gender presentation in a manner that won’t hurt or strain it. There are so many videos on the internet now that have harmful strategies that could cause vocal discomfort and even injury. Please don’t attempt gender voice modification without professional guidance. Because everyone’s voice is different, there are no quick-fix, one size fits all pieces of advice that can be gotten from YouTube on this topic. Your voice is as unique as you are.

Where will an S-LP start with my treatment?

That depends on what your voice sounds like and what your desired vocal presentation is. Usually, we’ll start by talking about that and then by learning about the speech sound system. A perfect compliment for working together is our free Breathing for Communication online course. Breath support is key for any voice work, and this course can be done in the comfort of your own home, at your own pace. (Don’t forget to remove any compression garments or binders prior to doing any breathing exercises.)

After assessing where your voice is and where you want to go with it, you’ll likely want to work on those things that people associate with gender presentation first. Resonance, which is the place where the sound comes from within your vocal tract, pitch, which is the frequency at which your vocal folds vibrate and prosody, which is the melodic contour of your voice. From there, the world is your oyster. A skilled S-LP can help you layer in whatever you like. If you like a breathy voice, we can help you achieve that. If you want your voice to be louder, we can help you do that without strain.

To speak with one of the speech-language pathologists at Well Said: Toronto Speech Therapy, schedule an initial consultation by clicking the link below or calling (647) 795-5277.