The #1 Reason Why Starting Voice Therapy is a Must!
Why is it so important to start voice therapy early in transition? Dr. Z explains from a psychological point of view.
If transition is for you, if you're not happy with your voice, if you want to masculinize or feminize your voice, start voice therapy from the very early stages. (Voice isn't for everyone—some are happy and content with their voices. Reality: a lot of transitioning people aren't happy with their voices and are very concerned about passability.)
Testosterone deepens voice naturally for some trans guys/masculine individuals, but sometimes doesn't deepen voice or not as much as you'd like—many seek voice masculinization just as trans women/feminine individuals seek to change pitch, sound, resonance, and modulate voice to achieve sound congruent with how they see themselves.
Why people neglect voice therapy until later: (1) Misconceptions—thinking it doesn't take long to change voice (reality: majority need more time training, discipline, practicing daily), thinking they'll get voice feminization/masculinization surgery (reality: insurances don't cover it, good vocal surgeons are abroad requiring travel/expense, no guarantee you'll get results, potential side effects—not bulletproof solution), (2) Thinking voice therapy is incredibly expensive (reality: many voice therapists meet once a week or give lessons to practice then check in once a month/every two months, gender centers like Kaiser and UCLA transgender clinic offer it, local internet therapists offer tricks/tips/classes).
Watch to find out the REAL reason starting early is essential (not just that voice training is a discipline taking time—it's something else in sync with mindset, psyche, thought process): when you start feminizing/masculinizing voice, you work with vocal therapist, feel like you're sounding funny/faking voice, eventually get over that hump, then go out and speak in genuine voice to loved ones/coworkers/friends/people on phone. That's part of practice—ordering food, calling people. While many achieve this, what takes the longest time is making the intellectual mental leap from constantly thinking about modulating your voice (when you're out there and voice sounds amazing, you're in your head hypervigilant, hyperfocused on modulating, making sure you sound right) to doing it naturally without thinking about it.
