Your take on transitioning but keeping a male voice?

[eli77]

I just like my voice, is all - it feels like it's part of my strength as a woman. I my play around with the intonation sometimes, but not with the basic pitch of it (as a singer, I have a quite broad range anyway).

Well that's definitely the difference then. I was really uncomfortable with my voice before; I felt like it wasn't me, like I was suppressed. I'm a lot more confident and comfortable speaking how I do now. And I changed my voice permanently before I even went full time with total disregard for any consequences, just 'cause it made me feel better.

Makes no sense to change if you are already happy with it.

[Padma]

Go, us! Unity and diversity!

[Stephe]

I'm far from "being stealth" but I just feel having a definitely male voice is disturbing to other people and it has a profound effect on how they perceive me. I know it does because I was full time with a male voice and then changed it, HUGE difference in how I have been accepted. I want to be seen/treated as a woman and I think a lot of people, including me have a hard time -thinking- women listening to a male voice.

The other issue is dealing with the bathroom game. If you have a totally guys voice, what will you do if some woman asks you something in there? Ignore them? Out yourself and have to deal with that? Sorry but I'm not going to use the mens room looking like a woman because of my voice. And for most of us, we don't pass 100% enough to get away with a guys voice like these born female examples, which BTW if I close my eyes all I hear is a guy.

I understand there is "diversity" and respect this but I think this is more important than HRT as far as being seen/accepted as a woman by society. It's as big a gender clue as a beard shadow.  Unless you don't talk, a lot of people will see you as a guy as soon as you open your mouth. If your goal isn't centered around society accepting you as a woman but only that you want a female body, then this probably isn't important.

[Padma]

Of course, that depends to some extent on what kind of women you associate with. So far, I'm finding my women friends, and local women in general, pretty broad-minded and accepting, and not demanding of special appearance or voice as an entry fee. They just seem happy to accept me choosing to live as a woman as having its own validity. Perhaps the south-west of England is a particularly accepting place to be, I don't know. Now the men, they're a different problem...

[Kelly J. P.]

Learning to do the voice isn't merely an obstacle in the way of passing. The voice... being able to do it is often a prerequisite to remain sane, or find some cheer. If you can be happy with a male voice, and don't mind not passing, then there is nothing wrong with keeping your male voice.

The consequences of not passing can be fairly severe... but perhaps you are in a community where they are on the lenient side of that.

[Torn1990]

I personally wont be working on my voice at all. I feel like it naturally is kind of light, but can be really deep too. Doesn't bother me much. But i understand why some girl's do it, i just don't want to train my voice. The sound of ones voice can be optional and alot of it is personality, so I don't see it as fake or as a facade whatsoever when girls retrain it.

watching the video now and loving it.

[King Malachite]

I personally wont be working on my voice at all. I feel like it naturally is kind of light, but can be really deep tpo. Doesn't bother me much. But i understand why some girl's do it, i just don't want to train my voice. The sound of ones voice can be optional and alot of it is personality, so I don't see it as fake or as a facade whatsoever when girls retrain it.

watching the video now and loving it.

I love your voice.

[Wild Flower]

The voice to me is probably one of the top 3 determinants to people if you're a female. If a masculine-looking spoke in a 100% female voice, people would have a hard time thinking, "Is she a man or a woman?". They would more or less likely think she is a woman, or just a lesbian. Within reason of course...

A masculine voice will ruin even the most feminine genetic women... even if it's slightly masculine.

[Wild Flower]

I personally wont be working on my voice at all. I feel like it naturally is kind of light, but can be really deep too. Doesn't bother me much. But i understand why some girl's do it, i just don't want to train my voice. The sound of ones voice can be optional and alot of it is personality, so I don't see it as fake or as a facade whatsoever when girls retrain it.

watching the video now and loving it.

I had to listen to your voice... and if that makes you happy then that's more power to you.

You're interesting, I watch the video where you're talking about "your 11-yr old self being weird".... funny

[Torn1990]

Nice topic!!

You wanna hear something weird. I hate talking with my male voice regularly. Sometimes after the end of the day being in guy mode for work I get so depressed about it. But here is the crazy part is I love to sing in the male voice. Like Offspring, Linkin Park, Manson, NIN, Ashes Divide.  I can hit it them so well and it feels so good, but I hate talking regularly in my male voice, it doesn't feel natural to me. lol.
Just thought I would share.

hell yes!

[VannaSiamese]

Once you train your voice then it actually become your voice.  It's not fake anymore as it was when you started.  I can understand your concerns though =)
Here's an interesting twist.  I've started going androgynous lately, with great shifts towards going back to being male... however, I have no desire to train my voice back to being male... even if I go completely back to being a guy. 
Whereas, I once had a great man's voice, I now have a great woman's voice... and to me, the woman's voice suits who I am as a person much better.  True, I may never pass as a boy again with a woman's voice, just as the opposite argument was started in several of the responses... but it's the voice that I like and identify with the best.  If that's the case with you using your man voice, then that's the voice you should stick with =)

[Stephe]

but it's the voice that I like and identify with the best.

It's interesting, now that I have this new voice, I like what I sound like. I used to CRINGE when I heard my male voice recorded/played back, that's not the case now.

Again I would never judge someone's choice but I can say that "fixing" my voice was one of the last things I did after living full time for years and it has made a huge difference in my ability to live as "just another woman", even though I have no plans or desire to be ultra stealth about my being trans. I only wish I had worked on this first and some of the other parts of transition would likely have gone smoother and I would have been more accepted as a woman earlier on. I believe a lot of my friends slipping up and using the wrong pronouns etc was based on my voice more than anything else. Once I got my voice sorted out, that completely ended. I have to believe even if they were using the correct ones, they were still thinking guy when I had a male voice.

[lmgaetjens]

I allways have had sort of a fem vocie and have practiced on my own with a tape recorder girls that don't even try to have a fem vocie or act masculine too much are a major turn off for me in our community

[Joelene9]

  I am partially deaf.  It would be more difficult to change my voice at my age as well.  I would like to pass, but my money situation now doesn't allow it. 
  Joelene

[Rowena]

To each, her own. I want the fem voice but I would keep up the male voice for just in case circumstances, might find it handy. But being happy is really all that matters, ne? 

[Stephe]

  Like cis women, we are more likely to be the target of violence and sexual abuse, but is the statement that we're more likely to be attacked because of not passing not similar to the statement that provocative clothing instigates rape?  Are we not giving a bit of a pass on blaming the victim?  Is it not more likely that our insecurity would be the thing that predators pick up on?

People might be a little rude, sure, but that's not a thing that should leave us living in fear of not passing.

I never did this out of fear and am -NOT- trying to live stealth. I never felt I was a target for violence and sexual abuse at any point in my transition, any more than a natal woman would be from these predators. My whole goal in transition was to be seen, treated and accepted as a -woman- not as a -born female-. I can honestly say this goal wasn't reached until I changed my voice, even after some FFS, a year on HRT etc. And again in my case it has absolutely nothing to do with the fear of not passing as a born female. I did this to be seen and accepted as a woman, a lot of which are people who know my past.

This made more difference IMHO than HRT did as far as how people act towards me and how I am perceived. I guess that's why I do find it a bit odd reading people who are not going to live full time until they have been on HRT for at least a year, who seem petrified of not passing saying they have no intention of changing their voice at all. I again feel for those people this is mostly lack of motivation for all the work a good voice requires. If their goal is just to have a female body and being seen and accepted as a woman isn't a priority, then sure, this would be a waste of time.

[Alainaluvsu]

I never did this out of fear and am -NOT- trying to live stealth. I never felt I was a target for violence and sexual abuse at any point in my transition, any more than a natal woman would be from these predators. My whole goal in transition was to be seen, treated and accepted as a -woman- not as a -born female-. I can honestly say this goal wasn't reached until I changed my voice, even after some FFS, a year on HRT etc. And again in my case it has absolutely nothing to do with the fear of not passing as a born female. I did this to be seen and accepted as a woman, a lot of which are people who know my past.

This made more difference IMHO than HRT did as far as how people act towards me and how I am perceived. I guess that's why I do find it a bit odd reading people who are not going to live full time until they have been on HRT for at least a year, who seem petrified of not passing saying they have no intention of changing their voice at all. I again feel for those people this is mostly lack of motivation for all the work a good voice requires. If their goal is just to have a female body and being seen and accepted as a woman isn't a priority, then sure, this would be a waste of time.

Yup

Voice really is the difference between passing and getting clocked. I havent transitioned but ive been maamed face to face with people, and even hit on by guys. I usually get an apology whenecer i open my mouth. Sometimes i get people that avoid pronouns, andwhen i speak with a female voice, its maam and she from there on out.

Idk how any mtf can be taken seriousy as a female by the cis population that knows nothing about transsexualism when they speak with a gruff man voice. I remember all the guy talk and how a transsexual we knew was made fun of for looking so pretty but spunding so manly. I mean if you dont care about being maamed or being included in the girl world with no social restrictions then keep that voice...

[Padma]

I find it more than a bit creepy how this topic has morphed into a completely new one: "Your take on someone else transitioning but keeping a male voice..."

I was interested to hear different people's reasons for doing one or the other, but I'm really not interested in other people strafing me for my own particular choice.

[Kitty_Babe]

Well all I can say is, each girl to their own thing. I really do NOT think having a passing female voice is going to help you, if you DON'T look like a natal woman anyway. Both work in tandem, both must be the same. If anything if you DO have a female voice but look a little off, then - if anything, you will still get an awkward look (they might at this point be a little confused) as gender recognition happens within seconds of looking at a face, its naturally ingrained into us subconsciously.

Moving away from that, voices are different ranges from male to female, women can have lower toned voices too, not every girl sounds high squeeky, barbie doll, what people need to do is basically find a voice that they feel comfortable, and is within the female range.

Catherine.

[peky]

After 2 years 24/7 I am tired of the "WTF" looks when I open my mouth, so I got the "gram" spectrograph software so I can "see" how to change my voice.

I defenitely need a new voice!