Susan's Place Transgender Resources

I found out that vocal chord surgery is now available.  Not fair!

I've heard that most vocal surgeries are unreliable and can leave a voice being less than desirable.  One surgery that I've heard relatively good results that looks interesting is called LAVA (Laser Assisted Voice Adjustment) which is performed by Dr. Lisa Orloff in San Fransisco, CA.  You can do some research around the internet.  I feel I'll be able to get mine sounding female without surgery though.

Melissa

Quote from: cindianna_jones on July 08, 2006, 08:37:54 AM
I was just poking around looking for past professional contacts.

I found out that vocal chord surgery is now available.  Not fair!

When I went through all this crap, it was a pipe dream.  There were a couple of acquaintances who tried it and the results were not good.

Now it is available.  I can' t believe it.

I've gone all these years with a passable yet very unusual voice.  Wow.  Had it been available back then, I would have found some way to pay for it.  Now, with so many people who know me professionally, I'm pretty much stuck with the good ole... hey I recognize that voice... it's a bird, it's a plane, it's Cindi!

In some ways I envy all of you going through the transition. So much has changed in the past twenty years.

Cindi

On the bright side, if it ain't broke don't fix it Cindi :)  My speech pathologist at the local hospital echo's what Melissa indicated.  While the procedure will obviously get better as more are done, so should the results.  We have discussed this extensively and while the surgery is available to me we opted to try the none surgical route.  I'm ok with that, it's just going to take more effort and practice on my part, but then hard work builds character :)

Steph

Do as you wish but I strongly urge you to not have vocal surgery.  I met a doctor, who is an expert in her field, and she has seen what can happen with T women who have vocal surgery.  The results vary.  You could end up with a really deep voice or even no voice at all.  Personally I would rather have my okay voice that gets me by rather than risk throwing money into damaging my ability to pass.

YMMV.


Posted at: July 08, 2006, 07:09:00 PM

---

I went and looked up her website.  Here you go:

In Broad Daylight (http://www.inbroaddaylight.net/)

She is an incredibly bright and very friendly person.

Vocal chord surgery doesn't sound worth the risk. Besides, I love a woman with a deep voice.
It's very sexy.

Nero

Hi girls:

Just for the record.....Nero talks from a very unconventional point of view, right Nero? ;D


tinkerbell :icon_chick:

Surgery in the throat of any type sounds horrendously scary to me. Then again, I love to sing and am quite vain about my voice in that regard and won't risk an ounce of harm to it.  But I'll have to agree with Nero that the dramatic altos sound more sexy in a single note than a lyric soprano will ever sound in an entire aria!  Even Dr. Girlfriend (geek alert: Venture Brothers reference)sounds more appealing than Minnie Mouse!  Don't forget, though, you never really hear your own voice accurately and everyone is their own worst critic.  Try to get a good recorder and tape yourself speaking for a more accurate idea of how you sound.

I've heard recordings of me singing. I sound like a 16 year old boy with a deep voice. Someday I'll get past puberty I guess.

But I concur with Nero. A deep woman's voice is sexy as hell. So don't you girls worry, it's not unusual at all to like that :)

Dennis

Thanks Dennis.

Quote from: tinkerbell on July 08, 2006, 07:25:01 PM
Hi girls:

Just for the record.....Nero talks from a very unconventional point of view, right Nero? ;D


tinkerbell :icon_chick:

Guess my opinion doesn't count for much around here. :D
Tink,
Just so you know, I am the arbiter of taste and beauty when it comes to womankind.

Nero the truest judge of feminine beauty

Quote from: tinkerbell on July 09, 2006, 12:13:02 AM


Hi Nero:

Oh sweetie,  your opinion does count, and I love your honesty.
Unfortunately, a deep voice is what gets us read 95% of the time, so some of us consider other possibilities in order to achieve a more feminine voice.  I mean...from a MTF perspective,  you can be a  woman in many other ways, passable,  successful, stylish, educated,  but if you talk like man, everything else crumbles, and if you are living stealth, that's the worst thing that can happen.

Just an opinion from a girl trying to blend in without getting noticed :-*

tinkerbell :icon_chick:

Tink,
I do understand, as my voice is one of my biggest problems. Everybody has a feature that they focus on, believing it to be fatal to their passability. But if I see a woman, I'm not going to think anything if she happens to have a deeper voice. I think the tone and the mode of speech are more beneficial to focus on for MtFs rather than some radical surgery that could have horrible results.

Just an opinion from an unconventional point of view.
But don't forget I am the arbiter.

Nero

P.S. Tink, you could never be taken for anything other than a lady, despite whatever voice you may have.

hi girls:

"I think it is a combination of both confidence and appearance.  I mean I don't see how someone who looks, talks, and acts like a man can pass as a woman just by having confidence.  We live in a world where most of our judgements are based on appearance; I know this is a very shallow thought, but unfortunately this is reality.  Confidence, in my opinion, is a plus to transition and eventually pass as a woman or a man, but a combination of appearance plus confidence produces miracle"
 
my comment will seem very trashy and trite but after sex, especially a man, I pass no problem almost no effort, while a few hours before I had to be laser focused, I know trashy but true.
sheila

Quote from: sheila18 on July 10, 2006, 01:52:16 AM
hi girls:

"...We live in a world where most of our judgements are based on appearance; I know this is a very shallow thought, but unfortunately this is reality.  Confidence, in my opinion, is a plus to transition and eventually pass as a woman or a man, but a combination of appearance plus confidence produces miracle" <snip>

Unfortunately unfair but true.  I think that we are all have been guilty of this at one time or another.  How often have you seen a person walking towards you and right away you start making mental judgements about them, their appearance, the way they walk the way they dress etc... it's human nature, that's why we have eye's in our heads to observe our surroundings and make evaluations and judgements.  Unfortunately we sometimes get it wrong.

Steph

After all of the training, I focus on one thing initially when others are approaching and that is their threat level.  Do they walk from their center?  Where are their eyes focused at?  Hip and elbow motion?  Outward displays of mood?  Weapons or anything that could be used as such?  Spots where some may be hidden on the body.  Takes about half of a second to take all of that in.  If I am out at a club or other social function I then may start looking at people as possible partners, in some fashion or another.

Quote from: sheila18 on July 10, 2006, 01:52:16 AM
hi girls:

"I think it is a combination of both confidence and appearance.  I mean I don't see how someone who looks, talks, and acts like a man can pass as a woman just by having confidence.  We live in a world where most of our judgements are based on appearance; I know this is a very shallow thought, but unfortunately this is reality.  Confidence, in my opinion, is a plus to transition and eventually pass as a woman or a man, but a combination of appearance plus confidence produces miracle"

Just my 2 cents, but I've passed as a woman on more than 1 occasion just from my demeanor alone, while looking and talking as a male (well androgynous really).  I think how one carries themselves (combination of confidence and demeanor) has more power than appearance.  What I like to do is identify my weak points and work to strengthen them.

Melissa

Quote from: tinkerbell on July 08, 2006, 05:18:00 PM
Hi Cindi:

I've also heard that voice surgery is still experimental although some people swear by its efficacy.  In addition to being expensive, it is also dangerous, for it can cause permanent damage to the vocal cords.  My gender therapist says that some of her patients have had this type of surgery without any significant changes in voice pitch.
To me, voice therapy has been very helpful so far; I've also purchased a few of the many videos out there which help you achieve a more passable feminine voice.  It's been hard, I have to admit, but I think my voice has come a long way; I don't sound like "the nanny" anymore if you know what I mean....


tinkerbell :icon_chick:

CHICA You sound just fine to me!

much love sis

Now does anybody wanna hear me sing barry whites..cant get enough of your love baby!???
Nevermind might excite Nero!

Chynna

Its funny Before I transitioned I used to think her voice was so hott

I wished I could sound like her..

Hows that for Irony
much AMOR LA ChiCA

LMAO
Chynna

Quote from: tinkerbell on July 10, 2006, 08:26:57 PM
....but you should have heard me five years ago....I did sound like "the nanny", honestly!!

So you were the ->-bleeped-<- nanny? :D

Melissa

Quote from: Melissa on July 11, 2006, 10:49:04 AM
So you were the ->-bleeped-<- nanny? :D

Melissa

Yeah...kind of...lol...

tinkerbell :icon_chick:

tinkerbel:
you work ed like MAry Poppins? I can imagine that, you are really sweet? no more like soothing and healing, imagine that ->-bleeped-<- nanny.. actually perhaps is something our community needs, mentors.
love, sheila

My ex had a relative from the Island that looked, dressed, and had an exact vocal pattern match to the Nanny.  I met her once and I refrained from making any comments at all, seeing how that part of the family was a bit upper crust and all.

Quote from: LostInTime on July 12, 2006, 09:14:22 AM
that part of the family was a bit upper crust

Lost in time,

Can I borrow that one?  ;D PLEASE!

Absolutely!  :)

That was the only one I ever went out with where they actually had a family estate elsewhere in the country.