I have really obvious female voice. It's very soft because I'm shy and just naturally. I sound mostly like a little, prepubescent kid and I talk with slightly sibilant s's. I don't know how to make my voice deeper. Any advice?
(I can't take hormones because I can't afford them and because I have more than one gender.)

There are exercises on how to "boom your voice" that you can look up on Youtube. It's fairly helpful! I don't think it's a permanent thing but it'll definitely get your voice a bit lower after you do it.

I've also heard of people finding differences between female and male speech patterns which I'm sure you could google if you're really interested. I'm no expert on it by any means, I've just seen a few people mention it on this site.

I used to practice singing songs that were too low for my natural voice and over time it did help a little. I think of the vocal chords like any other muscle. Men sound deeper because they have thicker vocal chords. So straining your voice, and working that muscle, is going to give you a cycle of damage and repair to said muscle - and make it bigger, like it does anywhere else on the body.

Also if it's any consolation I know a cis guy who also has a voice that sounds very soft, quiet and shy. If you're not looking at him you would swear that voice was coming from a female and he's constantly misgendered over the phone.

On the other end of the spectrum my sister has a very deep, authorative voice and is also constantly misgendered over the phone

So it's not just us transfolk who have this issue.

I dont have any advice beside whats given.

but
after you try go deeper on a time your voice will get use to it,
I got told that I actually have a very femenine voice, however I been so used to speak with a deep voice pre-T that I didnt even notice anymore..
I guess theres few other people who get stucked in voices there just use too, exemple one of my female friends who hate her deep voice started to talk with a higher voice, and now she got use to it as well..

hopefully this could happent so you wont have to worry that much about it.

I suppose the secret factor of voice is not how deep it is. Intonation counts..! Men talk in a way somewhat monotone, women often use variations of pitch more time than men.
Someone with super-deep voice and thick vocal chords can be extra-feminine because of consciousness. And there are high pitched voice guys talking in a manner so masculine.

The 'Boom You Voice!' video is very helpful, anyway. Go for it on YouTube.
Also if you can afford - buy a mic and record your voice all the time, then listen to those recordings. Try a single sentence many times! Pay attention on how you talked in each situation, what you did, how you spoke... Learn the difference.

Be careful, you could ruin your voice easily if you choose to train yourself on your own. So at least once, visit a voice therapist or find someone who is studying acting or is an amateur/pro actor/actress etc. If you ask a voice (singing) teacher you may learn new techniques, how to breathe and not cause pain in your throat.

(Sorry for my English, haven't used it for a while. :/ )

I used to go to a Heavy Metal nightclub in Wolverhampton called Screamers. I used to sing along to many of the songs by Fear Factory. It was enough that, by the end of the night, I was able to pull off a 'manly voice' pretty well. my voice was hoarse and my voice felt like it came from lower down. You could try the same thing. Thankfully I stopped that so my voice is still very feminine-sounding (according to everyone else because I still don't quite believe it myself).

Thanks for the advice. I think the intonation thing must be a regional thing though because almost all the guys I know use as much variation in pitch as the women I know.

Quote from: Edge on May 05, 2012, 01:38:39 PM
Thanks for the advice. I think the intonation thing must be a regional thing though because almost all the guys I know use as much variation in pitch as the women I know.

I agree that pitch variation is a fairly regional and cultural thing... I know guys from some countries who have very wide variations in pitch, even regularly going in and out of falsetto! But they still sound 100% male, and it sounds totally natural for them.

I think the Youtube idea is the best bet.  I found some pretty good videos on there before.  Good luck!

Quote from: apple pie on May 05, 2012, 01:53:44 PM
I agree that pitch variation is a fairly regional and cultural thing... I know guys from some countries who have very wide variations in pitch, even regularly going in and out of falsetto! But they still sound 100% male, and it sounds totally natural for them.

Yeah, you're right. True, absolutely.
However, I suppose it's still cool to observe and explore, how these things are in your culture.