Will the way I talk change on hormones?

[Guest Ashlyn M]

I was on a website reading about the effects and I came across this: Voice is UNCHANGED by hormone therapy. However, inflection and manner of speech are very well suited to change. What does that mean? Does that mean that how I talk will change? I don't know how to explain what I'm asking. I guess just, what does it mean when it says inflection and manner of speech are very well suited to change.

[Guest ashleynikole]

I personally am not aware of any inflection and manner of speech changes by hormones alone. I suppose the mind could allow synaptic connections to be active that weren't active before because of estrogen, but I'm not aware of any reliable data that says this will happen.

I am inclined to believe that some people stop suppressing their natural mannerisms while others work on it by observing women and practicing those things. FWIW...just be yourself and go with it. There are so many shades of women that you will likely fit in just fine when you land. The fact that you're only 15, you're going to be fine, but feel free to observe and work on the things you can.

God bless

Ashley

[Guest Ashlyn M]

What does FWIW mean?

[Carolyn Marie]

Pinkie, everything having to do with voice for MtF transsexuals is going to require practice, and lots of it. That goes for tone, inflection, pitch, resonance, and even the choice of words and phrases. It isn't as complicated as it sounds, and a lot of it will come naturally, but it will take time and effort. But Ashley is right - you don't have to have a "perfect" female voice to pass, since female voices come in all shades.

There are plenty of helpful videos on Youtube, as well as commercially available DVD's and CD's. So start now, if you can, and best of luck.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Ashlyn M]

If I start now though, I may have a different sounding voice before school is out and that wouldn't be good. I'd probably get made fun of.

[Carolyn Marie]

If I start now though, I may have a different sounding voice before school is out and that wouldn't be good. I'd probably get made fun of.

I think its pretty easy to "turn it on and off" when you need to do so.

Carolyn Marie

[Guest Ashlyn M]

Oh. But, if I do it and it gets high and I really enjoy it I may not want to "turn it off" which could be a problem

[Guest LizMarie]

Voice change due to hormones can occur. It's just exceptionally rare. I'm experiencing it. I even had my ENT look at my throat. My "old" voice range tended to hover in the 135-155 Hz range (upper male, given that male ranges from about 75 Hz to 150 Hz). Now, I can't even hit 150 anymore even if I try. My voice is now firmly in the 160-210 range (normal female is 170-230) and mostly in the 170-190 range (low female).

About three months ago I stopped getting misgendered on the phone. When there's a call for "him" people often don't believe it when I would say that was me. Thankfully with legal name change done I can now truthfully say that "he" isn't here anymore.

So it's not that it can't happen. It can but it is very rare and when it occurs, as I discovered, you have no control over where it's going to go until it begins to settle down.

[Guest ashleynikole]

What does FWIW mean?

For what it's worth

God bless

Ashley

[Guest Lauren_Elizabeth]

Please note: I read only the original post before submitting this post, so it will have nothing to do with secondary posts.

Now, I am not by any means an endochrinologist, but I do have a fairly good understanding of both pharmacology and effects of estrogens on the body mostly from my own research which includes Mosby's Drug Consult. In any event, from my understanding, estrogens have a moderate effect on synaptic pathway development that lessens as the age of the patient increases. Therefore, it stands to reason that it could also affect the way existing synapses fire in different parts of the brain (i.e. speech center, hearing, logic, and comprehension). If it does indeed have that effect, then following the same line of logic brings you to the conclusion that it is indeed possible for estrogens to affect non-physical attributes of speech like the aforementioned inflection and speech mannerisms. It could also potentially affect other aspects as well like vocabulary, grammar, and lilt (meaning the rise and fall of volume and pitch during speech; personally I don't classify that with inflection). Now, as I said, the effect lessens with age because past the mid-twenties the body is no longer set on "FULL SPEED AHEAD" development, and also other factors can come into play as well, such as a persons physiological acceptance or resistance to the estrogens, absorbtion rate, and dose, of course.

Hope this helped out a bit!

Lauren <3

[Guest mikacha]

I will give you an opinion based on my own experience with hormones and my voice. Yes, literary sources will tell you that the voice remains unchanged by hormonal therapy but you do have to understand that each person reacts differently to hormones. Personally, my voice has changed ever so slightly, there are certain lower pitches that i can no longer hit that once upon a time i was able to achieve without any issue what so ever. At the time of posting this i have experimented a little with my voice to see exactly what i can and can't achieve. If i drop my female voice and speak in my old voice, it sounds lighter yet still predominantly male, i can not go as deep as i used to be able to, trust me i just tried my voice breaks. Some sources do say the opposite though that whilst pitch and tone are not affected...the voice may become softer. I think a great deal is still debated regarding the trans transition and there is a lot of conflicting information on the internet. But, like i said earlier, hormones affect us all differently. I am 15 months on hormones and have size B breasts, birthing hips <.<, super smooth skin and have been fortunate to experience the more uncommon side effects of hormones where my hips have rotated slightly, not widened that is impossible, but rotated. Which yes gives me a more feminine natural walk but sadly can be sore after a while.

[Cyndee]

I can say the way I talk has definately changed. At about the one year mark of HRT my voice was noticably softer, a neighbor I've known for well over a decade mentioned this to me (still presenting as him back then), he asked at a gathering "why do you speak so softly ?", he was on to me by then. Now at 3 + years, I can say my language construction is different from before, my avg pitch higher, I speak at a slightly slower word rate, enunciate differently, and I am ma'am'ed on the phone all the time. For me I believe HRT has been a tool(addition) in my transitiion of my overall voice work, but not with the pitch, pitch variance, or resonance, those items have taken physical training to modulate into a feminine voice. I agree new connections are formed after treatment begins, it has certainly helped me.

Cyndi -

[Guest Ashlyn M]

Wow, thank you all for the information! I still don't really understand what inflection and manner of speech is though.

[Guest katea]

The easiest way to understand it is to simply observe conversations between two people of the same gender. Men and Women speak differently beyond pitch. There's a lot of resources about this and they're pretty easy to find. Heartcorps and Deep Stealth have few things to help you get an idea of how things string together.

Manner of speech - Can be different things. One example is that a feminine manner of speech is more descriptive than masculine speech.

Is it a great day or a wonderful day? Is the dress red or cranberry/scarlet/fuchsia/burgundy?

Inflection is a part of the whole presentation. Even when speaking in your regular voice, you inflect your voice up and down to convey things. Say the word "Really". Now say it as if you are surprised. And try it again as if you are skeptical. You should have heard 3 different pitches off the one word. Now when it comes to speech patterns, you will notice that sometimes inflection can bounce from word to word and even entire parts of sentences.

While the resources online will catalog stereotypical things about "feminine" speech and give you things to think about and practice... remember, stereotypes are just that. Not every woman speaks the same way so find a manner of speaking in which you will feel comfortable.

Hope that helps.

[Guest Berry Picker]

My vocal cords have softened and my Psychiatrist said that it would occur. Since I am 18 apparently HRT was able to back track on a few of the advances from a male puberty. Being 15 the effects maybe greater on you.

-

Love,

Kathleen

[Guest Clair Dufour]

This is the reason I mentioned finding the drama club. Taking speech and music too even better. Your still young enough to train your voice. When I was in HS we would do Shakespear with all male or female cast playing the rolls. It was surprising how well some could do it. Same with music. Listen to 50's and 60's bands. In opera some males sing womens and castradi parts. Listen to how classmates talk. Some sound like the opposite gender if you close your eyes. Some may even get bullied for it. Much of voice is social. Boys who live with just their mom and a bunch of sisters speak with much softer inflection, level and at a higher pitch in order to fit in. In school many boys do the opposite just to fit in. Choose your friends well. Different languages and dialects produce different pitches and inflections. NC hill dialect is an example of a higher pitch and soft dialect as opposed to say NYC. Think Andy Griffith. Turn on the southern accent and see what happens. Also, only way know how you sound to others is to record your voice with your computer or phone and play it back. Its also how to practice.

[Guest Ashlyn M]

My vocal cords have softened and my Psychiatrist said that it would occur. Since I am 18 apparently HRT was able to back track on a few of the advances from a male puberty. Being 15 the effects maybe greater on you. - Love, Kathleen

Wait what do you mean by back track??

[Guest Mickey]

Back track means to go backwards, or to reverse.

[Guest Ashlyn M]

Back track means to go backwards, or to reverse.

So some stuff could revers? Like what??

[Guest TGTrish]

For the record, I'm pushing 60, have been on HRT abt 7 months now. My voice has clearly gotten softer and I can't hit the low notes I once could. I only practice a female voice now and then, can't easily switch back when needed, and I still need my male voice at home. (Since I'm pretty well deaf I don't use my voice in most public situations, play my deafy card.) Even if there is little direct effect on our vocal cords by E. I'd be quite surprised if there were not a number of indirect ways it can effect our speech. My two cents anyway.

Trish

[Guest noeleena]

Hi,

A little different for myself , and my body works a little different as well , though many dont belive me any way , ...tough...

My voice changed by its self , okay and no added hormones are to be counted in , my own hormones and brain speech were at the center of my changes plus i was not going to force a change in any part of that , granted i have sang much of my life and in choir,s so i know about voice control, most of my talking is okay ,

though when i was talking to large groups of people my voice would go into the upper female range or if you like the exited talk , how do i explain okay when im on my subject it,s real life and im conveying my inner most being my body language is on fire im alive and im expressing my self in such a way people know its not just a talk and like you are reading from a paper, i cant do that any way . my story is myself and nothing writen down an esay if you like about 1800 words esay, and about an hour ..

I move around and interact with those there, that is a major change in my interacting with others, and my voice reflects that as well , my difficulty is of cause writing it down in how to explain ,

Okay why did my body go through that change , yes it does and can happen for a few of us , because my body makeup is different is because of being an intersexed female , remember no synthic hormones just my own , body changes, and that started over 21 years ago. belive me or not it,s true,

...noeleena...