Gender Affirming Voicework: A Queer Autoethnographic Account
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v20i2.2916Keywords:
voicework, gender affirming, transgender, nonbinary, queer, autoethnography, music therapy, gender, queer theoryAbstract
I’ve previously offered an initial introduction to gender affirming voicework (Maevon Gumble, 2019b) as informed by personal experiences, my queer autoethnographic research (Maevon Gumble, 2019a), and literature from the fields of speech-language pathology, vocal pedagogy, and music therapy. Gender affirming voicework is a new holistic method aimed at assisting individuals with accessing and embodying affirming gender expressions, particularly vocal expressions. I encourage you to read the aforementioned introductory text (2019b) prior to moving forth. In this current article, I will expand upon those understandings by offering a queer autoethnographic account of engaging within intensive personal work as a nonbinary trans person. This article will more deeply consider my personal experiences and journey of engaging with literature as well as participating in the following: voice lessons with a former voice teacher; several Alexander Technique lessons; both full and adapted Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) sessions; and solo voicework sessions, where I more directly explored the possibilities of gender affirming voicework. This queer story – or rather set of stories – that I tell here is a version of what is presented within my thesis research (2019a); however, in queer autoethnographic fashion, revisiting my stories to put together this current story has led to further ‘becomings’ of something new. It is my hope that this creative text provides one personal example of what gender affirming voicework might be within the field of music therapy.
References
Adams, T. E., & Ellis, C. (2012). Trekking through autoethnography. In S. D. Lapan, M. T. Quartaroli, & F. J. Reimer (Eds.), Qualitative research: An introduction to methods and designs (pp. 189-212). Jossey-Bass.
Adams, T. E., & Holman Jones, S. (2008). Autoethnography is Queer. In N. K. Denzin, Y. S. Lincoln, & L. T. Smith (Eds.), Handbook of critical and indigenous methodologies (pp. 373-390). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781483385686.n18.
Adams, T. E., & Holman Jones, S. (2011). Telling Stories: Reflexivity, queer theory, and autoethnography. Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies, 11(2), 108-116, https://doi.org/10.1177/1532708611401329.
Adler, R. K. (2012). Suggested steps in a voice and communication program. In R. K. Adler, S. Hirsch, & M. Mordaunt (Eds.), Voice and communication therapy for the transgender/transsexual client: A comprehensive clinical guide (2nd ed., pp. 515-519). Plural Publishing.
Adler, R. K., Constansis, A. N., & van Borsel, J. (2012). Female-to-male transgender/transsexual consideration. In R. K. Adler, S. Hirsch, & M. Mordaunt (Eds.), Voice and communication therapy for the transgender/transsexual client: A comprehensive clinical guide (2nd ed., pp. 153-185). Plural Publishing.
Azul, D. (2015). On the varied and complex factors affecting gender diverse people’s vocal situations: Implications for clinical practice. Perspectives on Voice and Voice Disorders, 25(2), 75-86, https://doi.org/10.1044/vvd25.2.75.
Azul, D. (2016). Gender-related aspects of transmasculine people’s vocal situations: Insights from a qualitative content analysis of interview transcripts. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders, 51(6), 672-684, https://doi.org/10.1111/1460-6984.12239.
Azul, D., Nygren, U., Södersten, M., & Neuschaefer-Rube, C. (2017). Transmasculine people’s voice function: A review of the currently available evidence. Journal of Voice, 31(2), e9-261, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2016.05.005.
Barker, M-J., & Scheele, J. (2016). Queer: A Graphic History. Icon Books Ltd.
Benson, J. (1989). Part of your world. The Little Mermaid, Walt Disney Pictures.
Butler, J. (1990). Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity. Routledge.
Butler, J. (1993). Bodies that matter: On the discursive limits of “sex”. Routledge.
Butler, J. (2004). Undoing gender. Routledge.
Chekhov, M. (2002). To the actor: On the technique of acting. Routledge.
Childers, D. G., & Wu, K. (2012). Gender recognition from speech: Part II: Fine analysis. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 90(4), 1841-1855, https://doi.org/10.1121/1.401664.
Coleman, E., Bockting, W., Botzer, M., Cohen-Kettenis, P., DeCuypere, G., & Feldman, J. (2012). Standards of care for the health of transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people, Version 7. International Journal of Transgenderism, 13(4), 165-232, https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2011.700873.
Constansis, A. N. (2008). The changing female-to-male (FTM). Voice. Radical Musicology 3, http://www.radical-musicology.org.uk/2008/Constansis.htm.
Constansis, A. N. (2009). Hybrid vocal personae (Doctoral dissertation). Heslington, York, University of York.
Davies, S., & Goldberg, J. M. (2006). Clinical aspects of transgender speech feminization and masculinization. International Journal of Transgenderism, 9(3-4), 3 167-4 196, https://doi.org/10.1300/J485v09n03_08.
Davies, S., Papp, V. G., & Antoni, C. (2015). Voice and communication change for gender nonconforming individuals: Giving voice to the person inside. International Journal of Transgenderism, 16(3), 117-159, https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2015.1075931.
Ellis, C., & Bochner, A. P. (2006). Analyzing analytic autoethnography: An autopsy. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 35(4), 429-449, https://doi.org/10.1177/0891241606286979.
Ellis, C., Adams, T. E., & Bochner, A. P. (2011). Autoethnography: An overview. Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 2(1), http://www.qualitative-research.net/index.php/fqs/article/view/1589/3095.
Foucault, M. (1975). Discipline and punish: The birth of the prison. Pantheon Books.
Foucault, M. (1978). The history of sexuality: The will to knowledge. Pantheon Books.
Gill, N. (2017). Wild embers. Hachette Books.
Gill, N. (2018). Your soul is a river. Thought Catalog Books.
Gill, N. (2019). MEANWHILE | POETRY. https://meanwhilepoetry.tumblr.com/.
Gumble, M. (2019a). Embodied speech through song: A queer autoethnographic exploration of gender affirming voicework in music therapy (Master's thesis). Slippery Rock University, PA, USA.
Gumble, M. (2019b). Gender affirming voicework: An introduction for music therapy. Voices: A World Forum for Music Therapy, 19(3), https://doi.org/10.15845/voices.v19i3.2661.
Hillenbrand, J. M., & Clark, M. J. (2009). The Role of f0 and formant frequencies in distinguishing the voices of men and women. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 71(5), 1150-1166, https://doi.org/10.3758/APP.71.5.1150.
Hirsch, S., & Pausewang Gelfer, M. (2012). Resonance. In R. K. Adler, S. Hirsch, & M. Mordaunt (Eds.), Voice and communication therapy for the transgender/transsexual client: A comprehensive clinical guide (2nd ed., pp. 153-185). Plural Publishing.
Holman Jones, S., & Adams, T. E. (2010). Autoethnography and queer theory: Making possibilities. In N. K. Denzin & M. G. Giardina (Eds.), Qualitative inquiry and human rights (pp. 136-157). Left Coast Press.
Holman Jones, S., & Adams, T. E. (2016). Autoethnography is a queer method. In K. Browne & C. J. Nash (Eds.), Queer methods and methodologies: Intersecting queer theories and social science research (pp. 195-214). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315603223-13.
Pausewang Gelfer, M., & Bennett, Q. E. (2013). Speaking fundamental frequency and vowel formant frequencies: Effects on perceptions of gender. Journal of Voice, 27(5), 556-566, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2012.11.008.
Pausewang Gelfer, M., & Mikos, V. A. (2005). The relative contributions of speaking fundamental frequency and formant frequencies to gender identification based on isolated vowels. Journal of Voice, 19(4), 544-554, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2004.10.006.
Skuk, V. G., & Schweinberger, S. R. (2014). Influences of fundamental frequency, formant frequencies, aperiodicity, and spectrum level on the perception of voice gender. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 57(1), 285-296, https://doi.org/10.1044/1092-4388(2013/12-0314).
Storm, S. (2013). Research into the development of voice assessment in music therapy (Doctoral dissertation). https://www.musictherapy.aau.dk/news/show/phd-thesis--sanne-storm--research-into-the-development-of-voice-assessment-in-music-therapy.cid90222.
Sundberg, J. (2006). Vocal tract resonance. In R. T. Sataloff (Ed.), Vocal Health and Pedagogy: Science, Assessment, and Treatment. Plural Publishing.
The American Society of the Alexander Technique. (2019). What is Alexander Technique? https://www.amsatonline.org/aws/AMSAT/pt/sp/what_is.
The Association for Music & Imagery. (2019). Frequently Asked Questions. https://ami-bonnymethod.org/about/faq.
Thornton, Jane. (2008). Working with the transgender voice: The role of the speech and language pathologist. Sexologies, 17(4), 271-276, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sexol.2008.08.003.
Wigram, T. (2004). Improvisation: methods and techniques for music therapy clinicians, educators and students. Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2020 Maevon Gumble
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Articles published prior to 2019 are subject to the following license, see: https://voices.no/index.php/voices/copyright
