Is your voice the last piece?

[MarinaKirax]

For those who want to pass, or are at least happy with their feminine appearance, How much of a missing piece is your voice? For me, it means I cant do a lot. I can walk outside, shop, but I cant go to a restaurant and order a meal, or interact with SA's and not be read, or speak to a taxi driver or hotel clerk and not be read. If I had a passable voice, I really feel sometimes I could just decide to be female for the day. But without it, I'm not BEING Marina, I'm just dressing like her. You know?

[Luna Nyx]

it is for me as well. that and shaving my arms.

[Marguarite]

Selma Diamond passed as a women, from there anything is possible.

Mimics and ventriloquists, are not born sounding like "Johnie Carson" , they practice , practice, practice............. I'Ve heard that's how you get to Carnegie Hall also.

[KateSpade83]

My femme voice is ok enough for short questions and requests, but I'm scared to do long talks with it. I once had a SA talk back to me in my "held up voice" sound, so she was mocking me. So I can talk when I go out but I try not to talk too much. My voice is one thing I'm not too confident about. If I had a perfect female voice when imitating that than I'd have a 99% chance of passing when going out.

[Jennifer Kelly]

I don't even have a full wardrobe or a wig yet. But I am concerned about this for when I finally go out as Jennifer. I guess just practice more and you may get better at it.

[Jilmac]

If I really try hard enough I can make my baritone voice sound like an alto, but that being said, I'm at the point where I don't care whether I'm read or not. I believe passing is a state of mind and if I look and feel feminine to myself, I've passed and if somebody reads me, I say so what, it's their hangup and not mine.

[Jaylyn]

I think a GG is sexy when she has a deeper voice. I'm really not trying to pass so really it doesn't bother me. I play the guitar and sing a bit and have a big range for an old voice. I am more comfortable talking in my normal voice so if I go out it will be not to pass as a GG, but as a cross dressing guy just enjoying my life. One can get away with a lot when they are 63. As Jilmac said its their hangup if they don't like what I do. I don't go out now because of living in a small town and the family all lives here. If and when I do go out with the Texas gals it will be in a town such as San Antonio. There no one cares what you look like and a CD is just an ordinary thing.

[Rogina B]

If you think having a female voice is the last piece of femininity that you need to imitate in order to go out and about,I feel sorry for you! There is so much involved in getting by[thought of] as a GG,voice is only a small part.So,go out,don't speak,and see if anyone notices you.I bet in most cases people do and pay no further attention to you.Many would love to have a NATURAL SOUNDING female voice. Forcing it,never stands up in lengthy conversations . Just my experiences..

[JackieInPA]

I dont rely on my voice so much I try and tone it down a bit and rely on the rest of my presentation to carry me. Seems to work.

[Beverley Sims]

These days my voice is what would let me down.

[noeleena]

Hi.

I wonder, after being interviewed for T V some 3 millon people seen & heard me & talking to many 1000's of people & singing , i still wonder, oh forgot phones .

Would i really wont to know, or maybe my voice is right, well some where right, no training just, okay this is it get liveing,

Theres only two friends here that have heard me when i rang them . & if they read this they may comment or not i wont ask them to i dont wont to embarris them,

Because i was in a few choirs still am, i did know what my voice can do though not sure if it helped, maybe did,
i dont think it was that importaint,

can i say this my voice did change in keeping with my mind it went into the right sounding ,ill explain this way.

When my body went into changes, my voice & mind worked together, now many of you have deeper voices right, so when you talk you think in that tone say b c d e lower down than middle c, well my voice went up to a more female sound, & now i have detail trying to sing lower, so im around soprano range.not the high range,

& to use the expression when im in full female flight, voice & mind are totaly intune,

I know other women who have voice's lower than mine , & tone so no big'e

...noeleena...

[AmyGaleRT]

I've gotten compliments on my Amy-voice. It got a workout at PrideFest, from talking to many different people to singing along with Taylor Dayne!

- Amy

[Michelle (Oz)]

I am out dressed 4 or so days a week fully transformed but with my male voice. I speak softer etc etc but still obviously male. Yes, I'd love to be able to speak with a femme voice very occasionally (such as in the ladies restroom) but rarely is my male voice limiting. In fact it is liberating to interact with folk and, guess what, I don't pass so it is being honest.

So yes you can go to a restaurant and order a meal and engage in conversation with the waitress. She'll become a friend if you are friendly to her and interested in her as a person (plus give a nice tip to say thanks). Go back to the restaurant again and you'll find she'll greet you warmly. Yes you can go shopping and converse with male voice with the SA. Drop in for a chat sometime later and they'll remember you in a good way. It is about being friendly, confident, interested in them as people. People reciprocate your attitude and when engaged think less about the incongruety (female appearance/ male voice) and more about you as a person.

Do I feel I'm not really Michelle when dressed because I use a male voice? Not at all. I am what I am and I'd rather the joy of interacting transformed than to live in fear in case someone wants or needs to engage in conversation or lonliness because I don't want to be confronted so stay away from people. It has taken a little while to build confidence but you need a mindset that wants to engage with others and confidence will come.

[Lynn Marie]

The voice is the hardest of the ten keys to blending. So many of us are so hampered by our height or build that blending simply doesn't apply. The best we can do is an attempt at presenting as a tall classy old broad with big hands and a deep voice!

[Kate Simmons]

My voice is the least of my concerns. Some women have a deeper voice than mine. If I decided to transition, I may consider a trach shave but honestly I feel I need to offer no explanation to anyone for being myself, nor do I need to conform to any preconceived ideas.

[Danielle001]

I would have to agree. I am fairly confident in my appearance as a female, but my voice is where I get self conscious.

If only there was something you could inhale to change your voice for a couple hours. Kinda like helium, but it would give you a feminine voice instead of a cartoon voice.

[Valerie1973]

I've often thought of buying an electric voice box like the throat cancer folks. That will blow them away. Or maybe take up sign language. Just hope you don't run into an expert. With my luck I would throw up gang signs. Uuggggh. Just talk like Randy Macho Man Savage. NO. I wish I could feminize my voice. I've tried and I sound like a gay Micky Mouse.

[Tracii G]

Finding the higher pitch to you regular voice is what works for me.It takes practice to find it tho'.
I can go anywhere and converse with anyone.Sure my voice is deeper than most females but not as deep as some females so I'm in an acceptable range.
It has a lot do do with infections of certain words.Sort of like acting or getting into a part.

[MysticLady]

Hello Marina

Regarding my voice, I talk the way I always do when en femme or not. This phenomenon is a part of me and doesn't make me another person I believe, to where I want to change my voice. If I try to switch my voice, then, for some reason or another I feel fake. I know my voice gives me away to others when en femme but I don't care. I've heard some GG's w/ some harsh voices especially the smokers and at times I've confused them for men when on the phone. I know this since they would correct me and tell that they're a Maam and not a Sir. When I went out and talked to folks they didn't seem to care or didn't say anything about it....at least to my face.

[carhill2mn]

Unless you have a very deep, masculine voice you can probably learn to speak in a feminine enough way to be accepted as a woman. Many women have voices that sound masculine. There are feminine styles of speaking which can be learned.

Women speak from higher up in the "voice box" which reduces the "timbre". They also use different words and phrases. Most
do not speak forcefully (there are exceptions). Listen carefully to how women that you admire speak. Of course, practice is required. There are also voice training videos available online.

You are correct that hearing a masculine voice coming from a nicely dressed woman will attract unwanted attention. I am fortunate that I have a "tenor" voice which I can alter to be "alto". I have also practiced my speaking both privately and in public. This past weekend I had one-on-one conversations with two different women that were each about 20 minutes in length and neither of them knew that I was not a GW.

Good luck!

[linda allen]

My voice would be my downfall. If you're serious about getting a female sounding voice, there are instructions on youtube and I believe someon has a DVD available on the subject.

Sounding like a female is not just raising the pitch, but having certain inflections in the voice that are different from a male voice. And of course, a woman will use many more words than a man to say the same thing.

[shawnsheila]

I say practice (like some of the other gals mentioned here) there is an app for your phone that helps called Eva Pitch. I use it in my car when no one is in it with me and it help me practice tightening my vocal cords. There are also youtube vids and online tools you can use for free to help out. Just use a mic and headset to hear your voice. from what I understand it takes a long time unless you naturally have a fem-ish voice. and its also not just the voice but also how you say things too I hope this info helps and I feel your pain about the voice

[Cheryl T]

YES....I've developed the confidence I needed to go out and we do so frequently, but I'm still bothered by my voice. I really haven't attempted to work at changing it, but for me it is the last piece of the puzzle.

[Jana]

Marina, I can totally relate. Not having a feminine voice is my biggest frustration and impediment. Like you, I am also able to walk outside and go about my business undetected (for the most part anyway). However, my ventures do not involve talking to anyone, because it would instantly ruin everything.

I've worked on my voice, but I feel that without a one-on-one coach it will be nearly impossible to conquer this frontier. I don't have much of a problem using the right part of my voice box or achieving a decent pitch. The real challenge is to master the much more subtle art of enunciation, cadence, choice of words, breathing, and overall "singsonginess" of girlspeak.

Maybe some day.

[Princess Grandpa]

At the moment I don't have a complete outfit to wear. We have discussed the voice. I'm a bass. I have played a little with trying to make it softer. Maybe the wife and I can learn ASL. I can be her deaf girlfriend and she can be my interpreter. Lol. Took the beard off. Being passable doesn't seem like quite as big of a stretch. Of course I still look like a dude in heels. Wifey is coaching me though so we shall see.

Planning on going out in Vegas maybe