Transgender voice

July 16, 2021 - Issue #6 - Past Issues

I find the relationship between voice and gender fascinating. For the past two months, without trying, numerous stories and perspectives on gender and sexuality appeared in my reading. In this issue of Uncaged Bird, I’ve collected them here below.

Transgender actors in audio-only formats

Close your eyes and listen to this Metallica tribute. Does the singer sound male or female to you? That’s exactly the phenomenon explored in “Audio and the queering of gender,” an excellent two-part series by Aria Bracci and Hot Pod News (Part 1 and Part 2). She says that, without the visual element, “the person behind a voice may be able to take on more forms and identities than they could if they were standing in front of you, not fewer.”

Transgender voice is a growing area in voice science

Last month, the Voice Foundation Symposium featured, by my count, at least 9 live presentations on transgender voice. For me, Ari Agha’s was particularly compelling. Agha told their story of transitioning from a female singing voice to a male singing voice, and all the joy, fear, uncertainty, and frustration that entailed. See their blog here.

Gender neutral acting awards

Did you ever think about the fact that the Grammy Awards aren’t gendered but the Oscars are? Well, the San Sebastián International Film Festival recently announced they would remove gender from awards. There will be categories for best performance” and “best supporting performance.”

The lavender cowboy

An entertaining and informative read from Country Queer about the history of the first queer country song.

“Sing your truth. If it’s ‘you’re gay’…sing it!”

A 15-minute documentary from 2016 features country singer Patrick Haggerty, who is gay, baring his soul. He tells of his father who counseled him to be proud of who he is, never to “sneak.” “If you sneak, it means you think you’re doing the wrong thing…and if you do that, you'll ruin your immortal soul.”

By the way, the film is named “These C*cksucking Tears,” after one of Haggerty’s songs.

Have a lovely weekend!

Subscribe to the Uncaged Bird newsletter about singing here.

Uncaged Bird, 474 West 158th Street, Apartment 22, New York, NY 10032, U.S.A.