When talking on the phone with strangers, Kim Forget-Desrosiers is constantly mistaken for a man. Next Friday, she will begin, with a group of other trans women, a voice posing workshop given by the Opéra de Montréal.
“It would be a positive point, says Kim Forget-Desrosiers, who is a social worker for the organization Aide Trans Québec and who acted as an advisor for the Opéra workshop. I’ve had this voice for a long time, which can be quite neutral. But on the phone, I am constantly misgendered. I call myself sir. I can correct the person, but sometimes I say nothing just to get it over with. My phone calls would be less anxiety-provoking [si ma voix était différente]. »
In fact, the hormone treatment offered to trans women does not impact their vocal cords, unlike that which trans men have undergone. However, specialists have observed that trans women who had some musical experience, if only playing a musical instrument, had an easier time modulating their voice according to their feminine identity.
“Hormone therapy has no effect on the voice, notes speech therapist Cédric Maguin, who specializes in supporting trans women. Once the moult is done, they will remain with a male voice, but we are able to work on it. »
Technically, he explains, the angle of the thyroid cartilage is different in men and women, with the larynx in women also being shorter and the vocal cords less thick.
The work of singing allows in particular to soften the larynx and the vocal cords. “It’s about getting to know your instrument better to better manage and handle it,” he says.
In opera, the countertenor, who is always a man according to operatic categories, works more falsettothe head voice, and it is common for her voice to be mistaken for that of a woman.
“The opera singer is master of his voice,” explains Charlotte Gagnon, herself a singer and teacher, who will lead these workshops for the Opéra de Montréal. We spend our lives working on our voice and its color. »
A different speech
Cédric Maguin also works with trans women on the discourse itself. “We pay great attention to intonation at the end of a sentence, to the rhythm of speech and to fluidity. These are things that vary between a man and a woman. »
On the site of the Center Mosaïque de Québec speech therapy clinic, it is explained that “the goal of voice therapy is to allow the transgender person to use their vocal apparatus differently and, above all, to be able to do so in a safe manner. Indeed, if the changes in the level of the voice are made too abruptly and without professional supervision, there is a risk of vocal overwork which can cause lesions to the vocal cords. The speech therapist then accompanies his client throughout the process, which generally takes several months, always trying to avoid vocal fatigue”.
The series of six workshops given by the Opéra de Montréal does not, moreover, replace speech therapy. “In six sessions, I don’t claim to transform them into opera singers,” admits Charlotte Gagnon.
“I know that working on the voice is very difficult,” says Kim Forget-Desoriser. It takes a lot of practice, and you have to apply it every day. Whenever we speak, we tend to take his natural voice. »
The fact remains that work on the voice can prevent trans women from being “betrayed”, she adds. “Some people are going to hear that the voice doesn’t match the genre that’s presented in front of them,” she says. While some trans women live very well with their original voice, others may feel that a change in their voice can save them from experiencing discrimination.