Incorporating a gender expansive perspective into speech science pedagogy

Abstract

This talk challenges the assumption of a traditional gender binary in speech science pedagogy. We first define and operationalize notions of sex and gender as they relate to speech communication. We will broadly consider acoustic properties that relate to anatomical differences across humans (such as vocal tract length and vocal fold mass) and acoustic properties that relate to socio-phonetic variation. We challenge the notion that anatomical differences are the only source of speech variability across gender categories. We discuss problems in the literature related to how speakers and listeners are categorized (typically either as binary male/female or binary man/woman with the assumption of cisgender gender identity). We move beyond the binary assumption of the ways that “males” and “females” speak by demonstrating speakers’ agency in constructing linguistic styles that are rich in social information and that convey nuanced identities. We highlight the variability in listeners’ perception of speaker gender and consider potential sources of this variability. Attendees will be provided with instructional tools that incorporate gender diversity into the speech science curriculum and that can be used in classroom discussions and activities.