Perception of Femininity and Masculinity in Voices as Rated by Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Professional Speech and Language Pathologists, and Cisgender Naive Listeners

Abstract

OBJECTIVETo explore whether cisgender naive listeners, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) listeners, and speech-language pathologists (SLPs) experienced in providing gender-affirming voice training differ in their perception of femininity and masculinity in voices. METHODSSamples of spontaneous speech were collected from 95 cisgender, and 37 TGD speakers. Three listener groups of cisgender naive (N=77), TGD (N=30), and SLP (N=14) listeners, respectively, rated the voices on visual analogue scales in two randomly ordered blocks, in which the perceived degree of femininity was rated separately from the perceived degree of masculinity. RESULTSThe three listener groups showed similar patterns in their distribution of ratings on the femininity and masculinity scales. The TGD listeners’ mean ratings did not differ from the cisgender naive listeners’ whereas SLPs showed a small, but significant, difference in their ratings compared to both TGD and cisgender naive listeners and rated the voices lower on both the femininity and masculinity scales. CONCLUSIONThe results differ from previous studies as TGD, and cisgender naive listeners rated the voices very similarly. The lower ratings of femininity and masculinity by the SLPs were likely influenced by their awareness of the complexity in the perception of voices. Therefore, SLPs providing gender-affirming voice training should be attentive to how their professional training may influence their perception of femininity and masculinity in voices and encourage discussions and explorations of the TGD voice client’s perceptions of voices.