Culture and Social Issues

University To Host ‘Vocal Feminization’ Workshop For Transgender Students

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The Colorado State University (CSU) Health Network will host free vocal feminization and masculinization workshops for transgender and non-binary students who want to alter their vocal patterns.

The three sessions will teach students how to modify their voice to sound like the gender to which they are transitioning. The sessions, which focus on “voice feminization,” “voice masculinization” and “voice neutralization,” are open to transgender and non-binary students “regardless of whether they are on hormonal therapy,” according to the website.

The “Voice Feminization Workshop,” scheduled for Jan. 31, is open to “transfeminine and nonbinary individuals,” while the “Voice Masculinization Workshop,” scheduled for Feb. 2, invites “transmasculine and nonbinary individuals” to participate, the website reads. The workshops will equip students with vocal exercises they can use to modify their voice to appear like the opposite gender.

The “Voice Neutralization Workshop,” which is planned for Feb. 1, is open to non-binary students who want to neutralize their voices to appear neither feminine nor masculine. The workshop teaches students about “vocal features related to perceptually masculine, feminine, and androgynous voices,” according to the event description.

All three sessions will be taught by Annie Schubert, a certified speech-language pathologist and clinical director at the Speech and Language Stimulation Center. The center offers “Transgender Voice Services” as one of their various programs, and includes helping clients “modify their voices.”

“Driven by each client’s goals and gender identity, we provide voice training services for transgender or gender-diverse clients seeking to modify their voice,” the website reads. “Training addresses (but is not limited to) pitch, resonance, and intonation patterns that typically affect listeners’ perception of gender.”

“Above all, it is our goal to provide a supportive environment for each client on their path toward confidently presenting their gender identity,” the description reads.

Schubert, CSU and the Health Network did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.