Carolyn Samuels Blog

Narcisse August 2006

Hundreds of women on both sides pulled a Mulan, assuming male identities and appearances so that they might fight for their respective nations. Some of them did it for adventure, but many did it for monetary reasons: the pay for a male soldier was about $13 month, which was close to double what a woman could make in any profession at the time.

Also, being a man gave someone a lot more freedoms than just being able to wear pants. Remember, this was still more than half a century away from women’s suffrage and being a man meant that you could manage your monthly $13 wages independently. So it should come as no surprise that many of these women kept up their aliases long after the war had ended, some even to the grave.

Their presence in soldiers’ ranks wasn’t the best-kept secret. Some servicewomen kept up correspondence with the home front after they changed their identities, and for decades after the war newspapers ran article after article chronicling the stories of woman soldiers, and speculating on why they might break from the accepted gender norms. Perhaps not surprisingly, in 1909 the U.S. Army denied that “any woman was ever enlisted in the military service of the United States as a member of any organization of the Regular or Volunteer Army at any time during the period of the civil war.”

MzF-Stimmbildung v1.0
The essential elements to feminizing the voice.

• Voice quality
• Phrasing
• Pacing
• Loudness
• Melodic intonation
• Fluency
• Resonance
• Articulation
• Pitch
  

  Pitch and phrasing

  Men normally tend to speak in a monotonous tone,with an even pace. Women tend to speak faster than men and speak in quick bursts followed by a pause. Try varying the pace of your speaking to give your voice a more feminine sound, and also vary the pitch.

  Feminine Pitch

  Before starting a conversation try warming up the vocal chords first by humming the word “hay” and then gradually increase the pitch until your voice breaks up, then practise with the vowels.

  Feminize the resonance of your speech.

  Resonance is one of the most important aspects of feminizing your voice. Resonance is the “fullness” of your vocal tone. Males have a larger throat than ladies which creates a deep rumbling sound - even when the pitch is the same. To create a more feminine resonance, consciously contract your throat slightly to create a smaller space. This creates a “thinner” sound to the voice.

  Top position of the cartilage of the larynx

  As your voice rises and decreases the characteristic resonance of men.The objective here is to increase the baseline of the lower tone of voice that it was previously, and further increase the tone when speaking with an emphasis. For example you may decide to lower your tone ….the basis of male DO, raising the base to tone “FA” or “SOL” se. But do not overdo it…..elevating the tone of voice: a voice that sounds shrill, or falsetto, is inappropriate for an adult woman. The adjustment of a tone : speaking in technical terms should stand above the 160Hz if you have access to a musical instrument that is more or less a half SOL.

  Of course, each person has an original voice, and someone can raise a different voice than others without sounding shrill. You can find yourself a bit tired at first, and not being accustomed to speak in this particular tone, but it will become comfortable with a little practice. If not, then you are probably trying to force the tone of voice too high. another tip is to partially open the glottis when speaking. The position of the glottis controls the amount of air passing through the vocal cords. When one yells instead of talking, when one whispers, or when a voice is ‘deaf’ (where the vocal cords do not vibrate, like ‘hhh’ or ’sss’), the glottis is fully open and air passes through the vocal cords. With the glottis closed, all air is forced through the vocal cords, producing a voice that sounds full and typically male. You need to try a voice in the position of ’semi-whispering’ that removes the voice that rings strong with a heavy resonance in the chest, and gives a refreshing quality to the voice.

  Make the move for your speech carefully

  and end sentences slowly and smoothly, not abruptly Do not ’swallow’ pronouns, articles or other ’small words’ at the beginning and end of phrases. The way of speaking of most men tends to be characterized in what speech therapists call ‘hard attack “- the first syllable is pronounced very strong, and easily. Women usually begin a sentence more softly.

  You can hear the difference between loud sounds or not by comparing the sound of S and Z (pronounced ’sss’ and’ zzz ‘, and feel the vocal cords vibrate in the Z but not in S). You should try to find a middle ground between a voice that does not sound too quiet and a completely full masculine sound. Try saying the word ‘hey’, and as your attention switches between the sound of the weak and strong H E: slowly ( ‘hhhhheeey’) and feel the change in the vocal cords when your voice slides from the weak ‘hhh’ sound to the vowel ‘eee’. Try, then, stop before reaching the voice sound completely, it should produce a sound ‘eee’ soft, fresh.

  Always try to learn now to use that position for all semi-loud sounds. It’s just a matter of practice. Put the emphasis on tone, not the volume. A higher pitch emphasizes. Men focus on their speaking volume which varies, but you keep your tone in a very narrow range, otherwise, women keep the volume of her voice much more constant but vary greatly in tone for an emphasis.

  Remember to speak slowly. Express yourself clearly, especially the consonants at the beginning and end of words. Do not talk between your teeth, a clear voice calls for just a lot of movement of the lips. In general, women speak much more clearly and accurately than men.

Leading Speech Pathologist Reveals How to Use Your Voice to Pass as a Woman in All Situations – Including on the Telephone!

Fundamentals of Your Feminine Voice is a revolutionary, step by step program guaranteed to give you a passable female voice. It contains the most effective voice feminization techniques available, tested and proven on hundreds of transgender females just like you. You’ll learn:

• The single most important thing you can do to develop a female voice. (Note: It’s NOT what you think!)
• Foolproof pitch tuning techniques that make it natural for you to speak in a feminine range.
• How to avoid the common TG trap of sounding like a “gay guy” instead of a natural born female.
• The differences between low, middle, and high chest voices and where you need to be to sound like a woman.
• How to change the position of your larynx to give your voice a “feminine ring.”
• The shocking role hydration plays in maintaining your correct pitch – and the secret dehydrators that can sabotage your success.
• How to make the leap from structured vocal exercises to natural, spontaneous, feminine conversation.
• A foolproof method for finding your ideal female pitch – no matter how deep your natural voice is.
• How to avoid slipping into falsetto and why this is ESSENTIAL to sounding like a real woman.
• The surprising effects your posture has on your voice … and a quick fix that not only makes you sound more feminine, but look better, too.
• A secret “sing/talk” technique that helps anchor feminine pitch into your body.
• Easy ways to develop clear, crisp, feminine articulation (and let go of that masculine “mumbling” habit you probably didn’t realize you had).
• The critical role breathing plays in developing a passable female voice.
• How something as simple as clearing your throat can sabotage your voice femininization efforts.
• The single most common voice mistake TG females make and how to avoid it.
• How to go from having an “imitation” female voice to sounding like an authentic woman.
• The critical connection between pitch and loudness … and how to avoid falling into a deep voice when you need to speak up.
• A simple “throat size adjustment” technique that gives you perfect feminine resonance.
• How to move your voice from deep in your throat to the front of your face to instantly sound more feminine.
• Warning signs that you are straining your voice and what to do about it. (This is crucial: unchecked voice strain can lead to the formation of nodules on the vocal cords.)
• How to create feminine resonance without pinching your voice (a common blunder!).
• The specific vocal habits that identify you as male – even if you have perfect pitch and resonance.
• The secret to sounding naturally feminine in real world conversations.
• Fun and effective “yodel exercises” that help you develop greater fluidity in your feminine voice.
• How to change the old speech and voice patterns that have been preventing you from passing … until now.
• How to adjust the pacing and phrasing of your speech to sound more feminine.
• The correct way to use the “up-swing” and “down-swing” at the end of your sentences.
• How developing your female persona speeds up voice transformation.

Get your instant download here.

If you like TG comics and Captioned Pictures, then I highly recommend looking at TG Comics and TG Caps.

Enjoy!

Classic Makeup and Beauty by Mary Quant

Gender bending is nothing new. Throughout history countless men and women have lived successful and often very public lives as the opposite sex.  Some of these transgendered individuals were even praised and worshipped.

Greek gods could change genders, have two genders, and do pretty much whatever they wanted. Many Native American tribes revered dual gendered individuals as holy people. In India today, beautifully dressed eunuchs are considered good luck at weddings (although otherwise they are completely outcast from society).

After spending half his life as a man, a French diplomat named Chevalier d’Eon decided to spend the rest as a woman. He even became one of many mistresses to King Louis the XV. It’s said the king had no knowledge that d’Eon was physically a man. If that’s true I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that King Louie wasn’t much of a giver.

Billy Lee Tipton; isn’t he adorable?

Born Dorothy Lucille Tipton in 1914, Billy Lee Tipton, as he became in 1933, fulfilled a lifelong dream when he became the leader of his own Jazz trio. I would have done the exact same thing if I were him. As a jazz musician in the 30’s I am pretty sure that little cutie got a lot of play.

Joan of  Arc was definitely a cross dresser for Jesus. There are countless examples of women dressing up as men to fight for their country. This may be due more to sexism than being transgendered but either way chicks dressing as dudes and fighting is still pretty hot.

Lili Elbe was the first documented man to have gender reassignment surgery or GRS (I call it gender assignment surgery because GAS is a funnier acronym). Born in Denmark in 1886 her GAS was performed in 1930 (see it’s funnier). Being the first man to physically become a woman, now that’s what I call ballsy.

The list goes on and on. There are many famous and successful transgendered people that we’re not even aware of. It’s cool, we understand you want to keep it quiet. Although trannies and gender benders have been around forever in all cultures, most of the world would still like to pretend that it isn’t natural. Seems pretty sad. How many different types of people are going to have to fight for their rights before we realize people shouldn’t have to fight for them at all?