Nonbinary Voice Therapy: Gender-Affirming Voice Training for Nonbinary People
Nonbinary voice therapy helps you explore and develop a speaking voice that feels more like you. Working with a speech-language pathologist, you can change different aspects of your voice based on your individual goals.
Many nonbinary people are misgendered because of how their voice sounds on calls, at work, or in a store. Over time, being misgendered because of your voice can make everyday conversations tiring and stressful.
In this article, you'll learn what nonbinary voice therapy works on, what happens in sessions, and how it compares with hormone therapy and surgery. This article is for nonbinary, genderqueer, and gender-nonconforming adults, or anyone who wants their voice to better reflect their gender identity or gender expression.
Key Takeaways
What it is: Nonbinary voice therapy helps you develop a voice that better reflects your gender identity or gender expression. Your goals can include a neutral voice, more flexibility across settings, or a voice that sounds more masculine or feminine.
What it works on: Sessions can address pitch, resonance (how bright or dark your voice sounds), vocal weight (how light or heavy your voice sounds), and speech patterns.
Hormones and surgery: You don't need either one to start voice therapy. Voice therapy teaches you different ways of using your voice, while voice changes from testosterone and pitch surgery are generally lasting.
What Is Nonbinary Voice Therapy?
What Does Nonbinary Voice Training Work On?
Why Do Nonbinary People Seek Voice Therapy?
What Happens in Nonbinary Voice Training Sessions?
Voice Therapy, Hormone Therapy, and Surgery: How Do They Compare?
What We See Working with Clients
What Is Nonbinary Voice Therapy?
Nonbinary voice therapy is gender-affirming voice training built around how you want your voice to sound. A speech-language pathologist helps you explore and practice different ways of using your voice based on your own goals, without expecting you to sound masculine or feminine. For some people, the goal is an androgynous voice that listeners don't perceive as clearly masculine or feminine.
Others want more flexibility in how they use their voice in different settings, and some want to sound more feminine or more masculine.
Gender-Affirming Voice Therapy
Check out our blog on gender-affirming voice therapy for more information.
Research on nonbinary voice training is still limited. A 2023 case series in the Journal of Voice followed four nonbinary and genderqueer adults in voice training, and each person showed improvement in at least one area they wanted to change. The study also found that changes in voice measurements didn't always match how participants felt about their own voices, highlighting why your perception of your voice is an important part of the process.
What Does Nonbinary Voice Training Work On?
Nonbinary voice training can work on parts of your voice that affect how listeners perceive gender. The main ones are pitch, resonance, vocal weight, intonation, and speech patterns.
| Voice feature | What it means | What some nonbinary clients work toward |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | How high or low your voice sounds | A comfortable pitch range they can move around in |
| Resonance | How bright or dark your voice sounds | A brighter or darker sound, shaped by your lips and how open your mouth is |
| Vocal weight | How light or heavy your voice sounds | A lighter or heavier sound without adding strain |
| Intonation | How your pitch rises and falls across a sentence | An amount of rise and fall that matches their goals |
| Speech patterns | Rhythm, phrasing, and how clearly you form sounds | Clear consonants with relaxed phrasing |
| Nonverbal sounds | Sounds such as laughing and coughing | Laughs and coughs that match their voice goals |
| Connected Speech Pathology | connectedspeechpathology.com | ||
Pitch affects how others hear your voice, but listeners also respond to resonance and intonation, so pitch alone doesn't determine how they perceive your gender. Some people want a higher pitch, others aim for a lower pitch, and many prefer a pitch range they can move through comfortably.
Resonance is how sound is shaped as it moves through your throat and mouth, and that shaping can make your voice sound brighter or darker. A slight smile shape, like the “ee” in “see,” can brighten it, while rounded lips, like the “oo” in “food,” can darken it. How open or closed your mouth is at the end of a phrase can also affect how bright or dark your voice sounds.
Vocal weight is the sense of lightness or heaviness in your voice. It is influenced in part by how your vocal folds come together when you speak. You can practice using more or less vocal weight depending on how you want your voice to sound.
Intonation is the rise and fall of your pitch across a sentence. Some nonbinary speakers practice a moderate amount of rise and fall, while others use more or less to match their goals.
Speech patterns include rhythm, phrasing, and how you produce speech sounds. Some people practice changes in consonants, pacing, or phrasing to find a speaking style that fits how they want to sound.
Nonverbal sounds, such as laughing and coughing, and your overall communication style can also be part of the work. Some singers also want their singing voice to better reflect their gender identity or gender expression.
Why Do Nonbinary People Seek Voice Therapy?
Nonbinary people seek voice therapy for different reasons:
Some are misgendered because of how their voice sounds.
Others experience voice dysphoria, or distress when their voice doesn't match their gender identity or how they want to express themselves.
Many want more control over how they use their voice in different settings, such as at work, with family, or in social situations.
Some want to draw less attention to their voice in situations where they don't feel safe.
Others want to feel more comfortable with their voice when talking with other people.
For some people, developing a voice that better reflects their gender identity or gender expression can reduce voice dysphoria, build confidence, and make self-expression easier. If concerns about your voice cause significant emotional distress or interfere with daily life, a licensed mental health professional can provide additional support while your speech-language pathologist works with you on your voice.
What Happens in Nonbinary Voice Training Sessions?
Nonbinary voice training usually begins with an evaluation that lasts about 45 to 60 minutes. A speech-language pathologist listens to how you currently use your voice, asks about your goals, and reviews your vocal health, including any strain or hoarseness. From there, you can begin exploring different aspects of your voice, such as pitch, resonance, vocal weight, and speech patterns.
A comprehensive voice training program builds these skills gradually. You might start by practicing a sound on its own, then use it in words, phrases, sentences, and eventually conversation. You can also work up from using your voice with your speech-language pathologist and people you know well to using it with less familiar people and, eventually, strangers. This gradual progression gives you time to become comfortable with each step before moving on to something more challenging.
Many exercises use everyday words and phrases, such as what you say when you answer the phone or order coffee. You can practice slowly at first and then at a more natural speaking rate, changing one part of your voice at a time. If you want to use your voice differently in different settings, you can also practice different ways of saying the same words.
Recording yourself can help you hear small changes, but it can be difficult if listening to your voice causes distress. If recording feels comfortable, it can be part of your practice. If it doesn't, you can focus on how your voice feels when you speak or use feedback from your speech-language pathologist.
Short, regular practice between speech therapy sessions can help you carry new voice skills into everyday conversation. Some people practice daily, working on pitch, resonance, vocal weight, or other skills based on their goals. Your speech therapist can help you decide what to practice and how much, without straining or overusing your voice.
As you become more comfortable, sessions can include longer conversations and role-playing calls, introductions, ordering food, workplace conversations, or other situations where you want to use your voice.
Voice Therapy, Hormone Therapy, and Surgery: How Do They Compare?
You don't need hormones or surgery to change how your voice sounds. Some people develop an androgynous voice through voice training alone. Voice therapy changes how you use your voice, while testosterone and voice surgery can produce physical changes that affect how your voice sounds.
Testosterone can lower your pitch and deepen your voice, and these changes are generally lasting even if you stop taking it. Estrogen doesn't usually raise pitch once testosterone has deepened the voice, whether during puberty or through hormone therapy. Voice training can help you explore a higher pitch along with other aspects of your voice, such as resonance and vocal weight. Decisions about hormone treatment are made with a prescribing provider.
Surgical options are also available for people who want a lasting change in voice pitch. Voice feminization surgery includes procedures designed to raise pitch. One procedure, Wendler glottoplasty, shortens the portion of the vocal folds that vibrates.
Voice therapy can be part of the process before and after voice feminization surgery. A laryngologist, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who specializes in voice, can explain surgical options, while a speech-language pathologist can help you work on how you use your voice.
What We See Working with Clients
We work with nonbinary and transgender clients who have different goals for their voices, including developing a more gender-neutral voice or having more flexibility in how they sound in different settings. The examples below are based on real clients we have worked with, with identifying details changed to protect their privacy.
One client, a nonbinary adult who worked in customer support, was frequently called “sir” or “ma’am” on the phone. They started dreading calls and asking coworkers to cover for them, which made their job more difficult. Their goal was to develop a voice that listeners were less likely to perceive as clearly masculine or feminine.
We explored a comfortable pitch range and worked on resonance, vocal weight, and speech patterns. They practiced with words and phrases they regularly used at work, gradually building up to longer conversations. Over time, they reported being misgendered less often and feeling less tense before taking calls.
Another client, a nonbinary teacher in their 40s, wanted more flexibility in how they used their voice. They preferred one way of speaking at school and a slightly brighter voice with friends. Their voice also felt tired by the end of a teaching day, and they were concerned that changing how they spoke would increase the fatigue.
Sessions addressed vocal health along with the voice changes they wanted to make. They practiced moving between different resonance and intonation patterns and gradually using them in longer stretches of conversation. They reported becoming more comfortable choosing how they wanted to sound in different situations while also experiencing less voice fatigue during the school day.
Frequently Asked Questions About Nonbinary Voice Therapy
1. Do I need to have voice dysphoria to start nonbinary voice therapy?
No. Some people start because their voice causes them distress, while others simply want more choice in how they express themselves through their voice.
2. Can voice training hurt or damage my voice?
Pushing too hard during voice training can damage your voice. Forcing your voice into a pitch or sound that feels uncomfortable can cause fatigue or strain, and repeated strain can injure the vocal folds over time. Voice training should not hurt. If you have persistent hoarseness or pain when speaking, an ear, nose, and throat doctor can examine your vocal folds.
3. How long does nonbinary voice therapy take?
The length of voice training varies from person to person. It depends on your goals, your starting point, and how consistently you practice. After your evaluation, your speech therapist can give you a better idea of what to expect based on your individual goals.
4. Are the changes from voice therapy permanent?
Voice therapy teaches you new ways of using your voice rather than permanently changing its anatomy. With practice, these new voice patterns can become easier and more automatic. You can also continue adjusting how you use your voice if your goals change.
5. Can voice therapy still help after hormone therapy or surgery?
Yes. Testosterone can deepen your voice, while voice training can help you work on other aspects of how you sound, such as resonance, vocal weight, intonation, and speech patterns. Voice therapy can also be part of the process after voice surgery as you learn to use your changed voice.
6. How can friends and family support someone's voice training?
Friends and family can support someone by letting them decide when and what kind of feedback they want about their voice. Positive feedback that matches the person's goals can support confidence and emotional well-being. Using the person's name and pronouns and respecting how they choose to express themselves can also make voice practice feel more supportive.
How Connected Speech Pathology Can Help
At Connected Speech Pathology, licensed speech-language pathologists provide voice training for nonbinary and transgender adults. Your gender identity and voice goals guide the work, rather than an idea that you should sound a certain way.
Because we work online, you can practice in live online sessions from home or another private location. Our transgender voice therapy services include voice training that we can adjust over time if your goals change.
Summary
Nonbinary voice therapy is voice training led by a speech-language pathologist, built around how you want to sound rather than a set masculine or feminine target. It can work on pitch, resonance, vocal weight, intonation, and speech patterns while supporting healthy voice use. Voice therapy can be used on its own or alongside hormone therapy or surgery.
About the Author
Allison Geller, M.A., CCC-SLP, is a communication coach, speech-language pathologist, and founder of Connected Speech Pathology, an international online practice providing professional communication coaching and speech therapy for children, teens, and adults. With more than two decades of experience, she has worked in medical and educational settings and published research on aphasia. Today, she leads a team of specialists who help clients improve their skills in public speaking, vocal presence, accent clarity, articulation, language, fluency, and interpersonal communication.
