Friday, I will be out en femme most of the day.
My friend Patty and I will take a short roadtrip to my alma mater, the University of Connecticut, to do workshops at the True Colors Conference for school-aged GLBT youth and their adult supporters and/or facilitators (parents, teachers, guidance counselors, social workers, etc.).
My workshop is "Body Image and Male-to-Female Crossdressing." Basically, I will be doing an extended solo version of what I do for outreach
In addition to the workshop, I will be manning the table for my support group, Connecticut Outreach Society (COS). After the workshops, Patty, Diana, and I plan to dine somewhere on the way home.
It will be nostalgic visiting my old campus; it will be my first visit since I graduated in 1973 and also my first visit there en femme. And, coincidentally, lunch for the conference will be served in my old dormitory.
To make my day even more interesting, I plan to use a female voice throughout the day instead of relying on my natural soft-spoken male voice to do my en femme speaking for me. I have been practicing my female voice for a long time now and it is time to let her out.
I have balked at using a female voice in the past because I felt silly when I did use it. Isn't that ridiculous? I am a guy dressed from head to toe like a woman, fully made up wearing a wig, woman's jewelry, perfume, etc., walking like a woman, using female mannerisms, etc. and all that did not make me feel silly, but using a feminine voice did.
Maybe there is more to it than that.
Using a female voice is just about the last step I can take in becoming a woman without hormones, surgery, permanent body modification, etc. Maybe using a male voice while en femme is the last link to my natal gender and subconsciously, I am afraid of breaking that link and admitting that I am really a woman.
Meg again.
ReplyDeleteA couple of years ago, I had a makeup artist come over and do my face, then we went out. I was dressed from the skin out and she suggested I try a female voice.
I declined, because I felt silly.
Since then, I've been trying my "soft voice" and I have NO idea if it sounds female or not. Yes I do. I get "sirred" when I use it on the phone, so I'm guessing not. But I jumped that hurdle and I'll keep trying a female voice but so far it hasn't worked for me.
Maybe you'll share your secret.
I have been called "ma'am" and "miss," but never "sir" using my natural soft-spoken voice, but I have not yet road-tested my female voice. I'll let you know how it goes after Friday.
ReplyDeleteStaci
That's so weird! I feel silly using a female voice as well! You know, if you remove all the modulation and pitch from a voice using a computer, humans can still tell if the voice is from a man or a woman with good accuracy. There's something more to the voice than pitch and it's that, I like to think, that makes me feel silly, like I'm not fooling anyone. But sometimes I like the feminine slimness with the vocal fullness. Makes a great contrast in the wee hours at a sloppy bar dance party.
ReplyDelete