Gender studies

Sociology

Transgender

Transgender women

Family medicine

Psychoanalysis

Formant

Surgery

Psychology

Men who have sex with men

Syphilis

Feminization (sociology)

Larynx

Voice Training

Vowel

Voice therapy

Vocal folds

Computer science

Audiology

Speech recognition

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

Vocal tract

Medicine

International Journal of General Medicine

Abstract: Voice feminization for transgender women is a highly complicated comprehensive transition process. Voice feminization has been thought to be equal to pitch elevation. Thus, many surgical procedures have only focused on pitch raising for voice feminization. However, voice feminization should not only consider voice pitch but also consider gender differences in physical, neurophysiological, and acoustical characteristics of voice. That is why voice therapy has been the preferred choice for the feminization of the voice. Considering gender difference of phonatory system, the method for voice feminization consists of changing the following four critical elements: fundamental frequency, resonance frequency related to vocal tract volume and length, formant tuning, and phonatory pattern. Voice feminizing process can be generally divided into non-surgical feminization and surgical feminization. As a non-surgical procedure, feminization voice therapy consists of increasing fundamental frequency, improving oral and pharyngeal resonance, and behavioral therapy. Surgical feminization usually can be achieved by external approach or endoscopic approach. Based on three factors (length, tension and mass) of vocal fold for pitch modulation, surgical procedure can be classified as one-factor, two-factors and three-factors modification of vocal folds. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analysis studies have reported positive outcomes for both the voice therapy and voice feminization surgery. The benefits of voice therapy, as it is highly satisfactory, mostly increase vocal pitch, and are noninvasive. However, the surgical voice feminization of three-factors modification of vocal folds is also highly competent and provides a maximum absolute increase in vocal pitch. Voice feminization is a long transition journey for physical, neurophysiological, and psychosomatic changes that convert a male phonatory system to a female phonatory system. Therefore, strategies for voice feminization should be individualized according to the individual's physical condition, the desired change in voice pitch, economic conditions, and social roles. Keywords: pitch raising surgery, voice feminization, vocal folds, voice therapy, formant tuning, retraining phonatory pattern

&lt;p&gt;Vocal Feminization for Transgender Women: Current Strategies and Patient Perspectives&lt;/p&gt;

&lt;p&gt;Vocal Feminization for Transgender Women: Current Strategies and Patient Perspectives&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Vocal Feminization for Transgender Women: Current Strategies and Patient Perspectives</p>