Gender Affirming Voicework: A Queer Autoethnographic Account

Abstract

I’ve previously offered an initial introduction to gender affirming voicework (Maevon Gumble, 2019b) as informed by personal experiences, my queer autoethnographic research (Maevon Gumble, 2019a), and literature from the fields of speech-language pathology, vocal pedagogy, and music therapy. Gender affirming voicework is a new holistic method aimed at assisting individuals with accessing and embodying affirming gender expressions, particularly vocal expressions. I encourage you to read the aforementioned introductory text (2019b) prior to moving forth. In this current article, I will expand upon those understandings by offering a queer autoethnographic account of engaging within intensive personal work as a nonbinary trans person. This article will more deeply consider my personal experiences and journey of engaging with literature as well as participating in the following: voice lessons with a former voice teacher; several Alexander Technique lessons; both full and adapted Guided Imagery and Music (GIM) sessions; and solo voicework sessions, where I more directly explored the possibilities of gender affirming voicework. This queer story – or rather set of stories – that I tell here is a version of what is presented within my thesis research (2019a); however, in queer autoethnographic fashion, revisiting my stories to put together this current story has led to further ‘becomings’ of something new. It is my hope that this creative text provides one personal example of what gender affirming voicework might be within the field of music therapy.