POLL

[fnordian]

I'm finishing up this paper I'm writing about the speech of FTMs, and I was wondering if I could just take an informal poll to get a feeling about this. Leave a comment to repsond

Comments

[insomniatcsquir]

i've tried to adjust my speaking style to a more masculine form. i speak in a more monotone way and have changed my wordings of things. i use more direct statements, fewer adjectives, and stronger words. i'm also really aware not to end statements with inflection unless its really appropriate to.

[fnordian]

Do you think you could give me an example of a word that you might substitute because it's stronger? I don't mean this in a challenging way, it's just so I can get a clear picture of what you mean. Thanks!

[alyha]

The only thing I've really done is try to cut the "Valley" out of my speech. I've never had particularly feminine speech patterns, as I tend to stick to dryly cynical tones most of the time, but every once in a while that "like" and "oh yeah" will creep in there and next thing I know I'm Valley-ing out like you wouldn't believe. So I have to watch that, and also try to tone down my speed....as I speak insanely quickly; Six-style. It just sounds...wrong with a deeper voice, so I pace myself a bit more.

[pylonian]

Before starting T, I didn't do anything like this. After starting T, I've consciously avoided masculinizing my speech - even going so far as to flame now and again.

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[ninorth]

I haven’t tried to change the way I talk.. I’ve always talked monotone, to the point of sounding like I’m mumbling. When I was little no one would understand what I said half the time. People still ask me what the hell I just said.

[fnordian]

I am interested in this too, so I added question 2 in the entry above. I basically want to get at what kinds of speech FTMs consider masculine speech whether or not that means you've changed your speech or it's always been that way or even if it's a trait you don't have in your speech.
Thanks for the input.

[ninorth]

I don’t really know what to consider as masculine speech. I don’t really talk that much. All I can say is that I have never been pointed out to be an FTM/bio girl by my voice or the way I talk.

[gmsensing]

i haven't really tried to change the tone or sound of my voice since T but i have tried to be more conscious of the way I come across when choosing words to speak. when i started paying attention, i noticed that there were times when i sounded kind of "flamey" (to borrow someone else's term). this usually comes up when i find myself complimenting female friends or coworkers or something. i have to restrain myself from complimenting their shoes or outfits or something - at least not in a way that sounds really feminine. not because i think there's anything wrong with sounding "flamey", i just don't feel "flamey" myself so it just feels kinda weird. i do have a great appreciation for those who are more "flamey", though. =o)