Trans*Vocal: Documenting Gender Subjectivity Through Changing Vocality

Through my subjectivity as a non-binary, trans* vocalist, I am acutely aware of the sounds I have been enculturated to produce. Drawing on theories of vocality (Eidsheim 2019; Azul 2015), transition (Constansis 2013; Constansis and Foteinou 2017), and improvisation (Caines 2021), I analyze the relationship between voice and perceptions of gender by exploring the concept of transition as it is performed by my voice during the first seven and a half months of testosterone treatment (mid-June 2021 - January 2022). I contextualize my experience within historical and medical notions of gender and examine it through autoethnographic methods and creating an experimental music video, Trans*Vocal. I open up and make myself vulnerable in the hope that greater knowledge of trans* experience will bring appreciation for "non-normal" vocalizations. I aim to problematize our current language surrounding gender, voice, and transition and depict transition as a natural part of anyone's vocal journey.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts (M.A.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Master's

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music and Culture

Grantor dc:publisher

Carleton University

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Larose, Meghan Beth

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright © 2022 the author(s). Theses may be used for non-commercial research, educational, or related academic purposes only. Such uses include personal study, research, scholarship, and teaching. Theses may only be shared by linking to Carleton University Institutional Repository and no part may be used without proper attribution to the author. No part may be used for commercial purposes directly or indirectly via a for-profit platform; no adaptation or derivative works are permitted without consent from the copyright owner.

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

10.22215/etd/2022-15157

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:carleton.scholaris.ca:20.500.14718/42759