I hated my female voice, so the permanent deep voice I have is actually something I love about myself now. It's very handy when people think you're a man on the phone.
Your voice is quite pleasant to listen to! I actually like my voice more now too. When I couldn't sing, it was horrible, but now that I have regained that ability I enjoy having a lower voice than I used to.
@@CatCattinson Mrs Thatcher took voice training lessons so she could lower her voice and give herself gravitas and make sure she was heard above her male cabinet
1:33 my daughter said this exact thing: “it won’t be permanent” and “it’s all reversible”. Propaganda she got online from influencers. So far she hasn’t used hormones. I’m praying she never does. Your voice matters, and not just for singing (which is beautiful). 🙏🏻
Im actually completely fine with my voice itself but the perception other people have of me because of it is what I hate. I wish voices were completely random so you could be a woman with a very manly voice and vice versa without hormones or voice training
Focus less on yourself and your voice and live your life. You are perfect as you are. People who have so manythoughts about themselves get their self-esteem low and seek stupid solutions. That is the advice for those who consider taking a poison -testosterone
It's so important to have correct information. Even if as a young woman you take hormonal contraceptives you can affect your body permanently- eg the colour of your nipples may change, the shape of your breasts may change, you may have weight gain that is very difficult to lose etc. When I was young and took "the pill" it took me about a year after I came off it too feel back to myself. Certain psychiatric medications can also make physical changes to the body - eg 20-30ilb weight gain that may be next to impossible to lose even after stopping taking the medications (assuming that's advisable medically) The body is a very delicate integrated system and you cant mess about with it willy nilly and expect it to just reset itself like a computer, when you decide you don't like what you've done... Remember there's the "law of unintended consequences " and just because you do a doesn't mean that something else - b - may happen that you didn't intend at all...and that may even negatively impact on a, or even c or d... And remember if you go to a surgeon they'll recommend surgery, if you go to a nutritionist they'll suggest nutritional supplements, if you go to a endocrinologist they'll recommend hormones... etc etc... and if you have a money driven health care system, many (if not most) doctors are going to suggest things that make them the most money, not what is necessarily the best for you.. ..
As a transmasc, I gotta say my voice started cracking 1 week on T. I was like *shocked pikachu *. It feels natural. Smh I feel like my voice has always sounded like this. It's no longer jarring to record my voice and then play it back and hear it sound much more fem than I was expecting. 4 months in I am still waiting to be able to sing decently again tho xD
Hi Cat…you are doing absolutely “essential” public information bullets here! You are spot on that many individuals may be essentially sleepwalking into these crucial decisions..and are often making them in a binary kind of way…where the decision may rest on:”do I go for it…or not?”…..instead of a more nuanced approach taking into consideration …both levels and duration. I have to admit being blown away with the change you experienced after only 4 months…and I suppose sometimes we need to be aware of how what we consider “bad luck” at the time actually saves us from something potentially much worse. ( I am referring to your physiological issues with testosterone vis a vis your liver and other organ reactions. As uncomfortable as it must have been, I’m glad it was a warning that stopped your progress in that direction.). Cheers
The voice change is due to the mass of the vocal folds increasing-a physiological change which cannot be undone (unless we're talking with surgery, but that's not like a CTRL-Z solution *at all*). Testosterone is very powerful. As you've said, this is critical for people to understand.
Hi Cat, thank you for your videos. I find it inspiring how much you were able to retrain your voice after being on T. I'm not a singer or anything but I'd love to be able to sing normally again and without vocal strain. If there's any drills that helped you would you be willing to share them? There aren't really any resources for female detransitioners. So having a better idea on what to focus on would be very helpful.
Sorry for the super late reply! I was on a hiatus. I've found a lot of success with Mark Baxter's vocal warmups (Voicelesson.com on CZcams). Especially this video: czcams.com/video/i65C5Xi-IiA/video.htmlsi=dPWWxQNtFbfpdYTu Other than that, I don't really have any specific exercises, but the most important thing is not to judge your voice. I can't sing as high as many women or men in a full voice anymore due to the changes from T, but I've learned to accept my voice for how it is and embrace my unique strengths. Just try to explore the different parts of your range and slowly get more comfortable. If something hurts or feels tight, try to back off a little, loosen up find a way to sing the same note without strain. It can take a long time to find the right balance. I wish you all the best, and I'm glad you're still singing ❤️
I only ever had 2 (Maybe 3 at most, my brain was very clouded at the time) months worth of T and my voice is 100% deeper than it was before. Its still passable Female but it absolutely is deeper than it was and there was a long period of months when I had to re-learn how to scream lol. I genuinely couldn't get my voice to the shriek/high squeak noise I used to and all that would come out was silence. I can do it now but it took a long time, and yeah it's definitely lower overall. It's really upsetting to see people downplay the effects of Testosterone
I just went on T. My doctor explained that a lot of what comes with HRT is unpredictable; when/how much change happens varies person to person. Some changes will go away if you just stop taking T, and some you can take feminizing HRT to undo. But he said the only thing that he can guarantee is irreversible is the voice change. Taking E might change your voice back somewhat, but it will not bring your voice back to where it used to be.
Hello Cat. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to talk to you. But I am a 32 year old detrans woman. Who before transitioning had voice trained for opera since I was a teenager. There are many misnomers about the vocal change and permanent. I have a rather “passable” voice for having been on it for 6 years and I actually think having been a singer before allowed me more ability to know how to place sound and resonance. (Voice feminization training essentially does this when transwomen learn this for their own speech ) it sounds like you are working with the same. I have been able to regain most of my upper register but the highest of notes HOWEVER what people do not want to acknowledge is I cannot press as much force though the sound the pitch may be higher but strength is so wea and difficult and to force it causes so much pain as well as so much psychological and physical control to need to manipulate the aspect of the sound through what is a essentialy a broken instrument. People who do not experience the vocal pain of this. Who do not have sore throats for days and hard time swallowing do not fully understand. I also have a more deep and resonant sound should I chose to sing a more male way. Which many trans people will say that was the intent and the cost. Though again they do not understand the physical pain to even still project that sound. And that it not somewhat with out constantly being aware of one’s voice and how to control that beyond that of a normal not hrt changed voice
This is so well said, and amazing you were able to retrain your voice after 6 years on T. That could be inspirational to a lot of women who took hormones for a long time. I resonate with the part about working with a broken instrument. Although it is easy to sing in a male register, I can feel in my voice that it's not natural, and it makes my voice sore. This is also the case when I'm speaking, as I can only speak for maybe an hour without being in pain for the rest of the day. I actually had a breakthrough with my singing voice recently, and it's getting less painful to sing over time. Singing with mindfulness and breath support, and making sure to warm up EVERY TIME actually seem to help correct the vocal issues. But speaking seems to do the opposite.
Hi, I read your whole post. I am a singer as well, testosterone for 2 years and now I've been off for 2 months. The part that is standing out to me right now is the sore throat and hard to swallow sensation. Is this because our vocal chords have become too "thick?" for the amount of space we have in our throats? Does this sore throat from talking/singing, and swallowing discomfort, to your knowledge and experience, go away with time? Do I just have to wait and see or do you have any idea?
HI@@rachelwexler3417 I am not sure for 100 percent certainty of the reason but I would not be suprised. I still have some soreness from speaking but it is much rarer unless I am yelling or if I sing sadly if I belt or force my voice. I can sing much higher then I used to but I have to sing lighter and more 'airy' then as I i said in a belt. In the past it would harder to switch between range and notes. It is 10 years since I started T and 5 years off and I am getting much more control. I have hope though I doubt I will ever have my exact voice. My swallowing issues can be a problem but it is again less from time. Sometimes I have discomfort when I wake up more than the rest of the day. i hope your pain and difficulty with singing can lesson over time. I would say for a bout 2-3 years maybe I really struggled I also think I was very anxious to sing because I anticipated that it would not work or that it would hurt which also made it harder to relax my vocal cords to sing. It can be hard to fight that knee jerk reaction. time in my opinion does help. but i also went back to a vocal coach specifically for singing about 3 years out. They may not know everything about de/transition but sometimes it can still help have someone guide you a bit
Cat, are you able to sing with both male and female voice now? Since you are a singing professional, can you tell me is it safe for a person to sing with both male and female voice in general (like casual singing)? [I am a biological male (in my early 30s) who I have trained my voice to a point where I can talk with both male and female voices, but I don't know if it is safe to specifically sing with both voices though.] Please reply to my comment, your insight will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
It can be fun to fake people out with a "male" voice sometimes, but I have to alter the way I naturally speak or sing to sustain that. Similarly, if I try to sound more feminine than my voice does naturally or sing in a soprano tessitura for instance, I can only sustain that for so long without fatigue and strain. My natural voice now sounds like a lower female voice, if somewhat androgynous, and songs pitched mostly in a mid register feel the best. So I guess what I'm saying is, playing around with different voices can be fun and is fine once in a while, but the healthiest thing for one's voice long term is just to sing with excellent technique and allow the voice to come out the way it does authentically.
No. The voice change from testosterone is permanent. My body naturally produces estrogen, but it won't do anything to reverse the changes induced in the past.
I'm sorry about this following question and you don't have to answer but what effect does testosterone have permanently on facial hair? Does it have the same permanent effect like the voice change or does it go back to how it used to after a certain amount of time?
I grew a tiny bit of facial hair, but not enough to be noticeable to others. It has not gone away. I have heard from other detransitioners who grew a full beard that it does not go away, though the hair may get softer and thinner after stopping T. Laser hair removal is the only way to get rid of it permanently.
Testosterone gets transformed into DHT which is a powerful 10x androgen and it thickens the vocal cords which deepens the voice. It's irreversible. I've never met a M2F trans woman who had a passable female voice after exposure to testosterone. If they get transitioned before puberty they have a shot but not after. Maybe surgery can fix it but that's a $6k price tag and no guarantees.
The great news is : all sin ( whatever it is) can be forgiven by Jesus Christ. And He will totally renew your body to make it eternal when you put your faith in Him. So whatever I did to ruin my life - Jesus will heal me. Not only trans people ruin their bodies. Big mistakes in our lives have effects for the rest of our life on earth. Shalom to you!
@@wormsnthedirt Ah thanks. But there's good news. I repented if my sins and gave my life to Jesus. He changed my hatefull heart ! ( and is, still working on it). One of my first lifelong friends was a homosexual. And He gave His heart to Jesus too. Later after bibleschool he married a woman, got two kids and was pastor in a church. In his homo time he was the first to open a sex-shop in one of the biggest cities in Holland. A rough life. All changed by Jesus. Great !
I hated my female voice, so the permanent deep voice I have is actually something I love about myself now. It's very handy when people think you're a man on the phone.
Your voice is quite pleasant to listen to!
I actually like my voice more now too. When I couldn't sing, it was horrible, but now that I have regained that ability I enjoy having a lower voice than I used to.
@@CatCattinson Mrs Thatcher took voice training lessons so she could lower her voice and give herself gravitas and make sure she was heard above her male cabinet
1:33 my daughter said this exact thing: “it won’t be permanent” and “it’s all reversible”. Propaganda she got online from influencers. So far she hasn’t used hormones. I’m praying she never does. Your voice matters, and not just for singing (which is beautiful). 🙏🏻
Im actually completely fine with my voice itself but the perception other people have of me because of it is what I hate. I wish voices were completely random so you could be a woman with a very manly voice and vice versa without hormones or voice training
Focus less on yourself and your voice and live your life. You are perfect as you are. People who have so manythoughts about themselves get their self-esteem low and seek stupid solutions. That is the advice for those who consider taking a poison -testosterone
It's so important to have correct information.
Even if as a young woman you take hormonal contraceptives you can affect your body permanently- eg the colour of your nipples may change, the shape of your breasts may change, you may have weight gain that is very difficult to lose etc.
When I was young and took "the pill" it took me about a year after I came off it too feel back to myself.
Certain psychiatric medications can also make physical changes to the body - eg 20-30ilb weight gain that may be next to impossible to lose even after stopping taking the medications (assuming that's advisable medically)
The body is a very delicate integrated system and you cant mess about with it willy nilly and expect it to just reset itself like a computer, when you decide you don't like what you've done...
Remember there's the "law of unintended consequences " and just because you do a doesn't mean that something else - b - may happen that you didn't intend at all...and that may even negatively impact on a, or even c or d...
And remember if you go to a surgeon they'll recommend surgery, if you go to a nutritionist they'll suggest nutritional supplements, if you go to a endocrinologist they'll recommend hormones... etc etc... and if you have a money driven health care system, many (if not most) doctors are going to suggest things that make them the most money, not what is necessarily the best for you.. ..
So good to see you walking while recording. This is great teaching by example! Get out of the house peeps.
As a transmasc, I gotta say my voice started cracking 1 week on T. I was like *shocked pikachu *. It feels natural. Smh I feel like my voice has always sounded like this. It's no longer jarring to record my voice and then play it back and hear it sound much more fem than I was expecting. 4 months in I am still waiting to be able to sing decently again tho xD
Thank you for bring so honest and transparent ❤️
Hi Cat…you are doing absolutely “essential” public information bullets here! You are spot on that many individuals may be essentially sleepwalking into these crucial decisions..and are often making them in a binary kind of way…where the decision may rest on:”do I go for it…or not?”…..instead of a more nuanced approach taking into consideration …both levels and duration. I have to admit being blown away with the change you experienced after only 4 months…and I suppose sometimes we need to be aware of how what we consider “bad luck” at the time actually saves us from something potentially much worse. ( I am referring to your physiological issues with testosterone vis a vis your liver and other organ reactions. As uncomfortable as it must have been, I’m glad it was a warning that stopped your progress in that direction.). Cheers
God bless you, for telling the truth plus your a beautiful woman
The voice change is due to the mass of the vocal folds increasing-a physiological change which cannot be undone (unless we're talking with surgery, but that's not like a CTRL-Z solution *at all*). Testosterone is very powerful. As you've said, this is critical for people to understand.
Hi Cat, thank you for your videos.
I find it inspiring how much you were able to retrain your voice after being on T. I'm not a singer or anything but I'd love to be able to sing normally again and without vocal strain. If there's any drills that helped you would you be willing to share them? There aren't really any resources for female detransitioners. So having a better idea on what to focus on would be very helpful.
Sorry for the super late reply! I was on a hiatus. I've found a lot of success with Mark Baxter's vocal warmups (Voicelesson.com on CZcams). Especially this video: czcams.com/video/i65C5Xi-IiA/video.htmlsi=dPWWxQNtFbfpdYTu
Other than that, I don't really have any specific exercises, but the most important thing is not to judge your voice. I can't sing as high as many women or men in a full voice anymore due to the changes from T, but I've learned to accept my voice for how it is and embrace my unique strengths. Just try to explore the different parts of your range and slowly get more comfortable. If something hurts or feels tight, try to back off a little, loosen up find a way to sing the same note without strain. It can take a long time to find the right balance. I wish you all the best, and I'm glad you're still singing ❤️
I only ever had 2 (Maybe 3 at most, my brain was very clouded at the time) months worth of T and my voice is 100% deeper than it was before. Its still passable Female but it absolutely is deeper than it was and there was a long period of months when I had to re-learn how to scream lol. I genuinely couldn't get my voice to the shriek/high squeak noise I used to and all that would come out was silence. I can do it now but it took a long time, and yeah it's definitely lower overall.
It's really upsetting to see people downplay the effects of Testosterone
I just went on T. My doctor explained that a lot of what comes with HRT is unpredictable; when/how much change happens varies person to person. Some changes will go away if you just stop taking T, and some you can take feminizing HRT to undo. But he said the only thing that he can guarantee is irreversible is the voice change.
Taking E might change your voice back somewhat, but it will not bring your voice back to where it used to be.
I know this is random, but I like your voice. It may be a bit lower, but it is still sweet
I think it`s quite attractive (:
thank you
im ftmtf and i have accepted that my voice is deep and i’m not going to try to sound different
Hello Cat. I don’t know if I’d ever be able to talk to you. But I am a 32 year old detrans woman. Who before transitioning had voice trained for opera since I was a teenager. There are many misnomers about the vocal change and permanent. I have a rather “passable” voice for having been on it for 6 years and I actually think having been a singer before allowed me more ability to know how to place sound and resonance. (Voice feminization training essentially does this when transwomen learn this for their own speech ) it sounds like you are working with the same. I have been able to regain most of my upper register but the highest of notes HOWEVER what people do not want to acknowledge is I cannot press as much force though the sound the pitch may be higher but strength is so wea and difficult and to force it causes so much pain as well as so much psychological and physical control to need to manipulate the aspect of the sound through what is a essentialy a broken instrument. People who do not experience the vocal pain of this. Who do not have sore throats for days and hard time swallowing do not fully understand. I also have a more deep and resonant sound should I chose to sing a more male way. Which many trans people will say that was the intent and the cost. Though again they do not understand the physical pain to even still project that sound. And that it not somewhat with out constantly being aware of one’s voice and how to control that beyond that of a normal not hrt changed voice
This is so well said, and amazing you were able to retrain your voice after 6 years on T. That could be inspirational to a lot of women who took hormones for a long time. I resonate with the part about working with a broken instrument. Although it is easy to sing in a male register, I can feel in my voice that it's not natural, and it makes my voice sore. This is also the case when I'm speaking, as I can only speak for maybe an hour without being in pain for the rest of the day. I actually had a breakthrough with my singing voice recently, and it's getting less painful to sing over time. Singing with mindfulness and breath support, and making sure to warm up EVERY TIME actually seem to help correct the vocal issues. But speaking seems to do the opposite.
Hi, I read your whole post. I am a singer as well, testosterone for 2 years and now I've been off for 2 months. The part that is standing out to me right now is the sore throat and hard to swallow sensation.
Is this because our vocal chords have become too "thick?" for the amount of space we have in our throats?
Does this sore throat from talking/singing, and swallowing discomfort, to your knowledge and experience, go away with time? Do I just have to wait and see or do you have any idea?
HI@@rachelwexler3417 I am not sure for 100 percent certainty of the reason but I would not be suprised. I still have some soreness from speaking but it is much rarer unless I am yelling or if I sing sadly if I belt or force my voice. I can sing much higher then I used to but I have to sing lighter and more 'airy' then as I i said in a belt. In the past it would harder to switch between range and notes. It is 10 years since I started T and 5 years off and I am getting much more control. I have hope though I doubt I will ever have my exact voice. My swallowing issues can be a problem but it is again less from time. Sometimes I have discomfort when I wake up more than the rest of the day. i hope your pain and difficulty with singing can lesson over time. I would say for a bout 2-3 years maybe I really struggled I also think I was very anxious to sing because I anticipated that it would not work or that it would hurt which also made it harder to relax my vocal cords to sing. It can be hard to fight that knee jerk reaction. time in my opinion does help. but i also went back to a vocal coach specifically for singing about 3 years out. They may not know everything about de/transition but sometimes it can still help have someone guide you a bit
Your life matters. Don't let them profit from chemical or surgical life-changing procedures.
Cat, are you able to sing with both male and female voice now? Since you are a singing professional, can you tell me is it safe for a person to sing with both male and female voice in general (like casual singing)? [I am a biological male (in my early 30s) who I have trained my voice to a point where I can talk with both male and female voices, but I don't know if it is safe to specifically sing with both voices though.] Please reply to my comment, your insight will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!
It can be fun to fake people out with a "male" voice sometimes, but I have to alter the way I naturally speak or sing to sustain that. Similarly, if I try to sound more feminine than my voice does naturally or sing in a soprano tessitura for instance, I can only sustain that for so long without fatigue and strain. My natural voice now sounds like a lower female voice, if somewhat androgynous, and songs pitched mostly in a mid register feel the best. So I guess what I'm saying is, playing around with different voices can be fun and is fine once in a while, but the healthiest thing for one's voice long term is just to sing with excellent technique and allow the voice to come out the way it does authentically.
I like your voice (:
If *you* started injecting Oestrogen, would that alter your voice at all?
No. The voice change from testosterone is permanent. My body naturally produces estrogen, but it won't do anything to reverse the changes induced in the past.
I'm sorry about this following question and you don't have to answer but what effect does testosterone have permanently on facial hair? Does it have the same permanent effect like the voice change or does it go back to how it used to after a certain amount of time?
I grew a tiny bit of facial hair, but not enough to be noticeable to others. It has not gone away. I have heard from other detransitioners who grew a full beard that it does not go away, though the hair may get softer and thinner after stopping T. Laser hair removal is the only way to get rid of it permanently.
@@CatCattinson :( I wish you the best. You are a beautiful woman and I hope you are happy now.
You're damn lucky your voice still sounds female.
Hi so I'm detransitioning and I want to know what can I do to sound more female? Cuz I don't want to sound like a boy for the rest of my life hahaha
These videos don’t stream to tvs. Just an fyi. A lot of us will miss them
I'm sorry, there's not much I can do about that. My next video won't be a repost from TikTok, so hopefully that one should work normally!
I can get this on my tv. I am not tech savvy. But I can cast these to the screen in my living room. I am using CZcams.
I have a childlike voice and I need to change it and I think testosterone will do it, if I took only for a week.
Do not be stupid.
Your problem is not childish voice but childish brain.
Testosterone gets transformed into DHT which is a powerful 10x androgen and it thickens the vocal cords which deepens the voice. It's irreversible. I've never met a M2F trans woman who had a passable female voice after exposure to testosterone. If they get transitioned before puberty they have a shot but not after. Maybe surgery can fix it but that's a $6k price tag and no guarantees.
The great news is : all sin ( whatever it is) can be forgiven by Jesus Christ. And He will totally renew your body to make it eternal when you put your faith in Him. So whatever I did to ruin my life - Jesus will heal me. Not only trans people ruin their bodies. Big mistakes in our lives have effects for the rest of our life on earth. Shalom to you!
❤ amen 🙏
nothing can heal your hateful heart
@@wormsnthedirt Ah thanks. But there's good news. I repented if my sins and gave my life to Jesus. He changed my hatefull heart ! ( and is, still working on it). One of my first lifelong friends was a homosexual. And He gave His heart to Jesus too. Later after bibleschool he married a woman, got two kids and was pastor in a church. In his homo time he was the first to open a sex-shop in one of the biggest cities in Holland. A rough life. All changed by Jesus. Great !
Not the place for this, no one gives a damn about your Sky Daddy smh