Voice challenge in transgender women: trans women self-perception of voice handicap as compared to gender perception of naïve listeners
O desafio da voz na mulher transgênero: autopercepção de desvantagem vocal em mulheres trans em comparação à percepção de gênero por ouvintes leigos
Jeanne Gabriele Schmidt; Bárbara Niegia Garcia de Goulart; Maria Elza Kazumi Yamaguti Dorfman; Gabriel Kuhl; Lauren Medeiros Paniagua
Abstract
Purpose: to analyze the self-perception of transgender women's voice handicap in comparison to the voices' gender perception by naïve listeners.
Methods: 31 transgender women, who were first submitted to vocal acoustic assessment and had their voices recorded to measure fundamental frequency and standard deviations, were eligible to the study. Next, they answered to the Voice Handicap Index protocol, from which, at the end of data collection, the most suited questions to the daily demands of this population were selected. Subsequently, 50 naïve blindfolded listeners were exposed to the recordings and had to identify the voices as males, females or undefined. Descriptive statistics were applied to speakers' characteristics and the Spearman's correlation coefficient was applied to the protocol scores and the speaker's voice identifications.
Results: the mean fundamental frequency found was 172.40 Hz (SD=4.8Hz) and one third of the transgender women reported being satisfied with their voices. A moderate positive significant correlation was found in voices considered as males, and strongly significant and negative in voices considered as females. For the voices considered undefined, however, no significant correlation was found.
Conclusion: transgender women's self-perception of voice handicap is directly related to naïve listeners' perception of their voice gender.
Keywords
Resumo
Objetivo: analisar a autopercepção de desvantagem vocal de mulheres transgêneros em comparação à percepção de gênero das vozes por ouvintes leigos.
Métodos: foram eleitas para o estudo 31 mulheres transgêneros. Todas foram submetidas à análise acústica vocal para mensuração da frequência fundamental e desvio padrão. Após, responderam ao protocolo Índice em Desvantagem Vocal, do qual, ao final da coleta de todos os dados, foram selecionadas as questões consideradas mais afeitas às demandas diárias desta população. Subsequentemente, 50 ouvintes leigos foram cegamente expostos às vozes e tiveram de identificar as vozes como sendo masculinas, femininas ou indefinidas. Estatística descritiva foi aplicada para as características das transgêneros e correlação de Spearman para as pontuações do protocolo e a identificação de gênero pelos ouvintes leigos.
Resultados: a frequência fundamental média encontrada foi de 172,40 Hz (DP=4,8 Hz) e um terço das transgêneros relatou satisfação com a própria voz. Foi encontrada correlação moderadamente significante e positiva nas vozes consideradas masculinas (rs=0,584; p=0,001) e fortemente significante e negativa nas femininas (rs= -0,605; p<0,001). Não houve correlação significativa com o IDV para as vozes consideradas indefinidas (rs=0,320; p=0,079).
Conclusão: a autopercepção de desvantagem vocal em mulheres trans está diretamente relacionada à percepção de gênero por ouvintes leigos.
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Referências
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Submetido em:
06/02/2017
Aceito em:
23/10/2017
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