January 14, 2006 1:53 AM GMT
The military has a field manual for training people with high, squeaky, soft voices to speak with loud, deep, resonant voices. They did it to me. I'm sure it can be done, biological hardware not withstanding, in reverse; at least to some extent. My reading tells me that speech pattern and use of words and contractions is a significant part of gender-identification by speech. I have had some success by shifting the source of my speech downward from the larynx to the chest. I've seen a lot of online helps, courses, therapists listed.
January 15, 2006 2:55 PM GMT
Pippa,
It was part of training us to give orders on a drill field. I suppose that a "manly" voice giving one the order to "follow me" and climb out of a perfectly safe hole and charge a machine gun is more likely to get one to move into danger than a soft, squeaky one. It also gets your voice to carry further. Important in battlefield conditions or in a noisy airplane or on a flight line. During the "shooting guns" part we actually were taught to not talk at all and use hand signals, but once the shooting starts you have to make a lot of noise to be heard. It can save lives.
It also helps a small, TG male to project a macho image in society. God, how depressing.
January 16, 2006 5:39 AM GMT
None taken, Pippa, it was an interesting question. Hand signals also help if gunfire makes you temporarily deaf. There are earplugs that let you hear and close suddenly at supersonic sounds. There are earphones that do the same when sound goes over a certain level...some even have radios in them. Good for working around noisy equipment.
Being able to hear very slight noises can be a life saver. You can hear insects walk in the woods at night. Hearing someone move on the other side of a wall or the click of a trap activating can save your squad's life. That's why they demand good hearing.......then they put you in the artillery and destroy it.
Well, I don't like what they did to me but it's nice to know Wendy can take care of herself. I swing a mean purse.