24/10/2026
ICYMI: Last fall, Kevin Dorman (they/them) approached Dr. Amethysta Herrick (she/her) to share her perspective on voice work as a gender theorist and trans woman who has undergone the exploration of her own voice through working with an . Thank you for your generosity of spirit to undertake such a tall task for the betterment of our field, Dr. Herrick!
Read it here: https://pubs.asha.org/doi/10.1044/2026_AJSLP-25-00584
Abstract: Gender-affirming voice work differs fundamentally from other speech-language pathology work. Rather than addressing pathology in communication, gender-affirming voice work teaches clients how to change behavior, which is limited in part by how gender-diverse people interact with their social environment. Integrating my original theory of gender with my personal experience learning gender-affirming voice, I explain possible obstacles gender-diverse people face as well as recommendations to speech-language pathologists to mitigate them. In particular, gender-diverse people may exhibit difficulties in auditory processing, vocal biomechanics, and generalization into gender expression. However, despite unique challenges presented by gender-affirming voice work, my experience is overall positive and worth the effort.
