An initial investigation into the effects of facial feminisation surgery on the voice

Transfeminine people may choose to undergo facial feminisation surgery: an umbrella term covering a range of procedures that aim to alter the appearance of facial features, thereby potentially affecting characteristics of the vocal tract. However, effects of facial feminisation surgery on the voice are relatively understudied. This means that little information is available to people considering undergoing these procedures, about the potential impact on their voice. Such information is of particular relevance to people who use their voice professionally, such as singers. Previous work on the vocal effects of other facial surgeries also neglects to acknowledge the variety of factors that scholars in linguistics, and in particular sociolinguistics, have shown to affect the voice. This thesis presents an analysis of the effects of facial feminisation surgery on a transfeminine professional singer through a single case study. This task is approached from three different angles. First, the acoustic changes in the participant's voice are identified, through an acoustic analysis of speech and singing data collected from her before and after surgery. Then, the results of an experiment which aimed to identify the extent to which other people could perceive a change in her voice following the surgery are presented. Finally, the participant's own perception of the effects that the surgery had on her voice are explored, through a thematic analysis of longitudinal interview data. The results of the acoustic analysis and perceptual experiment suggest that facial feminisation surgery can have an impact on the voice, and the qualitative analysis suggests this may not only be as a result of the altered characteristics of the vocal tract, but also as a result of the altered social context. This research, then, provides an argument for including sociolinguistic methods in analysis of the impact of surgery on the voice.