Acoustic effects of facial feminisation surgery on speech and singing: A case study

Transfeminine people may undergo facial feminisation surgery, a term covering a range of procedures that aim to alter the appearance of facial features, thereby potentially changing characteristics of the vocal tract. Effects of facial feminisation surgery on the voice are relatively understudied, however, so, little information on the vocal effects of these surgeries is available to people considering undergoing these procedures. In this single-case study, we present an acoustic analysis of speech and singing data collected from a transgender singer before and after facial feminisation surgery, alongside an examination of longitudinal interview data from the participant. Our quantitative results suggest facial feminisation surgery can have an impact on the voice, and our 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. Several issues for future research are identified.