Transgender women

their narrative on health, voice, and dysphoria

Abstract

Introduction: the transgender woman, a person who identifies and performs in femininity, has increasingly looked for vocal therapy due to gender incongruence. Objective: to know the experiences and perceptions of these women about health, gender dysphoria, voice and society, to identify possible triggering factors of their discomforts and reflect on the speech therapy performance in this context, since health, in a broad view, is biopsychosocial, while voice, is a subjective construction. Method: Cross-sectional qualitative approach, with semi-structured interviews. Participants were found by the snowball technique and evaluation of the data was obtained by content analysis. Results: participants from the State of São Paulo, most of them study and/or work. They use hormones unsupervised due to the urgency of aligning with their gender identity. Negative social experiences generate discomfort and insecurity, showing that the other’s point of view impairs self-perception. Thus, they seek passability to avoid harassment. The voice was seen as a trigger to have their bodies and gender questioned, and vocal therapy is seen as positive, for working on vocal potentialities, self-perception, and self-acceptance. Having peer support and positive transgender references provide greater self-confidence, acceptance, and reassurance in gender confirmation. Final considerations: psychosocial aspects, cisheteronormativity and demands of transgender people should be considered in transgender health care, including vocal therapy, as well as discussion about the demands of this public should be proposed in society in order to promote health and inclusion to this population.