Preconceived notions. We all have them. The trouble is, more often than not, they are wrong.
Now, I am the first to maintain that one should never judge a book by its cover; but I must confess a bit of a guilty pleasure in watching a reality television show based on how we expect a person’s voice to sound – “I Can See Your Voice.” This show constantly reminds me how flawed my preconceived notions can be.
It’s To Tell the Truth for voices. It’s the exact opposite of another popular show, The Voice. Instead of eliminating the bias from judging voices by keeping the appearance of the singer hidden, I Can See Your Voice exploits the tendency to be influenced by how a singer looks.
Basically, there are 6 people trying to fool two contestants and a celebrity panel into thinking they are good singers. The panellists offer their professional opinions to help the contestants decide who to eliminate in the hopes their selections are ‘bad’ singers. These decisions are based solely on:
how a person should look in order match their back story
how a singer should look (style, confidence, physique)
whether the recorded voices match well the physical performance of the person who is lip syncing
but mostly, whether the recorded voice seems like it could possibly come from the person who is lip syncing
ALL PRECONCEIVED NOTIONS
I must say this is a very entertaining show and I enjoy playing along. I particularly like it when I’m wrong. I find it much more entertaining than shows like Britain’s Got Talent because the people who are the impostors embrace the fact that they cannot sing. They unabashedly wail into the microphone and take joy in revealing to the world that they cannot carry a tune in a bucket. No one is embarrassed and no one’s feelings are hurt.
The problem with preconceived notions that are not part of a fun set-up is that they can lead us to negative and critical beliefs about ourselves and others. This phenomenon is particularly prevalent when it comes to voices.
Many people are not happy with the way their voices sound and they come up with all sorts of derogatory ways to describe them – nasal, cringe-worthy, shrill, too high, too low – the list goes on and on. I can only surmise their disappointment arises from their own preconceived notions of how a voice should sound and they consider any deviation from that notion unacceptable.
Back to the book and its cover: I work with many gender non-conforming people. I work with them on designing the cover of their book. They want and need to illustrate their book’s cover with details like appearance and voice that suggest to others the story of their true identities that lie beneath the cover.
So, when it comes to Trans voices, there is a lot to be said for having a voice that roughly meets society’s preconceived notions of how a voice should sound based on appearance – on factors such as height and age. People expect a tall woman to have a deeper voice than a petite woman. We expect a young person, both male and female, to have a higher, clearer voice than an older person. A voice that deviates too far from what is expected would most likely be perceived as incongruous and perhaps even fake. When working on developing a voice that is congruous with gender, it is helpful to consider the instrument with which you are working along with the type of sound outsiders and strangers would expect from it.
Even so, how boring would it be if everyone’s voice was ‘perfect’? If everyone’s voice ‘matched’ their appearance. If there were never any surprises.
I, for one, like to be surprised.