An interesting problem

[figmo]

It's interesting from a scientific point, anyway.

From my POV, it means I really have to get cracking on finishing up those vocal harmony arrangements for my CD.

The reason? My alto is going to become a baritone soon.

Specifically, Dr. Jane Ann Robinson told me today she plans to become Dr. James Daniel Robinson.

We joked that if things take a while, she could cut all the alto tracks, then after her voice changes, she could cut baritone tracks. (Actually, she thinks she'll be a tenor like her father, but I think she'll be a baritone.)

Comments

[mrlogic.livejournal.com]

Well....that's a surprise.

[kshandra]

Yeah, that was my reaction.

[kshandra]

I'm a contralto.

Just sayin'.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Can you read sheet music?

[kshandra]

Not to sight-sing, damnit. (And I'm still cursing the music instructor who "taught" me to play flute.) But I've wanted to learn for ages.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Ummm, err, hate to ask, but...

Did Jane/James say this was public information?

Though it does give us an interesting talking point for our appointments on Sunday.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Yes.

I told Jane I'd let her spread it, and she replied, "You have my official permission to tell other folks."

"Are you sure?" I replied.

"Yes," she answered. "You're the one person I can trust to disseminate gossip and get it right without embellishing it."

[johno.livejournal.com]

Cool!

So will be the more formal James or just Jim.

Dr James
v
Dr Jim

Dr James has a nice ring, but echos Dr Jane.
Dr Jim seems a bit clipped off for me.

[kshandra]

Dr James has a nice ring, but echos Dr Jane.

...which is actually one of the things I think "Dr. James" has in its favor...makes the transition easier for people zie encounters professionally (frex), who might not have any experience dealing with transfolk.

[I was realizing last night that I actually know more FTMs than MTFs...which feels weird, since AFAIK they're the minority of transfolk. Must ask griffen if he has any hard data on that....]

[johno.livejournal.com]

I know one FTM who I grumbled at, because he had a better beard then me.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

You do realize my song "Not the Man" is loosely based on a true story?

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Warren likes "JJ."

I prefer "Dr. J.," "J.D.," or "J.R."

As to which she'll go by as a he, I'd ask Sunday.

[johno.livejournal.com]

We asked, she's going to let the name thing sort itself out over time.

She has excluded a few variants already. Such as Jimmy.

Oh, as you can tell my use of the pronoun "she", she has not made the switch yet. Though she is amused that her friends are more concerned about being PC and/or wanting exact timings.

Though she has added James Robinson as DBA/AKA to her bank accounts.

James Robinson....

[(Anonymous)]

Jane/James Robinson Robinson
Went from a she to he...

(Rats. I'm stuck on adapting the next two lines. For those who don't recognize it, the reference is to "James James Morrison Morrison Weatherby George Duprey" or however it's spelled, which I think is by A. A. Milne.)

There have been at least two other musicians named James Robinson, so I'd guess he'll be sticking with Dr. James for now as a performing monicker...?

Forgot to sign

[(Anonymous)]

Just for the record, that last was from Keshlam. I don't normally do the LJ thing, but felt I ought to drop in on this one to add my voice to those saying "Not a great surprise; go for it and all the best." (And I love Cindy's quoted response!)

Someone once described this as "remedial puberty", for those who weren't quite satisfied with their instructor the first time around...

I'm less bemused by people changing bodies than by the fact that someone asked ME for advice on what to say to job interviewers when references/transcripts use the old name. Best I could come up with is "Just treat it as a paperwork issue, like any other name change. For a large corporation which tracks minority hiring percentage this might actually be a slight plus. If you feel a need to bring it up, the best time to do so might be when they get to discussion of health/family benefits." I'm not convinced that's the best possible approach, but it's the best I could come up with.

[artbeco.livejournal.com]

Hey, could you give Jane/James a hug from us? Haven't seen or talked for awhile, but sure wish her the best. :) Major changes deserve major hugs.

And *hugs* to both of you while you're at it. ;)

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Hugs back to you, it_aint_easy, and Riley and Casey.

[poltr1]

Wow. :-O

Maybe you should start looking for that frequency shifter now.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Actually, Stoph has one.

What I actually need to be more concerned with is the "between" period. Hormone injections in a FTM transsexual cause the voice to go through puberty -- complete with cracking.

[cellio]

Wow.

So does this mean that voice pitch is primarily hormonal? I always assumed there were some physical difference in the larynx or vocal cords that affected this.

I like the idea of having some tracks from Jane and some from James, though, if the recording schedule permits. :-)

[lysana.livejournal.com]

Hormones have an impact on how the voice box develops. FTM transsexuals have it easier on that level than MTFs, as the testosterone shots will cause the voice box to change size and shape (thus the Adam's apple on your average male). Estrogen shots don't make it shrink.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Precisely. I'd expect her voice box to enlarge, thus turning a contralto into at least a baritone, if not a basso profundo.

[griffen.livejournal.com]

Actually (and I'm sorry I didn't see this before!) the voice teacher at my last school said that sopranos are more likely to become baris/basses and altos to become tenors, both for males and FTMs. She's been a voice teacher for years and that's been her experience - the vocal change is inversely proportional.

I was a mezzo-soprano; now I'm a baritone. That seems to bear out her theory.

[johno.livejournal.com]

After about 9 months, she hits the teen boy stage.

Which is when the physical changes really start to show.

Which is when all the "hormonal" urges kick in a well.

[figmo.livejournal.com]

This is going to be fun. I can't wait to start razzing her/him about all that stuff. [insert evil grin here]

[johno.livejournal.com]

We already have.

Knowing some of her prefernces, JoeS and I have already given her some interesting web sites to go to.

We actually got her to blush of the concept of her (then him) surfing for porn.

[pafuts.livejournal.com]

Good for her for following bliss. :)

[figmo.livejournal.com]

Agreed. I compared what she's about to do to what I'm doing career-wise. Sometimes you get to where you just have to do something.

[pafuts.livejournal.com]

When is Jane/James starting transistion?

[figmo.livejournal.com]

She's got the crew cut now, but IIRC she doesn't start hormones for about six months.

Out of curiosity....

[kshandra]

Did zie happen to mention how Cindy's handling the news?

Re: Out of curiosity....

[figmo.livejournal.com]

"Now I'll finally get to meet the man I fell in love with."

(That was my first question, btw. Great minds think alike.)

Re: Out of curiosity....

[kshandra]

That is an utterly priceless response. Yay them. :D

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Well, that makes three trannies that I know in fandom.

Hmmm... "trannies" isn't offensive, is it? If it is, then I apologize, and what word is preferable?

[queenofstripes.livejournal.com]

It depends on who you ask. :) One of my roommates was a trans activist and gender studies major in college and I hear her say "f***ing neurotic trannies" once every couple of weeks (with a wry smile, of course). :) I'll use "trannies" around my friends, and I'll generally use "transpeople" or "transgendered people" around folks who don't know me as well.

I think it's like a lot of other epithets -- it depends on the context and the experiences of the listener. I've met a couple of people, usually older transgendered people, who absolutely will not suffer the term in their presence. The term is often used in pornography, so it has connotations of dehumanization and fetishization. But on the other hand, the younger trans crowd seems perfectly comfortable using it in group names, event flyers, and so forth. Unfortunately, there's also a degree of political correctness around it, in that trans people are more likely to get away with it...

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Thanks very much for the elucidation.

Though I hadn't thought about it before, this exchange would be appropriate for the mailing list of the American Dialect Society. Do you mind if I post it there? Of course, I can include your posting name or not, as you prefer.

-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian,
Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]

[queenofstripes.livejournal.com]

I don't know if I can really cited as an authority. :) But yeah, that's at least my personal experience, granted, in a very liberal city (suburban Boston). I don't mind having my name included, go right ahead!

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Gracias et spasibo, donna gentilis.

-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian,
Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody
a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel
[This text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

Self correction: I did NOT prepare the text of the previous message with NaturallySpeaking! (I could have spelled it out by voice, but small amounts of typing don't usually bother me.)

-- Dr. Whom, Consulting Linguist, Grammarian,
Orthoepist, and Philological Busybody
a.k.a. Mark A. Mandel
[THIS text prepared with Dragon NaturallySpeaking.]