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A bit of a weird one here, perhaps, but I’m curious to hear a little bit from you guys about this. Basically, how do you feel whenever you hear the sound of your own voice?
In my experience, at least, how I think my voice sounds and how it actually sounds when it’s, say, played back on a recording of some sort, is quite the exercise in dissonance… that is to say, I don’t sound anything in reality like how I sound in my own mind! And in all honesty, I can’t say that I particularly like my “real” voice that much. It leans towards the nasal side of things more often than not, which, among other things, often makes me feel like my voice is weak or sounds funny. And that, in turn, makes me fear that I wouldn’t be taken seriously if, say, I were to make a speech about something important, or even if I were to just talk amongst regular people about random things. Needless to say, this is something of a big insecurity of mine; one that I’ve had since childhood that hasn’t really improved that much even in my adult life. And that’s frustrating because during the above occasions, I know that what I have to say is worthwhile and that I should have confidence in myself and my words, but I don’t always feellike that’s true whenever I actually hear myself speak with my voice.
Meanwhile, I’ve found that my voice also sometimes doesn’t necessarily “fit” what some people might expect from my gender (so it’s basically either too low or too high; take your pick). This has caught me some flak from either people who can’t handle that (not as many as you’d think, but they exist) or from people ostensibly trying to protect me from people who can’t handle that (my parents, often). The latter have suggested on multiple occasions that I try to alter my voice towards a more traditional-sounding direction in order to present myself better as my gender, the obvious implication being that my voice isn’t “X” enough for said gender. And that’s something that has often made me feel uncomfortable because it kind of feels like I’m violating my “true self” whenever I’m pressured to do things like that, despite the fact that I don’t even like how the voice of my “true self” sounds in the first place (funny how that works, huh?).
Now apparently, I’m not the only one who’s experienced something like this. As far as people I know personally, my parents have expressed similar feelings with their own voices. Not necessarily the dissatisfaction or insecurity, mind, but certainly the feeling that their voices don’t sound like how they expected them to sound. Which makes me wonder: is this a common thing that people feel, or is it a special, unusual kind of thing exclusive to a select few? And to those who do experience that kind of dissonance with your voice, how does it make you feel? Do you actually like the sound of your own voice as it is in reality, or does it dissatisfy you compared to what you think your voice sounds like, or what it sounds like to you in your head?
In my experience, at least, how I think my voice sounds and how it actually sounds when it’s, say, played back on a recording of some sort, is quite the exercise in dissonance… that is to say, I don’t sound anything in reality like how I sound in my own mind! And in all honesty, I can’t say that I particularly like my “real” voice that much. It leans towards the nasal side of things more often than not, which, among other things, often makes me feel like my voice is weak or sounds funny. And that, in turn, makes me fear that I wouldn’t be taken seriously if, say, I were to make a speech about something important, or even if I were to just talk amongst regular people about random things. Needless to say, this is something of a big insecurity of mine; one that I’ve had since childhood that hasn’t really improved that much even in my adult life. And that’s frustrating because during the above occasions, I know that what I have to say is worthwhile and that I should have confidence in myself and my words, but I don’t always feellike that’s true whenever I actually hear myself speak with my voice.
Meanwhile, I’ve found that my voice also sometimes doesn’t necessarily “fit” what some people might expect from my gender (so it’s basically either too low or too high; take your pick). This has caught me some flak from either people who can’t handle that (not as many as you’d think, but they exist) or from people ostensibly trying to protect me from people who can’t handle that (my parents, often). The latter have suggested on multiple occasions that I try to alter my voice towards a more traditional-sounding direction in order to present myself better as my gender, the obvious implication being that my voice isn’t “X” enough for said gender. And that’s something that has often made me feel uncomfortable because it kind of feels like I’m violating my “true self” whenever I’m pressured to do things like that, despite the fact that I don’t even like how the voice of my “true self” sounds in the first place (funny how that works, huh?).
Now apparently, I’m not the only one who’s experienced something like this. As far as people I know personally, my parents have expressed similar feelings with their own voices. Not necessarily the dissatisfaction or insecurity, mind, but certainly the feeling that their voices don’t sound like how they expected them to sound. Which makes me wonder: is this a common thing that people feel, or is it a special, unusual kind of thing exclusive to a select few? And to those who do experience that kind of dissonance with your voice, how does it make you feel? Do you actually like the sound of your own voice as it is in reality, or does it dissatisfy you compared to what you think your voice sounds like, or what it sounds like to you in your head?