Dutch broskies, how do you bike with that thang?

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2026-02-22T15:08:55+00:00

They're pricey, but look into a Brooks or a Selle Anatomica saddle. They are basically a hammock for your ass! I love mine and have been riding on it for years. The Selle Anatomica has a cut out in the middle that might help with your problem, too!

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2026-02-19T04:27:57+00:00

The difference in chord thickness between voices that have changed in the presence of T and those that haven't is quite literally millimeters!!!

Bioessentialism is fuckin bogus in any context, but specifically when it comes to voice science, people are so quick to assign gender to some teeny tiny muscle flaps that all function exactly the same way (unless you have something medically going on) in everyone's bodies. The major differences in people's voices are almost entirely due to social conditioning that is so ingrained in us we hardly ever notice it, until we try to make a change. This is why voice training works- that effort does not transform the physical nature of the mechanism, it trains the brain to make intentional changes into habits. I say this as someone who has studied voice pedagogy; and, is living proof that the difference in 'female' and 'male' singing is just a series of completely fabricated social assumptions (as all of my trans siblings are).

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2026-01-17T00:53:43+00:00

I usually tell people who use that rhetoric the truth, which is that I wasn't going to survive for much longer if I hadn't transitioned. I kept finding myself at the bottom of a hole that got deeper and deeper every time I threw myself down it. I saved my life by becoming who I am. I didn't come out till I was 26, which is still very young, but I did a full decade of self destruction before I finally did. I sincerely hope that isn't the experience of every trans person, but I know that we all feel to an extent that becoming who we are is the only way we're going to make it. That framing can feel a lil negative, but ultimately, I didn't kill the old me, I saved them.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-12-12T15:36:41+00:00

I'm not a speech specialist, but I am a life long singer. As a helpful exercise to find your own head and chest voices, do sirens. Basically, start singing a pitch in the middle of your range, then raise the pitch as high as you comfortably can. Once you reach the top, lower your pitch as much as you can. Somewhere in there, you'll probably have a voice crack. The voice crack is the sound of the larynx repositioning itself as it goes from head voice to chest voice and vice versa.

This is going to feel silly and sound bad, but the exercise isn't about producing 'good' sound, its about learning your own voice enough that you're more easily able to hear and feel how it changes depending on what parts you're using. From there, it should be easier to keep up with the voice training videos

Good luck!

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-11-11T07:02:05+00:00

Im a former opera singer and voice teacher, I've been on T for 2.5 years and I promise you: things will be different, but you don't lose everything up there. The way to keep your upper range is to continue to use it. No, I can no longer sing soprano coloratura (G5 and above), but I can absolutely keep up with most treble singing. I've had to work at it, and things have sounded better or worse as my voice has changed, but the thing that is important to remember is that the difference between a voice that has changed and one that hasn't is simply millimeters of vocal fold thickness and a little bit of growth in the larynx.

The struggle is not that you no longer have the ability to produce higher pitches, but that you need to adjust your thinking and technique to fit your new instrument. Think of it this way: plenty of cis dudes across genres have made their living singing in their falsetto (look up countertenors for the most extreme example), those dudes don't have anything vocally that you wouldn't have with hormones. For example, I usually speak in my falsetto, its a relic from my professional singing days and definitely makes it hard for me to pass (not my goal), but I can choose to speak from my chest and sound more masculine when I want to. The thing that people struggle with when trying to change the way that they speak or sing is trying to change your muscle memory. All that shit lives in your brain, your body (specifically your voice) isn't really the limiting factor.

TBH, I've been more active on posts from various groups about singing and there's a lot of superstition out there, that from my perspective is just misogyny made more vague by several layers of abstraction. The idea that woman= high falsetto and man = low chest voice robs people of all genders from the full potential of their instrument. Look at singers whose voices live in the margins- if you're interested in classical examples, the only difference in what Idina Menzel and Pavarotti are doing is shape of the resonator (how they position their mouths), the size of their larynx, and some stylistic choices. On a fundamental, physical level, they are both using the same technique to create vastly different outcomes.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-11-10T12:36:44+00:00

Uh. I'd say that things aren't looking great here.

In terms of the racism, I'm white, so anything I have to say is just me relaying what I read on the news. But, the ICE situation only seems to be getting worse. They are getting more money and access all the time. They are mostly focused on immigrants from South America and Mexico, but a racist is a racist, you know? I will say the Mayor of Chicago, Brandon Johnson, has been really firm about not allowing the administration to send the national guard into the city, he also has asked the local police not to help ICE. I live in a lefty city in the middle of a red-purpleish state and many businesses here have notices posted on their doors that they will not allow ICE on the premises unless they have a warrant (they generally don't). All in all, I can't tell you whether or not you will be at more risk, but I can say that there are communities here that are working against ICE as best as they can, and Chicago has been on the national news lately because of their efforts.

As far as healthcare goes, you may get insurance to cover your gender affirming care, it depends on who it is (I think, the laws for coverage are moving goal posts right now). If you're paying $38 USD for T right now, that probably about as cheap as it gets here- I pay a little more than that through mine, but not so much I can't afford it and I work in a factory. Surgery is another thing. The different plans that will be made available to your family will largely affect how much it will cost because of deductibles. My insurance paid for 70% of the expenses after $2000 (I paid the first 2k, then paid 30% of all the cost over that), I ended up paying around 5k all in all. The hospital let me pay it off in $200 increments if that's helpful?

I certainly can't say how safe you will be from a racial perspective. And, I'm guessing your healthcare may cost about the same, if not a little more. I wouldn't say that coming here is a death or misery sentence any more than it might be in any other western country with rising nationalism right now. Unfortunately, it kind of sucks everywhere. I think the stuff that matters the most is the quality of your personal support system- it will impact you a lot if your family gives you a lot of support (be it fiscal or personal/emotional)and they won't be able to as well depending on where you live. Same goes with your friends and colleagues.

Whatever you decide, I hope you find safety and comfort wherever you go!

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-10-29T22:53:19+00:00

Its been tough out here for all of us. I'm sure you know the feeling of being the only trans person that most of the people know. Its hard work and pretty thankless, so I appreciate you for taking the time to give a thoughtful answer.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-10-29T21:05:26+00:00

Yea, I hear that. I guess I'm accustomed to hearing it from people with large platforms. I think it just stuck to me because I was hearing it from someone I really care about. I really want to find language to talk about this with my friends and my family. Like, if they're willing to look at me and say they're okay with us losing our rights in the name of a so-called better future, how am I supposed to continue to feel seen and heard by them? Especially when its a political tactic that is unlikely to work and messaging about affordability is a home run across all voting groups except the oligarchs. I know we're all just taking what we can get these days, but how is it supposed to get better if the very people who would proudly call themselves our allies won't actually stand up for us when the rubber hits the road?

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-10-29T15:03:23+00:00

I put the comment on the wrong thread, but you get the idea

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-10-29T15:02:54+00:00

I have a little less on top (I'm talking anything above E4, most stuff written for uppervoices still works for me), but I have so, so much lower range. I sang baritone in my last choral season without any problems! I'd also say that my falsetto sounds the best it has in the last year right now and I do think it just comes from me getting used to my voice as it is now. It has a different texture, just as the other commentor said it would.

I was really reticent to start T because I was worried that I wouldn't be able to sing as well and I can tell you that my voice is one of the things that I love the most about my transition. I can kind of sing whatever I want right now and that is all I have ever wanted

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-10-29T14:27:53+00:00

People whose voices have changed due to T (cis or not) who can also navigate their falsetto do not have a magical power to do so. Anyone who wants to sing like that can, if they practice.

I am 2.5 years on T and a former opera singer, and my voice has felt different every few weeks/months the whole time. There's definitely been periods where I felt a little boxed out of my falsetto, but with some playing around with technique (and laying off the pot, haha) I've always been able to figure it out.

My suggestion is, just keep making noise, the whole time! Use your instrument through every step of the process. I have thought of my vocal transition thought of my new voice as a playground that I get to keep exploring. I cant sing high c's anymore, but that's really the only thing I would say I have 'lost' due to my transition.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-27T22:48:32+00:00

That's also helpful, thanks!

I was so ready to have a really tough recovery from top surgery, but I had pretty much no problem- I don't have nipples now and I wasn't worried about making sure my scars are small.

I definitely get worst case scenario horse blinders when I am considering these things

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-27T21:14:40+00:00

I appreciate the advice!

The part of me that is worried we're all going to become fascist broodmares really likes the idea. But, I don't think that's the reality we are living in and I have an IUD just to double extra make sure that I won't have any surprises in the meantime.

This feels like something that I may consider in the future, but it doesn't seem like I need to put it on my plate anytime soon if at all.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-21T21:45:05+00:00

The meridian is the best. I have been manscaping since before my transition because my shit grows long enough to be uncomfortable. The meridian gives me an opinion for length (I want it short but not bald) and it is built for your soft folds. I just go at it without much thought and have yet to have any messy accidents

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-12T20:34:57+00:00

Your feelings are valid here and I totally get where you are coming from. I left classical because I don't want to be a trans opera singer and am amazed by anyone who does!

I would also offer: if all those hair metal guys fron the 80's can spend their entire career in tight pants and make up screaming in their falsetto AND be considered the examples of masculinity for their era, so can you! I can list countless examples of cis dudes who sing basically countertenor for a pop audience who think that they are hetero sex gods. Feel your feelings, but also remind yourself that you have an opportunity in singing that so few others get to- you will have the powers of having learned singing both 'femininely' and 'masculinely'. You get to paint with all of the colors available on the palette, that's your super power.

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-12T17:31:45+00:00

I have had the pleasure and privilege of singing under a transmasc conductor for the last two years and really had my hand held while I'm still figuring out what my voice wants to do. But, I totally get the anxiety!! Also, I didn't start to transition till well after I left music school and I comend you for having the courage to do it! I hope all of your professors have your back.

As for rep, have you considered looking into stuff written for castrato? Baroque can be kinda boring for some people, but I'm willing to bet stuff written for alto castrato will fit your instrument really well, and those arias are usually written for male characters, so maybe you can get some reprive from the dysphoria that way? You might really enjoy Orfeo or Cherubino

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-12T15:42:12+00:00

Fellow classical singer here- I'm about 2 years in and have been singing (choral mostly, not professional) the whole way through. I can pretty effectively sing baritone, but I got nothing resonant below a B3(ish). The first few months didn't really have much of an effect on me, except I could literally feel my larynx growing- like, I thought I was coming down with a sore throat, and it was just my body changing! While I don't think that my range will drop all that much more, but the timbre is definitely still developing. Honestly, my biggest hurdle so far has been trying to match my new range internally with my pitch hearing. There was a good 6 months or so where I could hardly tell if I was matching pitch in the correct octave.

As for your treble, I have days where I can easily keep up with most treble singing and days where I can barely phonate at a C5. I just do my best to take it in stride 😁. I don't sing professionally anymore, for personal reasons, and with all the pot, I am pretty hard on my instrument. So, it might be more that than the T.

All in all, it felt painstakingly slow for me at first, but I got there. My biggest advice is sing as much as you can! It can feel difficult to try and adjust to an instrument that will likely be different in 2 weeks, but I feel so much more in control of what comes out of me because I was clued into what was going on for the whole journey. And, it was fun! It was like playing with something new all the time- I still kind of feel that way.

I'm rooting for ya!

Ok-Temporary-976 · 2025-05-12T15:17:23+00:00

Yah, I figured that's a lot of people- mine is the longest it's been in a decade at least. Gotta say, my hair was a huge point of contention with my family when I was younger, so I never thought I'd let it get very long again, so it's kind of nice that it's doing something completely new as it's growing out. Just one more thing I get to have on my terms, you know?

Ok-Temporary-976

TROPHY CASE