Megan Leyman

Change can be scary, as you may know, but if it’s for a good reason it still makes it daunting, but it will work out in the end! 

Especially if you are learning how to speak differently such as speaking more like a man and more like a woman, which I am doing because I am transitioning from a man to a woman. 

I have started transitioning since November 2019, so it be 4 years this year. It took a few years to see a doctor about my “selfish” decision to make myself happier, then many years after that to be seen at Gender Service at Daventre Hospital in Daventry, Northamptonsbire. Mainly the cause of the wait is because there is like only 2 hospitals in the whole of the uk if remember serves, that deals with people like me.  

I was referred for Speech therapy in 2017/2018 If I remember correctly, due to similar reasons to why it took me many years to get seen at Gender Services, it took me like 5/6 years to sceen by a speech specialist this year. 

Since 2013 I have worked in a retail environment, dealing with customers and management daily which involves a lot of talking, be it for selling suitcases to working in a bakery, I like to talk even though I don’t think before I speak and often speak random crap but if it makes people laugh then I don’t mind. 

While I have been transitioning, I have been very self-conscious about speaking so much despite going against what I have been doing up to now mainly when serving customers or speaking to friends in the women’s changing rooms at work. 

I will go more into this in part 4, but I know no matter how much I transition I still got a male built body wearing false breasts and some increase estrogen than normal, so some customers will just still call me sir without thinking because they see the body first before anything else.  

It’s just something I must accept, but again I will hold this subject for part 4. 

So, with that in mind, I have paid a lot of attention to my voice modification. I said in the last change post that this whole transition is like playing a film role and voice is a critical part of that isn’t it? 

I suppose the best way to think about it, is that I’m doing a voice actor job for a tall blonde lady in a slice of life anime.  

I have waited like 5/6 years to be seen by a speech specialist for like 6/7-years appointments spread like 3 weeks apart, you may think that is barely anything for the wait I had to endure (like I was in a waiting list of hundreds of people, then covid and the specialist going on maternity leave etc.) but it’s more than enough. 

As the saying goes, Rome wasn’t built in a day and changing how I have been speaking for nearly 30 years isn’t going to change overnight no matter how I want to wish it.  

At the time of this blog post being published, I can only speak feminine for short periods when serving customers or speaking to family and friends if I put enough focus into it. To track how I have been doing throughout this journey, I decided to set up a youtube channel where I try to record videos nearly every day doing exercises that my speech specialist recommend me to attempt every day. 

She didn’t recommend me to set up a youtube channel, it was my idea, as I’ve been producing video blogs since I was like 19 and I want to see the changes myself. Also, it may be helpful to someone in my situation to see what it takes. 

See above the first video I uploaded to my channel. 

Compare this to my most recent one (at the time of this post being published).  

It’s about not speaking from your chest, which you would do if you were a bloke and trying to speak more at the top of your head just behind your teeth. It’s a bit more difficult if you are over 6ft like I am, because there is a lot more chest resonance to deal with. 

I have mentioned it to a few friends and family, but I feel like Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady with all this, but I love a challenge. 

I’ve only got one more appointment left in June, I will be sad after my last one, but I have been taught so much, see above all the sheets of papers I use for my exercises etc. I will have to make sure I put them somewhere safe afterwards as they are very important to me despite how they look as this is just the foundation of things to come. 

As mentioned already, I can do my “feminine” voice at times, so I know I can do it, it’s going to take me a few years for it to take over as my normal voice. 

If you have any questions please ask them down in the comments below 🙂

Thanks for reading!

Megan