Voicing gender

Voices define and identity us. How does one retrain their voice to create a perceived ‘authentic voice’. Frances Dyson wrote “to be listened to or even heard on radio, women have to adopt the persona (from the Greek, meaning through sound) of the ideal male voice.”

Voicing Gender moves through sonic environments of pitch, tone and pace. The artist engaged a voice therapist and the work is made up of her own voice as a series of repetitious pitch changing exercises used in speech therapy with trans and non- binary people. The work is relayed binaurally via radio hats inspired by Victor T. Hoeflich of the Merri-Lei Corporation, NYC in 1949, whose early novelty radios hats had valve AM radio built into a pith helmets, available in eight colours “Lipstick Red, Tangerine, Flamingo, Canary Yellow, Chartreuse, Blush Pink, Rose Pink and Tan” (Radio Electronics) targeted at women. Sports team radio baseball hats were popular in the 70’s and are now the most gender neutral hat in the world, the artist has made a series of radio hats reflecting the bright lipstick colours of the original radio hats. This is uncanny binaural sound work is works as digital mimicry, and reflects on the representations of a gendered voice.