Are We ‘Policing’ Young Women’s Voices – Fresh Air: NPR

Listen to a recent debate on NPR about the perceptions of women’s voices in our culture.  Over the course of my career I’ve been told various things about my voice; You sound uneducated.  You sound unsure of yourself.  You sound like a Valley-girl … even though I am none of these things, and have never been.  I’ve been told to work on lowering my voice, to try to sound more authoritative, more direct.  Where is this advice coming from and why?  Could it be that our personal and cultural sensibilities of sound and voice are evolving … the way that everything else does within our culture?  I am now of the mind that as long as I can be heard and understood both vocally  and emotionally in performance, ALL IS WELL WITH MY VOICE.  A voice is a very personal thing, as are opinions and perceptions of others.