Influence of Listener Characteristics on Perceptions of Sex and Gender

Inclusion of sex-atypical voices in speech perception protocols can reveal variations in listener perception and is particularly applicable in developing guidelines for transgender speech treatment. Ninety-three listeners, divided into four groups based on sex and sexual orientation, provided auditory-perceptual measures of sex and gender display for 21 cisgender men, 21 cisgender women, and 22 transgender women. There was no significant evidence that those listener characteristics were influential, except transgender women were perceived as significantly more feminine by nonstraight compared with straight listeners.