A pair of Texas Tech researchers are raising eyebrows for hosting a workshop to help transgender people work on their voice as they transition to the opposite sex.
Two speech therapists head up the program which is offered by the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Speech Language & Hearing Clinic.
“Are taxdollars being used at this state school to promote this? Is this really prudent as something that should be encouraged?” asks Jonathan Saenz, president of Texas Values.
Saenz says it's an issue government entities and state-funded schools should stay out of.
“Some of the government officials are preferring, in California and maybe these two professors at Texas Tech, behaviors there are a lot of questions about,” he says. “There are statistics that show there are higher rates of suicide and things that don't appear to be in people's best interests.”
“If it's a school of public health that's promoting this, you have to wonder if they're basing their activities on all of the information out there. I think these are important questions to ask.
Texas Tech is not alone. Voice training for transgender people is a growing field at college campuses across the U.S.