One of the many things that makes I Am Cait so important is its honesty. From addressing Caitlyn Jenner's own privilege to showing her fear of presenting as Caitlyn to her children, the E! docuseries doesn't gloss over the struggles she has been through, and that was certainly true of Sunday's new episode. Though the main focus was on her road trip with other transgender women, a recurring theme of I Am Cait was Caitlyn's concern over her voice.
Early in the episode, she discussed it with her stepdaughter Kim Kardashian. Caitlyn recalled how before coming out, she would sometimes try to use a more high-pitched voice over the phone when staying at a hotel, hoping that the person on the other end would call her "ma'am." As she told Kim, these attempts were usually unsuccessful, before explaining that she could have surgery to adjust her voice. Kim and her friend Malika Haqq both expressed concern about a surgery, asking what would happen if something went wrong. Eventually, they began playing around with an app that tests the pitch of your voice, having fun with Caitlyn. Though this conversation was mostly lighthearted, Caitlyn brought up her concerns repeatedly throughout the episode, saying at one point, "my voice has never been terribly bad, but it’s certainly not quite right."
Fortunately, Caitlyn was later able to share her insecurity and worries with a group of transgender women, who could sympathize with her and discuss their own experiences. Author Jen Richards explained how she went to a vocal coach early in her transition, who taught her different techniques for raising her vocal pitch. Advocate Chandi Moore, meanwhile, shared that she had never done anything to her voice, essentially stating that people should take for who she is or not at all.
Though these different perspectives seemed to help Caitlyn, she continued to discuss her concerns, and in the preview for next week's episode, she discusses her options further. It seems that alongside family and advocacy, one of the themes of I Am Cait will be seeing Caitlyn make these important, personal decisions, and her bravery for making all of them so public.
Image: James White/E! Entertainment
