Last updated on August 4, 2020
Question
I am a fifteen-year-old guy with an erect penis of 5.3 inches, leg hair, thick pubic hair around my genitals, some armpit hair, and very fine facial hair. I have recently gained about one foot in height over the past year. I can also ejaculate semen and when I am aroused a clear fluid appears at the end of my glans. However, my voice hasn’t changed. Many people think that I am gay, but I am a strict Catholic and believe that homosexuality was not in God’s plan. Will my voice change soon so that others will stop making fun of me? It’s kind of hard to get a date when I sound like a kid with a seriously nasal voice.
Answer
Your description of yourself puts you in stage 4 of development. You can use the Tanner Stage Calculator for Boys to double-check my estimate. If your voice hasn’t already begun to crack, it should start in a few months. The cracking (sudden shifts in pitch) is annoying, but it means your voice box and vocal cords are getting longer. Within six months your voice will settle at a deeper pitch. Depending on your genetics, your voice may not become a ground-rattling Russian bass, you might end up in the tenor range. But pitch isn’t everything in attracting the attention of the girls around you; in fact, it has very little to do with what girls are interested in. It is what you say that will cause greater interest.
There are some things that you can do in regards to your tonal quality. Many people only use the top portion of their lungs while speaking and force most of their air through their nasal cavity. Put your hands on your sides right where the lowest rib is located. As you breathe and talk, you ought to feel your rib cage expanding and contracting. If not, start teaching yourself to breathe deeper. When you speak, imagine the sound forming just behind your front teeth (that spot you burn when you eat a too-hot slice of pizza). These two things will give you greater voice projection, but it will also smooth out the tonal quality of your voice.