Superiority Complex 3: Dad's Carving the Turkey

In this video, I continue my response to the situation presented by Samantha Lux, a transgender youtuber who reports that a tracheal shave left him with symptoms of dysphonia and dysphagia. I find the premise of this surgery to be unbelievably foolish, for all but obvious deformities impacting function prior to surgery. The surgeon acknowledges drawing on experience with nosejobs, and the nose is far more forgiving when it comes to function in the case of loss of iatrogenic loss of sensation and structural stability. It is largely decorative - especially mine, which is 3D printed, held in place with magnets, and actually detaches at night to go in the dishwasher.

A second corrective surgery offered only partial relief. In this installment, I discuss my theory as to why this sort of surgery may have the physical potential to impair higher pitches especially, and get out ye olde dusty guitar as a demonstration. Then I watch a tracheal shave surgery that I found on youtube and offer commentary. I was surprised that this instructional video did not remind the viewer to take care to locate and avoid the superior branch of the laryngeal nerve, which innervates one of the stabilizing muscles of the larynx.

The voice is a musical instrument. It is also a structure that evolved to have sufficient strength to allow a person to grunt. Grunting requires inhaling, which extends muscles to their proper length, increasing their potential force applied, and then ‘bearing down,’ or appling force to this pocket of air you have now trapped inside of you via your voice. As a lapsed lifter, living in sin against Brodin, I understand how much power this dime-sized (or in the case of men, nickel-sized) structure can secure for my posterity during a deadlift. Form follows function.

To go in and physically alter the shape, thickness, and materials composition of the larynx in order to achieve a cosmetic result seems as destined to alter the timbre and range of the voice as shaving the stem of a guitar or reshaping a horn or turning a snare drum concave would all affect the sound possibilities that instrument is then capable of - and likely, not in a way that increases variety, precision, and control.

The video can also be found here: https://odysee.com/@Exulansic:d/Superiority-Complex-3-Dad's-Carving-the-Turkey
And here: https://exulansic.substack.com/p/video-superiority-complex-3-dads