Abstract
Voice loss after total laryngectomy disrupts identity and quality of life yet current assistive technologies reproduce techno-ableist assumptions, prioritizing speech mimicry over identity restoration while systematic marginalization excludes laryngectomees from research and innovation. This paper presents a care-centred participatory design agenda bridging a propositional approach “Singing Without a Larynx”, a vowel-based vocal interface for singing, with cross-cultural photovoice research in the United States and Argentina. Grounded in care ethics, we operationalize attentiveness, responsibility, and relational accountability, positioning participants as co-designers whose embodied knowledge shapes technological imaginaries, and community challenges and assets. We propose: (1) a critical framework integrating care ethics, disability justice, and political economy to challenge techno-ableism in AI voice design; (2) photovoice methodology adapted for HCI and assistive technology research, building advocacy structures alongside design knowledge; (3) preliminary design principles for voice interfaces that prioritize identity restoration and creative agency, to be validated through participatory research.
Keywords
Care ethics, Participatory design, Laryngectomy, Disability justice, Voice interfaces
DOI
https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1993
Citation
Gonzalez Barrios, G.L. (2026) Re-voicing Identity: Care Ethics and the Politics of Unsilencing After Total Laryngectomy, in Simeone, L., Gray, C. M., Verhoeven, A., de Götzen, A., Bakırlıoğlu, Y., Zohar, H., Stead, M., and Buwert, P. (eds.), DRS2026: Edinburgh, 8–12 June, Edinburgh, United Kingdom. https://doi.org/10.21606/drs.2026.1993
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Included in
Re-voicing Identity: Care Ethics and the Politics of Unsilencing After Total Laryngectomy
Voice loss after total laryngectomy disrupts identity and quality of life yet current assistive technologies reproduce techno-ableist assumptions, prioritizing speech mimicry over identity restoration while systematic marginalization excludes laryngectomees from research and innovation. This paper presents a care-centred participatory design agenda bridging a propositional approach “Singing Without a Larynx”, a vowel-based vocal interface for singing, with cross-cultural photovoice research in the United States and Argentina. Grounded in care ethics, we operationalize attentiveness, responsibility, and relational accountability, positioning participants as co-designers whose embodied knowledge shapes technological imaginaries, and community challenges and assets. We propose: (1) a critical framework integrating care ethics, disability justice, and political economy to challenge techno-ableism in AI voice design; (2) photovoice methodology adapted for HCI and assistive technology research, building advocacy structures alongside design knowledge; (3) preliminary design principles for voice interfaces that prioritize identity restoration and creative agency, to be validated through participatory research.