Lynn Griffith

Lynn Conway

I chose the name Lynn in honor of Lynn Conway, who made many major contributions in computer science, particularly in chip design.

When she transitioned in 1968, IBM fired her for it. She continued her career at Xerox PARC without them being aware of her trans identity. Only when rumors began about her pre-transition work at IBM did she come out and become a public advocate for trans rights. She’s quoted as saying: “From the 1970s to 1999 I was recognized as breaking the gender barrier in the computer science field as a woman, but in 2000 it became the transgender barrier I was breaking.” In 2020, IBM apologized to her and gave her a lifetime achievement award for her contributions to the field. She passed away in 2024.

Beyond the discrimination she faced professionally, at the time Conway transitioned, being openly trans wasn’t really possible at all. Post-transition, she was estranged from her family, as was typical of parents who transitioned back then. Medical care for trans women was often gated behind a lot of complicated, expensive, and misogynistic requirements.

I wanted to honor Lynn Conway in part because her experience and effort helped make things more open for the rest of us. My own experience of transitioning so far has been nothing like hers. My family and friends and co-workers have been incredibly open-hearted and kind.

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Suzy Eddie Izzard

Early in my relationship with Sara, we watched DVDs of Eddie Izzard’s standup specials constantly. We mostly loved Izzard’s material for its quirky historical perspectives and scattershot barrage of topics. But they also dressed in feminine clothes and heels and makeup, adopting a variety of idiosyncratic labels like “executive transvestite,” “action transvestite,” “male lesbian,” and “male tomboy.”

In 2023, she added the name Suzy, making her full name Suzy Eddie Izzard. Having adopted the name Eddie early in her career, many people knew her by that name, so she kept it as her middle name. She said, “So no one can really get it wrong unless they call me Kenneth or Sabrina.”

I found that approach really inspirational. As I started various aspects of transitioning, I mostly wanted to ensure that my existing relationships continued and grew in the process. Keeping Brad as my middle name felt like a nice symbol of that priority, and hopefully it can bring some of that “no one can really get it wrong” attitude to the whole thing. I'm not fluidly switching between the 2 like Suzy does, but I still like having it there.

Then, for my birthday last year, Sara got us tickets to see Suzy. She was in town to discuss her production of Hamlet and raise money for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and there was a little reception afterward. So I got to talk with her about all of this and give her a big hug, which was an incredibly meaningful experience. A woman approached me afterward and said she’d overheard our conversation and was very moved, so I also got the nice surprise of a bunch of candid shots of the two of us talking.

Labels and community

My experience with labels has been that sometimes they are a handy shortcut to understanding something about a person and connecting with them. But they can also be a hindrance when we carry presuppositions about what those labels imply. When that happens, I try to set the labels aside and just receive the person as they are.

LGBTQ+ labels are always shifting, in part to avoid the feeling of being trapped by stereotypes and misconceptions. Julia Serano talks about this pattern in the introduction to Whipping Girl:

In recent years, I have written extensively about a phenomenon that I call the Activist Language Merry-Go-Round — briefly stated, because trans people are highly stigmatized and face undue scrutiny in our culture, all of the language associated with us will also eventually face similar stigma and scrutiny. So even if I did try to update the original language, whatever supposedly new and fresh terms I might choose today in 2015 would probably be viewed as outdated or problematic (for some reason or another) within a few short years.

While embracing the label “trans” has been helpful in finding community and organizing politically at times, my experience has mostly been one of self-expression and connection with the people in my life. One of the most joyous aspects of various steps in transitioning so far has been seeing my own openness put other people at ease — hopefully giving them a little more room to be authentic and open themselves.

— Lynn

P.S. This summer I’ll be running to raise money for Brave Space Alliance, a local trans non-profit, if you want to chip in!