If you are reading this on your mobile phone, you owe it to Lynn Conway, a transgender woman who pioneered the microchip technology that makes it possible. She passed away at age 86.
I had the opportunity to interview her as part of a class project while working on a degree of mine. She was an amazing person to talk to and truly an inspiration.
I do have a recording of the original interview. However, I prepared it for a course and indicated then it wouldn't be released to protect interviewee privacy. I'm not sure whether it would be OK to do so after she's passed. There's nothing incredibly ground-breaking in it, just an approximately 3-hour long interview about her experiences and thoughts.
Thank you for sharing this story, Erin. Lynn was a remarkable, beautiful, strong woman and had you not written this post, many people may not have known about her.
I love the last paragraph—a fitting reminder and perfect context. ❤️❤️❤️
We’ve known each other for many years and both of us were going thru the same things at the same time. I’m 78 now, lived in Syracuse most of my life, when you were in IBM.
We have also met at a few trans conferences in the past.
I’m so happy that you history is getting to be known more these days, and hope that you are finding that fact more rewarding.
Hi Angela, It's great to hear from you. Many thanks for your kind words.
You’re very welcome. I hope that you are even more able to participate in our community in the future.
Very Happy Holidays Lynn.
Lynn was a gracious women who was able to fire up to a rolling boil at hearing the namer Zucker. She destroyed him and his book of distortions and lies thoroughly.
Her stamp of approval had so much weight in our community for anyone who she considered a friend.
It's incredible to see the youtube video from 15 years ago referring to GID. Shows how much has changed in such a short time. Sadly much has also changed in other ways.
But her life and your writing are both beacons of light. Along with recent court wins, I'm hopeful.
I knew Lynn; a powerful advocate and a towering intellect. She took on many battles against the malpractice directed at the transgender community at the same time she continued to contribute to her field. Here is the best part; she was a happy warrior and lived a good life. We should keep her memory alive.
Oh, I'm very sorry to hear of her passing. Lynn Conway was one of the prominent figures in the trans community on the internet when I came out in 1999/2000. Though I never knew her personally, her presence as a thriving, successful trans woman had a big positive influence on me as I began my transition.
When I came out in 1999, her website with "TS Success Stories" showed me that it was possible for me to transition and still have a fulfilling life. Not only as a trans woman, but as a software engineer myself, Lynn was an inspiration to me in many ways.
Her passing makes me incredibly sad, but it also makes me feel joy that so many are getting to know her contributions to humanity this week.
I grieve for her husband, Charles, as well. I know how close I am to my own wife and when he stated, "I don’t know what I will do without the love of my life," it broke my heart.
Lynn Conway's passing should be mourned not only by our trans community but by everyone but also her life should be celebrated by all. She was a beautiful woman who accomplished so much in the face of adversity, she is a wonderful role model for everyone. Hopefully someday her biography will come out and we all can marvel at such a brilliant mind and how such a kind and compassionate woman she was. Visit her website where she had lists of highly accomplished woman who are trans which is quite illuminating.
Lynn was an amazing person, and she and I conversed several times over the years. Her passing is incredibly, deeply sad. I think it’s really difficult for us 21st century types to understand how truly difficult it must have been to be one of the first prominent transitioners in the 20th century. In so many ways, the system back then wasn’t set up, not even remotely, for trans people. Certain medical therapies, such as advanced facial feminization surgery, didn’t yet exist back then, limiting the ability of trans women to “pass” successfully. And of course, societal attitudes wrt jobs, divorce, custody, civil rights, etc. were savagely against trans people. Of course much has not improved, but much has, and it’s because of incredibly brave souls like Lynn that the path forward has been just a little easier for us in the 21st century.
I was a decade behind her and things were still challenging in the late 90's. She was made of tough stuff but the few times we met in person she always seemed light-hearted and postive.
Oh my god! I am in this field of study and I can’t believe I didn’t find out about her being the pioneer of it until my queer colleague told me about her story a few days ago. As a baby trans person, I’m heartened to know that a trans elder in my field was the trailblazer.
(her speech on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate from U. Victoria). It has lots more history, including some personal comments on the prejudice against women in "real" tech.
Amazing! I'm sorry she has left us and I never knew her. That was my career. So, IT WAS HER! lol
I saw PC's come into the market when I was working on great big mainframes. I'm still cussing about cellphones, though. Hahahahaha. The entire market is trying to phase out PC's by breaking every damn thing on the internet and forcing apps to take the place of programs that they're now calling apps. Drives me crazy ... LOL.
I'm still awestruck that a transwoman led the way, against all odds, and won anyway. Would've been nice to know about her a long time ago. I was born when she went to MIT. I entered Data Processing when she worked for IBM. I tried to get a job there in Boulder, CO but it was a no-go. I went into the military and got my training there. Then I was able to get into the modern industry after I discharged.
I had the opportunity to interview her as part of a class project while working on a degree of mine. She was an amazing person to talk to and truly an inspiration.
That is so incredible!
I do have a recording of the original interview. However, I prepared it for a course and indicated then it wouldn't be released to protect interviewee privacy. I'm not sure whether it would be OK to do so after she's passed. There's nothing incredibly ground-breaking in it, just an approximately 3-hour long interview about her experiences and thoughts.
It may be worth contacting her family to ask permission. The address is on her website which is still available at https://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/conway.html
Still seems like something to preserve. Not sure if the Internet Archive would be able to host a copy? Depends on privacy issues I guess.
Thank you for sharing this story, Erin. Lynn was a remarkable, beautiful, strong woman and had you not written this post, many people may not have known about her.
I love the last paragraph—a fitting reminder and perfect context. ❤️❤️❤️
I didn't know.
My last conversation with Lynn:
We’ve known each other for many years and both of us were going thru the same things at the same time. I’m 78 now, lived in Syracuse most of my life, when you were in IBM.
We have also met at a few trans conferences in the past.
I’m so happy that you history is getting to be known more these days, and hope that you are finding that fact more rewarding.
Hi Angela, It's great to hear from you. Many thanks for your kind words.
You’re very welcome. I hope that you are even more able to participate in our community in the future.
Very Happy Holidays Lynn.
Lynn was a gracious women who was able to fire up to a rolling boil at hearing the namer Zucker. She destroyed him and his book of distortions and lies thoroughly.
Her stamp of approval had so much weight in our community for anyone who she considered a friend.
I will miss her as we all should.
An amazing woman! Thanks for covering this.
It's incredible to see the youtube video from 15 years ago referring to GID. Shows how much has changed in such a short time. Sadly much has also changed in other ways.
But her life and your writing are both beacons of light. Along with recent court wins, I'm hopeful.
So much has changed, but yes, so much has not.
She was one of the best fighters for our rights <3
I knew Lynn; a powerful advocate and a towering intellect. She took on many battles against the malpractice directed at the transgender community at the same time she continued to contribute to her field. Here is the best part; she was a happy warrior and lived a good life. We should keep her memory alive.
Thank you for telling me about this woman.
Oh, I'm very sorry to hear of her passing. Lynn Conway was one of the prominent figures in the trans community on the internet when I came out in 1999/2000. Though I never knew her personally, her presence as a thriving, successful trans woman had a big positive influence on me as I began my transition.
When I came out in 1999, her website with "TS Success Stories" showed me that it was possible for me to transition and still have a fulfilling life. Not only as a trans woman, but as a software engineer myself, Lynn was an inspiration to me in many ways.
Her passing makes me incredibly sad, but it also makes me feel joy that so many are getting to know her contributions to humanity this week.
I grieve for her husband, Charles, as well. I know how close I am to my own wife and when he stated, "I don’t know what I will do without the love of my life," it broke my heart.
Lynn Conway's passing should be mourned not only by our trans community but by everyone but also her life should be celebrated by all. She was a beautiful woman who accomplished so much in the face of adversity, she is a wonderful role model for everyone. Hopefully someday her biography will come out and we all can marvel at such a brilliant mind and how such a kind and compassionate woman she was. Visit her website where she had lists of highly accomplished woman who are trans which is quite illuminating.
Lynn was an amazing person, and she and I conversed several times over the years. Her passing is incredibly, deeply sad. I think it’s really difficult for us 21st century types to understand how truly difficult it must have been to be one of the first prominent transitioners in the 20th century. In so many ways, the system back then wasn’t set up, not even remotely, for trans people. Certain medical therapies, such as advanced facial feminization surgery, didn’t yet exist back then, limiting the ability of trans women to “pass” successfully. And of course, societal attitudes wrt jobs, divorce, custody, civil rights, etc. were savagely against trans people. Of course much has not improved, but much has, and it’s because of incredibly brave souls like Lynn that the path forward has been just a little easier for us in the 21st century.
I was a decade behind her and things were still challenging in the late 90's. She was made of tough stuff but the few times we met in person she always seemed light-hearted and postive.
Thank you Erin for your wonderful and inspiring obituary!
Her memory will always be a blessing. ❤️
Oh my god! I am in this field of study and I can’t believe I didn’t find out about her being the pioneer of it until my queer colleague told me about her story a few days ago. As a baby trans person, I’m heartened to know that a trans elder in my field was the trailblazer.
You may well enjoy watching the entirety of this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ncuhRYmfJw
(her speech on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate from U. Victoria). It has lots more history, including some personal comments on the prejudice against women in "real" tech.
She donated a picture to Becoming Ourselves and was very gracious. I’m sorry. She was an amazing and impressive person.
A amazing woman. Thank you, Lynn.
You’re missed. We worked on some advocacy projects together back in the day.
Amazing! I'm sorry she has left us and I never knew her. That was my career. So, IT WAS HER! lol
I saw PC's come into the market when I was working on great big mainframes. I'm still cussing about cellphones, though. Hahahahaha. The entire market is trying to phase out PC's by breaking every damn thing on the internet and forcing apps to take the place of programs that they're now calling apps. Drives me crazy ... LOL.
I'm still awestruck that a transwoman led the way, against all odds, and won anyway. Would've been nice to know about her a long time ago. I was born when she went to MIT. I entered Data Processing when she worked for IBM. I tried to get a job there in Boulder, CO but it was a no-go. I went into the military and got my training there. Then I was able to get into the modern industry after I discharged.
RIP, dear lady.