Reply To: Long time no talk!

[Charlie Cavanaugh]

Thank you for sharing! I’m a computer scientist, and computer science and engineering often go hand in hand, so nice to meet a sister engineer! Also I appreciate your level of understanding and comments on your own journey. I feel like I’m not alone in how I feel, which is what this website is all about. My legal name is Charles. I like that name, but I have ancestors named Cynthia and my mom always said she if I’d been born a girl that she might’ve named me that. I went by Cynthia/Cyndi when I actually applied for and got a nice job a few years back. A serious computer job with good pay. I  was accepted for who I was, I didn’t wear makeup, I didn’t speak in falsetto, I just was myself. It was a support engineering job which I enjoyed and did well at, but I got another opportunity that involves my passion of programming and I’m there now. I use my legal name but I work with a diverse and inclusive group; and it’s no secret on my professional profiles that I am fully out and go by all sorts of names, including Dr. Cavanaugh. I have a PhD in Computer Science. I have a wonderful former colleague who knows I go by both Charles and Cyndi and he still chooses to call me Cyndi. I also go by Charlie which is a delightful example of a non-binary unisex name. I mostly wear unisex clothing although I’m a rather big & tall person so I can’t always wear what I want. I support and love clothing makers that make efforts to inclusive sizes and styles.