Olivia Werth

Abstract

Born in 1976, Olivia Werth was raised as a boy in Des Moines, Iowa, in what she describes as a conservative, Christian, lower-middle-class family. As a child, Olivia played with cross-dressing and “always knew I was a girl,” but came to hide that part of herself when her family rejected it. She became especially frightened after seeing the character of Buffalo Bill, a cross-dressing serial killer in the 1991 film Silence of the Lambs. For the following thirty years, Olivia buried her female identity. She would attend Grinnell College, where she met her future wife Niki, with whom she immediately “trauma bonded.” The couple would eventually go to the Northeast, first living in Western Connecticut, followed by Boston and eventually Lynn. Olivia worked various jobs in financial services, accounting, and mortgage firms. It was only during the pandemic in 2020 that Olivia claimed her female identity, something her partner Niki “knew well before I did.” Although Olivia experiences misgendering and transphobia, the couple has found a largely tolerant home in Lynn. Olivia has started a zine, Prismatic, dedicated to the LGBTQIA+ community of Lynn. She is a member of United Lynn Pride and volunteers for NAGLY and Trans Support.