Robin Mills

Born in San Jose, CA, 1959

Robin was raised by a single mother who wanted a feminine daughter who wore dresses, makeup, and joined traditional girls clubs. Being forced into a mold she didn’t fit was hard enough. Being part of a family that moved every year made growing up all the harder.

After graduating from high school at age 16, Robin came out as a lesbian. She became involved with the women’s movement in the late 70s in San Jose and San Francisco—and  paid a price for her visibility. Walking in San Jose one day with a lesbian friend, they were harassed and physically assaulted by a group of young men. She has also had her share of verbal insults and was fired from one job for being a lesbian. 

In the mid-80s, with no financial or family support from her family, she moved to Brooklyn. Working full-time, she spent the next nine years taking college courses, eventually earning a degree in computer science from New York University. There, she also found a circle of friends who fed her intellectual and artistic interests, leading to her current dual life as a high-tech geek during the day and a painter and stone sculptor at night.

In 1993, Robin returned to the Bay Area and quickly connected with the Women’s Building, even helping to tear down the bleachers from the second floor balcony during the building’s 1999 renovation. It wasn’t until 2005 that Robin’s and Sue’s paths crossed at a meeting of the San Francisco chapter of the Sirens Women’s Motorcycle Club. Glancing at the woman sitting next to her, Sue’s heart skipped a beat as she said to herself, “Oh, my God, she’s incredibly gorgeous”. An innocent motorcycle ride led to their dating and their marriage on October 27, 2008.

“I have a lot of admiration for how Robin took care of herself when she was growing up and pulled herself up by her own bootstraps. She persevered all those years to get her degree and succeeded in a field that was dominated by men when she got started. She is a kind and loving butchwoman,” says Sue, “and my beloved.”

Honored by Sue Greenberg