Trans Iowans Speak Out as State Takes Away Their Rights [WATCH]

In February, Iowa became the first state to remove gender identity protections from its civil rights code. This decision, which strips transgender and nonbinary Iowans of legal protections from gender-based discrimination, was signed into law by the state’s Republican Governor Kim Reynolds. 

In a video posted to X, Reynolds echoed much of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the trans community, stating that “the civil rights code blurred the biological line between the sexes” and “has also forced Iowa taxpayers to pay for gender reassignment surgeries, and that’s unacceptable to me.” 

Uncloseted Media wanted to understand how trans Iowans are reacting and coping in the current political climate. Dawn, Selina, Luke, Max and Jo agreed to speak with us and—with intense candor—told us about the struggles of being a trans Iowan in America today. 

Watch the full interview above or read the transcript here:

Spencer Macnaughton: Hi, everyone. I am here today with a panel of five trans people who live in Iowa right now. Iowa is under fire with a litany of anti-trans laws. So we wanted to speak to the folks who live in Iowa and who are directly affected. So everyone, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it. So I want to start by just asking a kind of warmup, basic question. As someone who's never been to Iowa, tell me about Iowa as a state. How does it differ from the rest of the United States? 

Maxwell Mowicz: A thing that I think is interesting about our state overall is that we tend to have a relatively progressive history. We have a progressive past in terms of LGBTQ rights and access. So we were the third state in the country to access same-sex marriage. And so for me, when I think about Iowa and how it's kind of unique in the Midwest is that, we do tend to have more progressive history and policies and as we're seeing that rolling back right now, we're really realizing how much we had to lose. But I also think like we're just kind of a scrappy little state, just like in the middle of the Midwest. So I love that for Iowa as well.

SM: So to take a little bit of a turn, obviously the federal government has been attacking trans rights since the first day in office with numerous executive orders that aim to eliminate the idea that trans people even exist and you all do live in a red and rural state where your lawmakers are passing even more aggressive laws. How are you guys as trans-Iowans holding up in the current climate? How are you doing?

Dawn: For me, it's been pretty rough. There's a lot of despair out there, a lot of helplessness, confusion about what some of the legislation means and how it's directly going to affect us. You know, it's pretty hard. It's hard to stay positive when it feels like you're being attacked constantly. 

Selina Ulvanova: It's definitely been causing a lot of anxieties, worries. The rural area where I live here has had a very unfortunate history with the LGBT community. Someone I personally knew in high school was. Ugh. He didn't exactly make it. And I'm really worried with the way the rural community is, with the possibility of a dark alley, a little after sundown, that kind of stuff. Violence is a very real possibility. 

SM: Tell me more about that in the rural areas, what it's like.

SM: These small rural towns out here are very tight-knit communities. Everybody knows everyone. You got maybe one or two churches in the town that just about everyone goes to. Personally, something I've always thought with the rural communities, especially over the last few election cycles, is just how disconnected things are out here. People get certain ideas in their head. It’s hard for them to break it because they just aren't around as much diversity. It's mostly just cis, white folk out here, and it's really easy for them to basically just have their own echo chambers in the real world, not just online. I've definitely had to deal with and listen to a lot of hurtful and just generally unpleasant degradations.

SM: I'm so sorry. It's not okay and it's not fair at all and it shouldn't be this way. A bunch of LGBTQ-specific laws have been passed in Iowa in recent years. These include a ban on teaching about gender identity and sexual orientation before the seventh grade, a ban on gender-affirming care for minors, a ban on allowing students and adults from using school bathrooms that match their gender identity, requiring school officials to get permission from parents before using a student's chosen name, and a ban on trans girls from participating in high school and college sports. It feels relentless nationally right now but you guys in Iowa are in the belly of the beast. Tell me about, granularly, for you on a personal level, how all these laws affect you in your day-to-day.

Luke: So I'm in college, and if I wanted to go into a sport, I'm not even sure if I would be allowed to. Because the actual wording of the bill is just very vague when it comes to trans people. And I don't wanna go into sport only for them to say, “Oh, you're not allowed,” or “Oh, you can't be here,” but then it's like, “Where do I go? Because you're not gonna let me in this women's team because I look like this. But if I go on the men's team, you guys are gonna throw an uproar.” I just want to have fun and make friends, that's basically what I wanna do.

Dawn: I'm an elementary teacher and I just came out over the past few months, so it's really hard especially for me not being allowed to teach about how everything's working. So it's just the kids and everyone has just kind of seen the changes going on, but I can't just sit down with the classroom and say, “This is who I am, this what it means, this exactly what's going on.” So I just share the very basics. The furthest I've gone is just that change that I'm doing right now, just going from Mister to Miss with the kids. And they wanna know why, and I don't know clearly legally what I can say, so I just don't touch the subject at all.

SM: What do you think it would do if you were able to tell your students, “Hey, this is who I am, I'm trans, and let me explain to you what that means?”

Dawn: I think it would just give them a little more clarity about what's going on. Just that it's really not that big of a deal. It's not a huge mystery. We have wonderful, amazing kids at my school and I think they would really understand. You know, and as things have changed and kids have figured it out without saying anything, I've had nothing but acceptance and love from them along with the other teachers at my school and my administration. So, I just think it would be less confusing for them. 

SM: Being a teacher, the rhetoric about grooming, indoctrination, obviously these things that are not rooted in any truth, how has that affected you as a trans teacher?

Dawn: It's absolutely terrifying. When I first accepted that I was trans about two years ago, my first thought was, “I have to quit. I can't safely do my job.” And I spent hours and hours in therapy trying to figure out some path forward for that. And eventually I kind of set on the goal to just do like a slow-motion transition and try to last until I retire and, you know, then transition at that point.

And as that went on, just the really low dose of hormone therapy I was on had such amazing mental effects for me that I knew I couldn't drag it out for seven or eight more years. So I just moved faster. I started sharing with some co-workers just at the end of last school year and then gradually this year, sharing it with everybody. But it's terrifying. 

SM: As you all know, in February, Iowa became the first state to remove gender identity protections from its civil rights code. And this bill will make it much harder for trans folks to bring forth claims of discrimination in areas such as employment, housing, wages, public accommodations like bathrooms. This is the first state to do this in the nation. It made national news. How did you guys react when you learned this news? And what does that mean for you? 

SM: My first reaction was to just break down crying, honestly. What little of the future I had been looking forward to and could plan for had just shattered. And after that, I had immediately fallen into a depressive episode. I stayed in bed, didn't eat for days afterwards before I could just pull myself back up and start looking into other solutions. It's been a lot of weight weighing down on me. 

Luke: I was watching it and was like, “Oh, this is bad.” And then, “Oh this has got worse.” And then it was, “Oh, now I really need to get out of this state but we don't have the funds to move.” And it just kind of like fight or flight kicked in. And I felt I needed to leave but I don't know anybody in any other state that I could live with.

SM: Why does this bill take it to the next level? What about it goes to that extra level that makes it more dangerous and more scary for trans folks right now?

MM: I think part of the reason that this threat feels more heightened is because when you remove, of course, a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Code or any civil rights code, it really is a day-to-day issue. And I think the interesting thing about the bill and now the law is that it's anyone that's trans or perceived to be trans, and so this also impacts people that are not in the trans community that could be perceived as being trans, like masculine women, for example.

But all of this is to say that it makes it legal for someone to deny someone a car loan. It makes it legal for someone to deny someone access to a coffee shop. It can make it possible if I drive to rural Iowa, which I often do for my job, and I walk into a hotel, and they perceive me as trans, they can deny me access to that hotel. And so I think the reason that this feels even more scary is because it genuinely is more dangerous.

I do think this is whole scale something that is really going to impact people's day to day. I think this really kind of preys on some of the fears around trans people and gives folks a blank check to discriminate. And that's really just not acceptable.

SM: Your governor, Republican Kim Reynolds, said in a video that this bill she signed into law is “safeguarding the rights of women and girls and that it's common sense to acknowledge the obvious biological differences between men and women and necessary to secure genuine equal protection for women and girls.” I want to hear what you make of that response and what would you say to Governor Reynolds if you could sit down and talk to her?

Luke: Where's the concern about our safety? Where's the concern about our well-being, our mental health?

SM: If I could, I would just bluntly put it [out] there that her views and opinions on our community are directly contradictory to the facts. It's not supported by the science or the evidence. It's supported by a fear-mongering attitude and a religious doctrine that's supposed to be separate from our government. And honestly, I think she's unfit for office just on those grounds alone.

MM: So there's kind of two parts, of course, like within my professional role, I have to interact with the legislature and her more often than I would love to. We have tried every message. And so I'm very aware of the fact that if I sat down with her, nothing that I said would impact the way that she feels. And I think that ultimately, I'd probably take the perspective of what it means, Iowan to Iowan, how it feels and why it is that she is moving so far away from actual Iowa concerns.

We have farmers that aren't able to make their mortgage payments. We have people that are dying of cancer. We're the worst in the country for cancer and cancer care. We're shutting down maternity wards. Like, why are we focusing on trans folks? 

Jo Allen: I wanna bounce off your back a little bit there with that, because we can have however many people testify, share their personal stories, speak about whatever, and she's just not gonna listen.

SM: Why do people put so much focus on this community when it's 1% or less in many states across this country? What's the point?

JA: It is that ignorance that some of us just are raised up with. I will say that I grew up in a Catholic environment. Don't know if anyone else here in a Catholic environment, but yeah, you get a lot of things ingrained into you and you have to really bloom and grow from those dark spaces.

SM: Nearly half of trans people in the U.S. have considered moving to another state because of legislation, and this is actually data from pre-Trump 2.0. I want you guys just to raise your hands if you have considered recently moving out of state or out of country because of the spate of anti-trans legislation. So raise your hand if you've thought about that.

Everyone but Max raises their hand.

Talk to me a little bit more about that, about your thoughts on thinking about having to move out.

Dawn: For me, it's a safety issue. I wanna live somewhere where I'm welcomed and accepted and safe. But at the same time, I love my job. This is my 27th year of teaching. I've been at my school literally since we opened the doors. So I don't wanna give that up. And I'm gonna try to make it work as long as I can. It's hard, but I feel like I have to try. So much of my life has changed since I started transitioning. I've lost family, lost friends. My marriage is ending. I don't wanna give up the job that I love on top of everything else.

SM: I'm sorry you're going through all that and you're obviously, I'm sure, an amazing teacher. Where would you move and why if you were to?

Dawn: I've looked into Canada. There is some demand for teachers there. So, you know, I would have a chance to immigrate there. I lived in Germany when I was a child, I think it would be kind of cool to live in Europe again, but I would rather visit. I'd rather not be forced out of my home.

SM: It sounds like you're a proud Iowan and you're a proud teacher in Iowa.

Dawn: I'm a proud teacher, yeah, and I'm not so proud of Iowa anymore.

SM: Selina, why did you raise your hand? 

SM: Like I said, I live in a rural area here, and it's pretty poor and impoverished. Like I mostly get by thanks to supportive family, friends, odd jobs that I can manage. And those are probably going to dry up pretty fast when I come out more publicly. I am still pretty closeted, really only told like the closest of the close people I can trust. So, it's mostly a financial [issue] for me on top of, again, the threats of violence, the being a pariah from these tiny tight-knit communities, the discrimination.

I don't really want to have to leave, this is where I was born and raised and everyone and everything I've ever known is out here. But if I have to, I have to. 

JA: My partner and I are both trans and we have been here all our life, for them 25 years, for me 27. And I think the hardest thing is leaving Iowa not on my own accord, not on their accord. My partner and I have made the decision that we will be leaving. This wall behind me is actually a countdown until July 1st hits and we've been ripping down the days until I leave.

I think we started at 130 days, something like that. And so we've been ripping down the days. Our friends have been ripping down day by day as it goes by. And it's just unfortunate because the community here that I've built over the course of my entire life, I feel like I'm at the peak of it right now. And even though I'm leaving, I'm being introduced to so many queer people at this time. And it feels so unfortunate that there's this home that I have to pull away from. Because if it was my choice, I would stay here a little bit longer if I could. But I don't feel like it's gonna get safer. I've already dealt with harassment in public spaces. And at the end of the day, I just want to know that my rights are protected, my basic human rights are protected in a blue state. And that's all that I can ask for. And Iowa, unfortunately, cannot provide that anymore for me and my partner. It's just unfortunate because we don't have the funds to move. I do not have the money to move. I think most of us can say that we do not have the funds to move. And so it puts us in a very difficult state of just trying to survive financially, but also like we need to get out of here and get elsewhere, but that has a burden of cost as well.

SM: From the president of the United States down to state lawmakers, there has been a dis- and misinformation campaign about trans folks, a monstor-fication of trans folks. What can we do at this point to combat this miss and disinformation?

MM: One of the things that our org has a rich history of is telling people’s stories and we did that when we were fighting for marriage equality but now we really focus on that with trans folks. Because at the end of the day everyone here is a lot more than just a trans person. You're a teacher, you're an artist, and it's something that I think is so special when we are able to harness the power of people’s stories, and not just like really sad stories but also all the things that make someone excited or all the things that they do in their community that I think is really beautiful.

And we've been able to especially kind of shift perspectives on that when we're able to talk about the experiences of rural LGBTQ Iowans. Because a lot of these legislators think that there are no trans people in their district and that's not true.

And so when they do meet a trans person from their district, it changes their world. When I'm thinking about it, I'm trying to figure out how can we humanize folks without using their stories in ways that don't feel comfortable to them. Like empower people to share their stories as it feels good and to let people know that we’re just trans folks that also go home and hang out with our dog and like need the exact same things that everyone else needs. So I think that's really powerful. 

Dawn: More than half of the people I came out to directly, I was literally the first trans person they had ever known or even met. And this is in the Des Moines area. That's one of the things that's kind of motivated me to be fairly open about my transition is just letting people see that I'm just a person. There are things changing about me, but there's a lot that's not. You know, I still have a lot of the same hopes and dreams that I did before, just being accessible to people and answering questions. Sometimes some of the more intrusive questions come up, but I just kind of roll with those because I know a lot it is coming out of ignorance.

And I think it helps open their eyes a little bit about our existence. Just seeing and hearing some of the things that we have to go through just to live our lives. 

SM: Who or what are you leaning on in this difficult time? What are your coping mechanisms? 

JA: I've been just trying to find more communal spaces for my community to meet, finding joy and laughter there. I remember after the bill passed, I was having a really hard time too. I definitely went into a depressive episode and it's to me, it's being able to tell my friends like, “Hey, I know you've been waiting on me all day, you know, to get going, but can you just give me 15 minutes to shower? Because I don't remember the last time I showered.” And it's friends that are like, “Yeah, of course, go ahead,” instead of getting mad at me because I'm taking all day. It's just, I need that extra time. And it just means a lot to me to have people that understand me right now and that are able to support me, because it's a lot. 

SM: How about allies in folks' corner right now? Does anyone have any stories about allies being there for you and what that's meant?

Luke: My family and my grandmother especially have been really good at supporting me. 

JA: I don't think I would ever imagine myself using the word ally for him, but my dad has, in a way, become an ally. A Black Catholic man raised in the 70s, so “trans” to him is not really even a word that he uses. But when I post about what's going on in our community in Des Moines on Facebook, he's there.

He's like, “Here's money to help your friends do this,” or “Here's money to, you know, print this off.” It's like a very indirect weird way of him like showing up without ever having to say the word “trans,” you know, like he's there and he just understands that people are people and that it's not right what's happening to us.

Because at the end of the day we're humans and that's at least what he has learned through his religion and through his time with God.

SM: Amazing. Yeah, I think if there's ever a moment for allies and folks to step up and support trans, non-binary folks, it's right now. It's yesterday. Luke, Max, Dawn, Joe, Selina, thank you all so much for coming to speak with me and Uncloseted Media today. It means so much and I think it's so important to center trans voices, especially trans voices in Iowa, in this moment in time. So thank you. 

SU: It was a pleasure to be here.

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