Really, Iowa?

Ending civil rights protections for trans people is where we're putting our energy?

I flew out of the United States on January 20th, and have been watching the shenanigans of my federal government through an international lens. It’s been nice to have a little bit of distance, to observe it without being immersed in it, and at the same time I’ve been feeling a lot of concern for my community at home and gratitude for the earnestness with which so many people are showing up for this moment in our country.

And just the other day, I got news from friends about the Iowa statehouse, something that I hadn’t been watching at all. The Iowa legislature passed a bill stripping transgender people of civil rights protections on Thursday, despite the largest protest in Iowa state capitol history, and then Governor Kim Reynolds signed it into law on Friday. Now, starting July 1, my neighbors and I can be discriminated against for bending gender, in housing, work, and education.

I’m not trans, but I’m part of the queer community and this attack hits hard. It comes at a time when my people are already reeling from federal executive orders and chaos around funding, bracing for hits to food stamps and medicaid. It feels gratuitous. Why are you kicking us? We’re already down, and we’re not hurting you. The only thing we’re doing, which is read as dangerous to the powers that be, is living authentically and refusing norms that don’t fit us.

I’m in the West Bank of Palestine right now (Ramadan mubarak!) and am witnessing what it looks like when a targeted group of people are denied civil rights. It’s terrible, y’all. It’s unconscionable.

And yet: here in Palestine people have managed to retain their culture, to share tea with strangers and give flowery compliments and goodbyes. People know themselves and each other as good, able to give care and create space for joy, despite the stranglehold that Israeli “security” has on Palestinian economy and freedom.

Similarly, I know that my queer community has each other’s backs, and I know that many straight and cisgender Iowans are in our corner as well. There may no longer be civil rights protections for trans people, but there is still community. There are trans mutual aid funds. There is the possibility, at least in private and sometimes in public, of gender euphoria. We are authentic, we are creative, and we know ourselves and each other as good and beautiful and brave.

The Iowa Writers’ Collaborative

I’m proud to be part of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Each Sunday, Julie Gammack shares a roundup of articles that collaborative members have written in the past week. Check out the most recent roundup, here.