Iowa Association of Transgender Women became established in 2025, and was originally conceived by Sondra Wilson following a lengthy conversation between she and three other trans women who, at this time, wish to remain anonymous. The four women found mutual kinship after leaving a Des Moines transgender support group which they felt was not meeting the needs of trans women, in particular. While it is well documented that there is an epidemic of violence against transgender people, when scrolling through the faces of murder victims, it is apparent, prima facie, that trans women and trans femme persons, especially trans women of color, represent the vast majority of victims of violence. Essentially, trans women are on the front lines when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community. Although advocacy groups and individual advocates throughout the state and nation have worked diligently to represent all trans people to the best of their knowledge and ability, there are many needs and nuances which are not represented accurately, or which are represented in a manner which at least some of our membership believes has been and will continue to cause harm to us, if not re-assessed by the LGBTQIA+ community.
The purpose of IAoTW is to bring together trans women from across the state, discuss our stances on various political topics which impact our lives, so that we may more accurately represent ourselves and our needs. It is our hope that others throughout Iowa, who seek to be positive allies to us, will first take the time to read our materials and contact us with any questions.
After writing the article The Pronoun Predicament, which expressed the concerns of the four trans women who left the Des Moines group, Wilson put together this Discord server, and invited other trans women who live in wherever she might meet them. In early 2025, around the time Donald Trump became President and political blowback against the trans community began to amplify, video meetings began being held every Sunday at 5:00 pm within the server. Because they are video meetings, members are able to verify that persons hanging out in the server are in fact trans women prior to being brought into private discussions, where members can know they are safe and are not spied on by those who may wish to cause us harm.
Discussions are currently underway regarding Resolution 0001, which is being thoroughly revisited, and a new version will be updated following group consensus.
