Hundreds of protestors gathered inside the Iowa Capitol rotunda in late February to oppose a bill removing civil rights protections from transgender people in Iowa — their calls for “no hate in our state” filling the building.

Despite these protests and 143 of the 167 people who testified at the public hearing opposing the bill, both House File 583 and Senate File 418, which removed gender identity as a protected class from the Iowa Civil Rights Act, were signed into law by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Feb. 28.

For Aaron Longoria, the lead singer and guitarist of power pop band Early Girl, this protest and the subsequent decision by Iowa legislators to ignore the voices of their constituents was a call to action.

“Being there and seeing that overwhelming support for the trans community and all the people who showed up, that was really powerful,” Longoria said. “There are things I want to do to help my community, but a lot of them — especially as a brown, queer, and trans person — there’s too much risk for my own safety and well-being. There’s so many moments where I want to do something, but what can I do?”

But coming home from the protest, Longoria had an idea they believed would allow them to make a long-lasting impact: an all-trans compilation album.

The album would feature music, sound, and poetry from transgender and nonbinary artists who have ties to Iowa, with all proceeds from the album going to support the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund. This local nonprofit provides grants to transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer Iowans seeking gender-affirming care.

The nonprofit has dispersed over $100,000 among more than 200 people since its conception in June 2021. Many of the recipients have reapplied to receive funds for gender-affirming care, such as hormone replacement therapy, top and bottom surgery, doctor visits, laser hair removal, and much more. These services range in cost from $15 to $25,000, and, due to executive orders from President Donald Trump, are at risk of no longer being covered by federally funded insurance programs for people under 19.

Longoria, who has previously participated in events and shows where funds were donated to Iowa Trans Mutual Aid, saw an opportunity to both raise money for the organization and strengthen the Iowa transgender and nonbinary community in a time when many in the community are experiencing anxiety about their safety.

“This is a way to reach out to trans people who might not be connected [to a music scene],” Longoria said. “It seemed like a really nice way for people from across the state or even people who don’t even live here any longer because they have escaped or fled because of the legislation to be included.”

To eliminate barriers to submissions, Early Girl offered help with recording and producing for those who don’t have the equipment to record their own music, sound, or poetry.

And alongside receiving demos and fully recorded projects, Early Girl has also had many people from Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin reach out to offer their support for the album through donating equipment, volunteering to help record, mix, and master projects, and donating their money to fund the project.

“It’s going to be very eclectic and very diverse, and that’s what I wanted it to be,” Longoria said. “I didn’t really want to put any barriers on the type of genre. I want it to be very inclusive of all the different types of work that’s happening in Iowa.”

Longoria also spoke about how the subjects and themes explored in the album are diverse, ranging from journeys around gender identity to love and daily life. And while there was no requirement for what the art submitted had to be about, Longoria believed that regardless of subject matter, the art relates to the transgender identity.

“As a trans person, anything you make, whether intentional or not, is going to be related to your trans-ness, whether that’s an entirely political, angry punk song or really dissonant soundscape,” Longoria said. “I think that’s a really cool thing. Anything that is being submitted is going to be inherently political just because a trans person made it in the state.”

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Kristian Marchand, a first-year student at the University of Iowa, submitted their poem, “The Allure,” which was published in Ink Lit Magazine and will be published in Boundless Magazine, to the compilation album and was inspired to submit because of the passage of anti-trans laws in Iowa. Their poem deals with themes of gender identity and the expression of gender.

“Trans people won’t just disappear because many in our country want us to,” Marchand said.

Marchand also spoke about the album being made directly by transgender and nonbinary artists rather than by people outside of the community and the importance of this type of representation.

They referenced the film “I Saw the TV Glow,” directed by Jane Schoenbrun, a transgender director, and how the movie offered a nuanced portrayal of transgender and queer characters rather than perpetuating harmful stereotypes.

“I want to give as much support as I can to trans organizations, especially now,” Marchand said. “I just think it’s important to support organizations and [allow] marginalized people to talk about their experiences as well as their more general experiences as human beings.”

Those who contributed to Early Girl’s compilation album aren’t the only ones hoping to support the transgender community and organizations like Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund.

On March 22, over 50 people from around Iowa traveled to West Branch for Gray Goat Tattoo’s fundraiser tattoo event, which featured designs by Keith Haring, who was a prominent queer artist. He was an activist in the New York graffiti scene and raised $2,000 for Iowa Trans Mutual Aid.

People arrived hours before the event started to get in line for tattoos and to support Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund and their community in the wake of anti-trans legislation.

“They do a lot of awesome work, and, currently, trans people in Iowa are really scared, and access to the care that they need is unsure. It’s unknown how it’s going to be affected by legislation,” Jasper Mars, an attendee of the fundraising event, said. “Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund gives trans people the opportunity to have funds for those things.”