Our New Playground

For trans and nonbinary people, coming out and transitioning can be a kind of "second puberty" or even a second childhood. Many folks re-experience moments from their childhood in a new light. Rediscovering much of the world through a new lens and identity is exciting but can also be marred by fear and judgement. Transitioning is a vulnerable time but it can also be full of childlike wonder and hope. We can all do our part to create loving and supportive environments for those experiencing "second puberty", to honor their experience of childhood, and to create space for them to play and explore in their gender without pressure or expectation. Max Mowitz is Program Director at One Iowa, Iowa’s statewide LGBTQ advocacy organization, overseeing organizational programming, direct service, and community education via LGBTQ training. Max has been active in LGBTQ advocacy work since coming out in high school, focusing on comprehensive LGBTQ education to the broader community as a component of queer liberation. Max is part of the Planned Parenthood Speakers Bureau and serves as a board member for the Iowa Abortion Access Fund, Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund, and Planned Parenthood. Max is pursuing their full-spectrum doula certification and is practicing as a gender-affirming doula, serving Trans and Nonbinary individuals in their gender-affirming experiences as a support system as they navigate healthcare systems, social gender-affirmation, and mental health. Max is passionate about justice and the liberation of all marginalized peoples. Max is a harpist, guitarist, powerlifter, drag enthusiast, abolitionist, and a spouse to Austin and partner to June.