The collection consists of one oral history interview with V Fixmer-Oraiz conducted in 2023. In the interview, Fixmer-Oraiz discusses their childhood, including growing up in a military family, living in Panama in 1989 during the US invasion, and coming out as gay in high school and the role played in their life by a supportive coach and teacher. The interview covers Fixmer-Oraiz’s educational path, including their experiences researching in the Philippines as a Fulbright scholar and a biracial Filipino American person. They discuss their urban planning career, with reference to Iowa water quality issues and the Johnson County Historic Poor Farm project. Fixmer-Oraiz also discusses their campaign and service as a Johnson County supervisor, including conflict between county and state-level regulations and their attempts to support LGBTQ+ rights at the county level, as well as how their identity as a nonbinary trans person affected their campaign. Fixmer-Oraiz discusses political developments in Iowa in the 2020s, including bans on LGBTQ+ content and accommodations in public schools, and their analysis of fascism in the United States. The interview also contains Fixmer-Oraiz’s reflections on their career as a drag king, including their role in co-founding a drag troupe based in North Carolina and the impact drag performance has had on their political development. Fixmer-Oraiz also discusses their gender identity and how they came to understand themselves as a nonbinary transgender person. The interview concludes with reflections on parenthood and the future of Iowa politics.

The interview is preserved in an audio recording of 105 minutes and a transcript available as a PDF file or in hard copy.