Zoe Stoller

Have you ever wondered whether you might be queer? 🏳️‍🌈 The word queer is a wonderfully broad label that describes any non-straight and/or non-cisgender identity! It can be an umbrella term for any and all LGBTQ+ identities (including both sexuality and gender), as well as an independent label that people use to describe their experiences. ✨ The label queer has evolved a *lot* over time — from being used solely to mean “strange,” to being used as a derogatory term for the LGBTQ+ community, to being reclaimed by the community in the present day. (This shift in the meaning of “queer” could be an entire post in itself — it’s always so fascinating to me how language changes over time, especially when it comes to a community reclaiming a word that had previously been used to disempower them!) 👉 Nowadays, the definition and context of the word queer is so vast and open — which means it can mean a lot of different things to different people. As such, there’s no one right way to be queer, and no one set of signs that this is the identity for you! However, there can definitely be a lot of commonalities and overlaps in the queer experience, including… ⤵️ 🩵 feeling at home using a label that is open, fluid, and full of endless unique experiences 💙 having multiple LGBTQ+ identities but wanting one overarching word to describe them 💚 feeling like your identity is different from any or all cisgender/heterosexual societal norms 💛 feeling a special sense of community with other people who use the queer label ❤️ knowing you’re part of the LGBTQ+ community, but you haven’t found another specific label that fits best 🩷 simply connecting to the word queer To learn more about the vastness of being queer, swipe through this post! 🥰🌈 💬 Do you relate to any of these signs and/or connect with the label queer? 💬

All the “rules” about gender and language were made up at some point, which I think gives us all permission to change the rules if they don’t work for us! One of the ways this comes into play is pronouns — even though we have societal associations of pronouns and gender (e.g. we often associate she/her pronouns with womanhood), we don’t have to be stuck within these boxes if they don’t feel right. You have agency to use whatever pronouns and gender language feel most comfortable and accurate to you, regardless of what your gender and labels are 🌈

Happy International Asexuality Day!!!!💜🥳♠️ April 6, 2024 marks International Asexuality Day (@iadofficial), an opportunity to spotlight, uplift, and learn more about asexual experiences and identities 🥰 The four themes of International Asexuality Day are: 🖤 Advocacy 🩶 Celebration 🤍 Education 💜 Solidarity I encourage those who are less familiar with the spectrum of asexuality to learn more about this umbrella of identities! I have a bunch of posts about asexuality on my page @zoestoller, and I also encourage you to check out all of the amazing content and knowledge spread by my fellow asexual educators and activists, on and off social media. And to my fellow asexual community members, I want to remind you that you are so valid in your identity, and in the nuances and details that make up your unique experience! AND if you are asexual, then you are! You don’t need to “prove it” in any way. I’m so so proud to have an identity within the asexual spectrum, and to be in community with so many wonderful people 💜 💬 What do you wish society knew more about when it comes to asexuality? 💬 💬 Who are some asexual accounts you enjoy following here on Instagram? 💬

So excited to be part of 100 Stars of Threads program!!! This program brings together 100 creators on @threads who have been selected to learn about best practices & join together as a community! If you’re not already following me on Threads, be sure to check me out at the same username @ZoeStoller 📲 Thank you to @threads for these fun treats 🥰

… and it’s filled with pictures of Winnie! What kind of photos are in your camera roll?

Happy Trans Day of Visibility!!!🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️ I love being trans & non-binary & genderfluid 🥰 (I identify with all of these gender terms — genderfluid is under the non-binary umbrella, and non-binary is under the trans umbrella!) 🏳️‍⚧️ Trans Day of Visibility (TDOV) occurs annually on March 31 to spotlight transgender people and experiences, and start larger conversations about identity and combatting assumptions and biases. For those who aren’t familiar with the word transgender (often shortened to trans), it describes a person whose gender identity differs from the sex that they were assigned at birth. The trans label can be seen as both an individual identity and an umbrella term for a wide variety of labels and experiences! It is important to note that being transgender is not dependent upon physical appearance, medical procedures, or anything else. There are no “requirements” to be trans — the only thing that matters is that you connect with the label & feel that it is right for you 🩵🩷🤍 🏳️‍⚧️Happy Trans Day of Visibility!!!🏳️‍⚧️

Reminder 🥰⤵️ 🏳️‍🌈 You can know you’re queer without having experienced queer romance and/or intimacy with a specific person! Queer identities are all about who you’re attracted to, and in what ways. Not about whether you have acted on that attraction. In other words, though intimacy and romance are often part of the queer experience (though not for everyone!), each person’s queer identity is not rooted in or based on their romantic histories. 💬 Does this resonate with you? What other queer reminders would you add? 💬

Let’s bust some intersex myths!! 💛💜 The amazing @enbydelia and I are partnering to share intersex education & work against some common misconceptions! Swipe through this post & keep reading below to learn more ⤵️ ❌ Myth 1: Every intersex person has external anatomy that’s a combination of typically male and female anatomy. ✅ Truth 1: Some intersex people have combinations of male and female anatomy, but not everyone does! There are over 40 known intersex variations, and not all of them involve differences in anatomy. ❌ Myth 2: Intersex and transgender are the same thing. ✅ Truth 2: Intersex people have some combination of internal anatomy, external anatomy, chromosomes, genes, gene expression, and hormone levels that are different from the typical male or female. Transgender people have a gender identity which is different from the gender they were socialized as and/or their designated birth sex. ❌ Myth 3: There are barely any intersex people in the world. ✅ Truth 3: Intersex people make up about 2% of the population - that’s over 150 million people! ❌ Myth 4: All intersex people are part of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. ✅ Truth 4: We include the intersex community in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community because there is a lot of overlap in the advocacy and shared struggles. However, some intersex people do not like to use the 2SLGBTQIA+ label to describe themselves, and that’s okay! ❌ Myth 5: Intersex people have a say in what their healthcare looks like. ✅ Truth 5: Some intersex people do, and some don’t. It depends on whether surgery was performed on them before they could decide for themselves, the ways in which their bodies and healthcare were discussed in medical spaces, and whether their providers have enough knowledge and education about their specific intersex variation. 💬 Do you have any questions about being intersex, or know any other intersex myths we should bust? 💬

💬 What’s your gender? 💬 I am genderfluid, which is under the non-binary umbrella, and means that my sense of gender shifts and changes over time. Sometimes I can pinpoint exactly what my gender is in a given moment — and I might feel extra seen and described by other gender terms like bigender, agender, genderqueer, demigender, and so many other possibilities. And other times, I don’t really know how to describe my exact shifting gender experience, and so I just exist in the grey areas and possibilities of genderfluidity! I’ve learned to be comfortable in this not-knowing, and I’ve found grounding and affirmation in simply leaning on the word genderfluid, understanding that my gender experience can change, and not necessarily having to define it any further. I love that there’s a word that describes my experience of gender so accurately. And I’m very proud to be genderfluid! Whatever your gender and other identities, I hope you feel pride and affirmation in who you are 🥰 💬 What’s your gender? (If you feel comfortable sharing!) (And a reminder that it’s okay not to know what your gender is!) 💬

Exploring pregnancy & reproductive health, for people of all genders! @sexedwithdbpodcast and I have partnered again to create an infographic surrounding pregnancy and the following themes ⤵️ ➖ steps that lead to pregnancy ➖ methods to prevent pregnancy ➖ other pregnancy prevention & termination options ➖ common Q-A’s about pregnancy ➖ and more ☺️ Swipe through this post to learn more about pregnancy! 
And for even more information, check out the Season 6 episode of @SexEdwithDBPodcast — “Pregnancy 101 with Dr. Rebecca Levy-Gantt” —featuring a guest OB/GYN, aka DB’s mom! 💬 Do you have any questions about pregnancy, any of the topics we explored here, or any related topics? Let us know in the comments! 💬 Image descriptions can also be found in the comments 📝

A day surrounded by flowers 🌸🪻🪴🤗 Last week, I went to the Philadelphia Flower Show for the first time, and it was SO lovely!!! (huge thank you to @phsgardening for inviting me & gifting me tickets!) As I was walking around the flowers (and also in the butterfly tent!), I almost forgot that I was still in a city — I felt like I’d spent the day in a floral forest. (It made me very excited for the spring season to get here so the outside world will look as colorful!) And I made sure to get a few plants — a cactus & begonias — as well as a flower crown, so I could bring the colors and greenery home with me 🥰 💬 Are you a fan of flowers and/or plants? Do you have a favorite type? 💬 (Also, if you’re near Philly and want to check out the flower show, it’s open until tomorrow, March 10!) #FlowerShowFriend #UnitedbyFlowers

👉🏻Swipe to learn about bisexuality and pansexuality! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ I’m resharing this post that @briannavieira and I created together a few years ago to spread info about bisexuality and pansexuality, and highlight some key answers, definitions, and explanations! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Read through to learn more about the differences between the two identities — as well as why they are both valid 🥰🌈 (Because, as @abhapotato said, we need to stop saying “bi vs. pan” — when it’s really “bi AND pan”) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💬 Do you have any other questions about multisexual identities (i.e. any sexuality that includes attraction to multiple genders)? 💬 ** Note, the PFLAG links listed on the last page no longer lead directly to bisexual and pansexual resources — but if you go to the main website 🔗 pflag.org 🔗 you can find resources from there

Here’s a non-binary truth ⤵️ Non-binary isn’t a third gender in addition to man and woman! Non-binary is a large umbrella of gender identities and experiences, with some enby’s relating to the gender binary of man and woman, others feeling completely separate from it, and any other possibility. Non-binary is limitless! 💛🤍💜🖤 💬 Do you identify within the non-binary umbrella? What does that look like for you? 💬 👉🏻 I am non-binary — and personally, I use the label genderfluid, which means my experience of gender shifts and changes over time!