At the turn of the century, authentic trans stories were something of a hidden hand-me-down; folklore passed down through a friend of friend or overheard coverage that slipped through the cracks on a slow news day.

In time, the 2010s ushered in an influx of trans creatives scoring regular roles in buzzy box-office hits and breaking into the traditionally cisgender-controlled media apparatus so that they can take control of their narrative and tell their own story. Trans actor and activist Elliott Page put it best, “I can’t begin to express how remarkable it feels to finally love who I am enough to pursue my authentic self”.

While the early Y2K years fostered funky fashion and kickstarted the trend of sharing your life online, carving out a corner of the internet for trans folk to connect on a cyber level, the second wave - social media - served as a tool for trans people to leverage visibility into substantial policy gains.

Sunshine personified, Zoe Stroller is the newest GayTravel Award-Winning Influencer and a mega-talented, multi-hyphenate creator; they are an acclaimed writer, poet, educator, and content creator. Zoe and I got personal; chatting about meme culture, transgender visibility, and digital allyship.

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To start, will you please enlighten me on your preferred pronouns?

My pronouns are she/her and they/them, and I like when people use these interchangeably to refer to me — this means switching between the two and sometimes referring to me using she/her pronouns, and other times referring to me using they/them pronouns

From movies to meme culture, transgender visibility has increased in mainstream media over the past few years. What are some misconceptions about trans people commonly portrayed in pop culture?

It’s so incredible that transgender visibility has been increasing in mainstream media — yet there are definitely still misconceptions perpetuated, as well as truths that are left out. Thinking broadly, a lot of trans representation tends to focus on the challenges and downsides of being trans — for example, gender dysphoria, or not being accepted by family, friends, or other community members. But I wish there were more focus on trans-JOY — the aspects of trans people’s lives where they feel seen, loved, affirmed, and validated, as it’s so vital to show that trans people *can* experience joy and *can* live happy, meaningful, fulfilling lives.

On that note, what do you think it means to be a good ally online?

There are many ways to be a good ally online, ranging in the amount of effort required. The step that takes very little effort is simply following transgender creators on social media & liking with their content to help boost it within the algorithm and allow it to reach more and more people. [note to editor, I can recommend some trans instagrammers to follow if you don’t have a list already!]. A step that requires a bit more effort — but is hugely worth it — is to call out any transphobia or hateful speech that you see online. The internet can be a really cruel place, and trans creators often have to deal with transphobes interacting with their content — and it can be really challenging as a trans person to respond to and moderate these kinds of comments, as they impact us directly. But if cis people actively call out this behavior as unacceptable — and perhaps even try to educate the comment or about why this is the case — that takes the burden off of the trans creators while still adding this level of safety and accountability to online spaces. There are so, so many ways to be a good ally online — these are just a few! — and so I encourage you to do your own additional research and exploration about what online allyship looks like for you.

On an episode of “The Beauty Of…”, Ulta Beauty’s official podcast, trans TikTok star Dylan Mulvey opened up about grieving the life she thought she’d have before she transitioned and learned that she could pursue a fuller, happier life than the mainstream depictions of trans experiences had led her to expect. “Now I know I can find love, I know I can still be a performer, I know that I can have a family — I want to be a mom one day — and I absolutely can,” Mulvaney said. “And that’s why the narrative still has a long way to go, because when I was grieving boy Dylan, I didn’t know those things were even accessible to me” - As a fellow trans creator, does Dylan's testament resonate with you?

This is such a beautiful statement from Dylan, and it definitely resonates with me. I spent so much of my life believing I was a woman, and the future that I envisioned and wanted for myself felt very tied to this — being a feminist, being a Jewish mother, and being a strong woman in spite of a misogynistic world. When I started realizing that I was non-binary, and not a woman, I honestly felt really afraid — could I not have these parts of my identity and future if I were trans and non-binary? Would my life end up looking very different from what I’d wanted and envisioned, simply because my gender identity was different? Like Dylan, though, I realized that I *can* still be whoever I want to be — a feminist, a Jewish parent, an empowered human in the face of misogyny — plus so, so much more. Being trans doesn’t mean that my goals for my present and future selves had to change; I simply had to adjust some aspects of my gendered language and presentation to allow me to feel happier and more like *me* as I pursue the life that I have always wanted.

In reference to the last line, do you feel a responsibility to reassure the public, namely trans youth, that a fulfilled, happy life is obtainable for those outside the binary?

It’s definitely a big passion of mine to share this truth and perspective with my community and other trans people — especially trans youth. Because there are so many voices out there saying that it isn’t possible to live happily as a trans and non-binary person, but that isn’t the case at all! I am my happiest self right now because I am living as my truest self — and living in the truth of my gender and my non-binariness has so much to do with that. Once I realized that I have the freedom and agency to live life how *I* want to — and not just according to societal norms — I was able to find a sense of deep self-connection and self-love that I did not have access to prior to that. I am so thankful to have found this for myself, and I am very passionate about and committed to showing others that this kind of authentic life is possible for them as well.

If you had to give up your passport and get another country’s passport, which would you pick? Why?

What a great question! I think if I had to give up my U.S. passport, I would choose to have a French passport instead — partially to make it simple to travel around Europe (I would love to spend more time exploring the continent, especially in less well-known cities and countries!), but also because it would be a great excuse to re-learn French. I studied the language for many years but have since forgotten a lot of it — but if I were immersed in the country and the language, I’m sure I’d pick it back up again!