We were lucky to catch up with Zoey Schwartz recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Zoey thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
I started IUY (I Understand You) when I was 14 years old. IUY is a website that provides queer youth with a safe space to share and read coming out stories, learn omitted queer history in monthly newsletters, and gain access to banned gender affirming healthcare. Originally started to serve as a virtual community for queer kids, like myself, that did not have any source of representation or support in their lives, IUY has now become an international foundation that is so much more than a virtual community. IUY operates with the mission of providing all LGBTQIA+ people with someone who gets them or a place they can go to be understood. Now having 35+ volunteer, IUY is filled with LGBTQIA+ people from diverse backgrounds and perspectives who all want to contribute to an ultimate goal of queer liberation.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
After I came out right before my freshman year of high school, I was completely isolated without a community or resources of representation. I felt my community did not support my identity and I struggled tremendously to find others who I could relate to and who did accept me. Since many queer spaces usually take place in bars, I decided to create a virtual safe place for queer youth to find their own sense of community. Additionally, with a lack of positive LGBTQ+ representation, I wanted to create an accessible space for diverse coming out stories that could represent and connect with everyone. Once stories began to be submitted, I realized that all queer people, spanning from 13-80, had similarities in their stories that could help build a strong online community.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
The book that has most impacted my activism would be Leslie Feinberg’s Stone Butch Blues. The book tells the story of Jess Goldberg a Jewish-American Butch lesbian from New York. Many of Jess’s struggles relate to my own and I am extremely inspired by the closeness of the queer community described in the novel. One of my favorite things is the way the older and younger butches interact as this displays a type of community that is lacking in the current day. This sense of community has inspired me to create IUY. I wanted to create an environment where queer people could mentor/become friends with other queer people and be immersed in their own community no matter where they live. One way I created this community was at LA Pride in the Park this year. IUY had a booth and was one of the only youth organizations chosen. We sold pins designed by a local queer high schooler to cover the cost of shipping for the chest binders. I was able to meet amazing people in the community and create the same queer unity that is described by Leslie Feinberg in Stone Butch Blues.
What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?
Since this question is not super applicable to IUY, I am going to answer how I meet trans youth through the gc2b sponsored chest binder program. Trans youth can gain access to chest binders through IUY by signing up for the program on our Instagram (@iuy.safespace) or by having their GSA reach out for a partnership. We also have partner organizations in which we donate binders for trans youth. Currently we have just finished a short documentary filmed by a local queer filmmaker about this process and we hope you will watch it on www.iuysafespace.com!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.iuysafespace.com
- Instagram: @iuy.safespace