✊🏼Values in Action: Maxine Kroll's Life of Acceptance, Sex-Positivity & Activism

✊🏼Values in Action: Maxine Kroll's Life of Acceptance, Sex-Positivity & Activism

Author: Anne-Marie Zanzal 1ac1f670-c17c-11f0-806a-ef1502adef07 November 14, 2025 Duration: 45:41

‼️SPECIAL FOR COMING OUT & BEYOND LISTENERS! This episode's guest, Maxine Kroll, founder/owner of Provincetown's renowned sex shop & museum, Toys of Eros, is offering 10% off purchases for our listeners! Just use the coupon code COB when completing your order to receive your discount. Shop everything Toys of Eros has to offer at https://toysoferos.com/

Wing Women Weekend | Annual Conference in Provincetown, MA, during Women's Week | https://wingwomenweekend.com/

"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/

This week on the podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal has a conversation with Maxine Kroll, a lesbian and activist who has spent her life creating sanctuary for queer women and fostering acceptance for the LGBTQ+ community. Maxine shares her journey of coming out, stories of activism, and reflects on the critical importance of LGBTQ spaces. From her early experiences in high school to founding Provincetown's sex-positive boutique, Toys of Eros, Maxine discusses the evolution of queer identity and the significance of education to create safety and acceptance for the LGBTQ community. She reflects on the changes in sexual exploration across generations and offers advice for those navigating their first experiences. Anne-Marie and Maxine's conversation highlights the need for continued activism and support for LGBTQ rights in today's political climate.

🔥 What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

🕰️Reflections on the evolution of Provincetown as an LGBTQ+ sanctuary.

💋Discussion on the relationship between communication and pleasure.

🐘A walk down memory lane to early days of Provincetown's annual Women's Week.

👩🏽‍❤️‍💋‍👩🏽Sex-positive conversation about toys, sexual health, and empowering women through education.

🏳️‍🌈 Thoughts about the future of LGBTQ+ rights

💬 Join the Conversation!

💬Have you experienced Provincetown during Women's Week and/or been to Toys of Eros? Do you have thoughts about activism, sex-positive education, or the current state of LGBTQ+ rights? Talk about in the comments!


❤️Join Authentically Us! A supportive community for those coming out later in life to the LGBTQIA+ community. Connect, share, and find guidance on your journey through mutual support groups, workshops, and live Zoom meetups. 💜Sign up today at www.annemariezanzal.com


💠 Visit our website: : [ www.annemariezanzal.com]

💠 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amzanzal

💠 Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/annemariezanzalcoaching/

💠LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/annemariezanzalpurposefulempowerment/


👍 Like, subscribe, and hit the bell to stay updated on powerful stories from Coming Out & Beyond!


It can feel incredibly isolating to question your sexuality after years of living a different story. Coming Out & Beyond Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life is a companion for that specific journey, created for those who find themselves navigating these waters from a place of established life-perhaps within a marriage, after a divorce, or while building a family. Host Anne-Marie Zanzal brings her perspective as an ordained minister and hospice chaplain to conversations that gently unravel complex layers of identity, faith, and fear. This podcast delves into the real, often unspoken challenges: confronting compulsory heterosexuality, processing religious or spiritual conditioning, and managing the anxiety of how a personal revelation might ripple through your closest relationships. Episodes offer a blend of personal reflection, insightful interviews, and practical support, focusing on emotional and mental well-being without offering simplistic answers. It’s a space where you can hear stories that resonate with your own, fostering a sense of clarity and community. Tuning in, you’ll find a resource that honors the full spectrum of this experience-the confusion, the liberation, and everything in between-always grounded in compassion and deep understanding.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Coming Out & Beyond  Support for Women Questioning Their Sexuality Later in Life
Podcast Episodes
📣The Power of Telling Your Story! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:11
This week on the podcast, host Anne-Marie Zanzal welcomes fellow author and later-in-lifer, Sarah Locke. Sarah shares her journey of coming out later in life and living with multiple sclerosis. Sarah's personal value of…
❤️The Best Tool For Change? Love! - Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:58
"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
❤️The Best Tool For Change? Love! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:55
"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
❤️‍🩹The Catalyst Experience Changes EVERYTHING! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:47
"The Catalyst Chapter: #For WLW Navigating Love's First Chapter and Beyond" Learn more about the course and register at https://annemariezanzal.com/courses-from-anne-marie-zanzal/#catalystrelationship"Strengthening Love:…
Uncloseted Media Brings Much Needed LGBTQ+ Lens to Journalism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:38
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/TW: Hate groups, racism and homophobia are discussed. Some strong language is used. Listener discretion is advised.T…
❤️‍🩹 Healing Your Grief When Coming Out- Part 2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 36:13
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/TW: This episode explores grief as related to the coming out experience and may be difficult for some to hear. If yo…
❤️‍🩹 Healing Your Grief When Coming Out- Part 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:26
In the episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal and her fellow coach, Barbara Rowlandson explore the complex emotions surround grief when coming out later in life. This is a MUST listen ep…
📷”I Want To See These Women’s Faces” [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:09
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/In the episode of Coming Out & Beyond: LGBTQIA+ Stories, host Anne-Marie Zanzal speaks with documentary photographer…
🤔Unpacking Compulsory Heteronormativity [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:49
"Strengthening Love: Building Secure Bonds for Lesbian Couples" https://healthylesbianrelationships.com/This week on the pod: pull up a chair and lean in as host Anne-Marie Zanzal and her fellow coming-out coach, Barbara…
🎄Holiday Survival When Coming Out 101! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:00
Navigating the holiday season can prove to be an arduous endeavor, particularly for those who are in the process of coming out. In this discussion, we, Anne-Marie Zanzal and Barbara Rowlandson, share our personal experie…