Is “X” Stoic?

Temple A at Laodiceia, photo by the Author

Since I started practicing and writing about Stoicism, one of the most frequent questions I see asked around is: “is X Stoic?,” where “X” can be anything from an annoying internet meme to a scene in a movie, to a major philosophical or ethical position, like vegetarianism, or feminism. Let us therefore get down to figure out once and for all what the proper answer to this vexing question is…