Pride isn’t just a month

Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. At TextNow, we celebrate it every day. We’ve made a commitment to our employees to celebrate their differences throughout the year, including our LGBTQQIAA2SP+ community. For Pride this year, we hosted educational events (virtually, of course.) But it doesn't stop there. Pride happens all year long and we are proud (geddit?) to be working on ideas and events which will capture diversity and inclusivity at TextNow.

This week is Bisexual Awareness Week, a week that seeks to accelerate acceptance of the bi+ (bisexual, pansexual, fluid, no label, queer, etc.) community. #BiWeek draws attention to the experiences of bisexual+ community, while also celebrating their strength and resiliency.‍

What is bisexuality?

‍Bisexuality is a sexual orientation. Bisexual people are those who have the capacity to form attraction and/or relationships to more than one gender identity. Bisexual people make up the largest portion of the LGBTQ+ community but are often at a higher risk of sexual assault and suicide through the erasure and the lack of acceptance from the LGBTQ+ and heterosexual communities. Think about it this way:

‍Meet Sarah!

Sarah is a person who self-identities as a bisexual woman.

In one instance, you may see Sarah with another self-identified female holding hands walking down the street and you may assume Sarah identifies as a lesbian.

But when Sarah is walking down the street holding the hand of a self-identified male you may assume Sarah is straight.

In actual fact, Sarah is neither. Sarah is bisexual. This is what is known as bisexual erasure, and it can be combated by not assuming or placing your own ideas or labels on others. Simply get to know other folx and approach them as a person with multiple intersections of identity that you might not know about yet. At TextNow our goal is to explore all the intersectionalities that make each of us valuable to TextNow with our worldview and life experiences.

We’ve made a commitment to continue our education of employees, giving back to charities, and a commitment to change. You can read about what Pride means to TextNow in their own words here.

• Commitment to education: our employees have access to professional development and educational events. For Pride we hosted two sessions, Allyship in the Workplace, with more to come.
• Commitment to giving back: we are working with nonprofits to see how we can best support them by offering TextNow services and funding - part of our commitment of making communication available to everyone.
• Commitment to change: We recently hired Matthew French (EDI Specialist and founder of Awesomely Authentic) who's busy building out a program to support EDI within TextNow.

Stay tuned to this blog in the coming weeks and months to see how TextNow continues our commitment to the LGBTQQIAA2SP+ community.