Pride Month: Thoughts from Revenue.io’s G Hernandez

Recently, I had an incredible conversation with G Hernandez, Enterprise Customer Success Manager at Revenue.io, about their thoughts on Pride Month and the challenges faced by the LGBTQIA+ community. Thank you, G, for your realness. Here are G’s thoughts in their own words.

What does Pride Month mean to you?

Honestly, it’s hard to get excited about Pride and it has been for years now. Not because I don’t love my queerness, but the fear that I feel for my community is real. Makes it challenging to want to join in a parade when a protest feels more appropriate at this time. Though I certainly can understand the value of celebrating and taking up space.

Who are some of the queer people who inspire you?

Trans-youth, like Syrus Hall in Alabama, who are having to advocate for themselves while lawmakers are trying to deny their right to gender-affirming care. Syrus and others like him inspire me and have my unwavering support.

How do you celebrate pride?

This year I will celebrate by donating money to organizations that are working to uplift the LGBTQIA+ community, like the Trans Housing Coalition.

What’s something most people may not know about the LGBTQIA+ community?

It may feel like it’s getting easier to come out or be a member of the community, but it’s still really hard. I can only speak for myself, but we need to keep pushing for change. More has to be done to protect our community – especially Black trans folx. We all need to be better allies and use our privilege to create change. How? Education yourself. Not only on how to be an ally to the queer community but also how to become antiracist. You can’t support the QPOC (queer people of color) community without also being antiracist. Being an ally means doing the work and not asking members of the community to teach you. We all have a lot to unlearn and systems to dismantle before we can truly move towards equity.

What would you like to highlight about your own journey as a queer person?

It’s been a challenging and beautiful journey. It has made me more empathetic and gritty. Myself and others like me have so much to offer companies. The skills that we have had to build to exist in spaces that were not made for us are impressive. Hire us. Promote us. Put us on executive teams. Our perspective will provide your team with a new lens to view the world through.

What’s it like being non-binary in tech?

Hard. It’s a bit isolating. I am misgendered often. Use a bathroom I don’t align with. And then some. My calls to action – if someone has their pronouns in their email please use them. It would be great if cis allies added their pronouns in Slack, email signatures, and shared them to start meetings. When others kick off calls with their pronouns it makes me feel seen and normalizes the practice. I know I appreciate it.

I would also LOVE to build a community with more enby folx in tech. If you are reading this, find me on Linkedin. Let’s connect!

Which organization would you like to feature for Pride Month?

Trans Housing Coalition – https://www.transhousingcoalition.org/