Elected officials, a major newspaper and the oldest Latino civil rights organization in the U.S. have all spoken out strongly in recent weeks against the continued use of “Latinx,” the gender-neutral term promoted by progressives to describe people of Spanish-speaking origin.
Why it matters: The pushback highlights some generational, class and regional divisions among Latinos as their numbers and influence grow in the U.S. It also reflects a movement by some Latinos to define themselves rather than be labeled by predominantly white progressives and Latino academics who advocate for using the term.
- Academic and social media circles began using Latinx over the last decade, saying it was more gender-neutral and inclusive for Hispanic LGBTQ members.
- But Nevada political consultant Alex O. Diaz told Axios the term hasn’t caught on in working-class Mexican American communities where people are more concerned about jobs and schools than they are about identity.
- “Some people also feel this is a term that is being imposed on them and it’s not organic.”
Details: Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’ campaign arm, announced last month his congressional staff is not allowed to use “Latinx” in official communications.
- “When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use. It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias,” he tweeted.
- Days after Gallego’s tweet, Domingo García, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, instructed staff and board members to drop the word “Latinx” from the group’s official communications, NBC Latino’s Suzanne Gamboa reported.
- “The reality is, there is very little to no support for its use, and it’s sort of seen as something used inside the Beltway or in Ivy League tower settings,” García told NBC News.
The Miami Herald, in an editorial, also denounced the term and urged left-leaning activists to “just drop it” while pointing to polls that the word wasn’t even popular among Latinos.
