Posted on 05/20/2022 9:43:00 AM PDT by karpov
The academic intelligentsia’s obsession with the term “Latinx” is confusing yet enduring. Although roughly 40 percent of Latino voters find the term, meant as a non-gendered alternative to the masculine “Latino” and the feminine “Latina,” to be offensive, it is part of the everyday lexicon of academics and education journalists.
On a purely linguistic level, Latinx sounds odd in English, and it makes even less sense in Spanish, the language of the people whom Latinx’s users and advocates claim to represent. But my issues with the word go far beyond linguistic quibbles. It’s personal.
Don’t let my last name fool you. I am Latino. My ancestors have called Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, home for nearly 500 years, and my mother was one of the first people in her family to be born in the United States. While I definitely didn’t grow up wearing a sombrero or treating Taco Tuesday like Christmas, my heritage is part of my background, and I mark my government documents accordingly.
Every time I receive an email from Texas A&M asking me to take part in a “Latinx” group or activity, it makes my blood boil. It’s another example of the paternalistic panderings of the academic elite. It’s humiliating. Latinx’s similarities to Orwell’s Newspeak (intentionally ambiguous language used to spread political propaganda) have been well-documented, as has academia’s general lack of cultural awareness. But universities’ commitment to the word goes deeper than merely pandering to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. If DEI were the only goal, universities would treat Latino college students as people rather than as potential assets.
(Excerpt) Read more at jamesgmartin.center ...
‘Latinx’ was created by leftist white women to make themselves feel better by imposing a label on people of color.
Hmm. Seems kind of racist to me.
I’ve also encountered “Chicanx” (at a university, of course).
I didn’t understand why they just didn’t settle on “Latin” if there’s some kind of distinction with “Hispanic”, both of which are gender neutral.
The problem with “Latinx” (aside from pronouncing it as two words) is that it condemns the Spanish language as a whole. Would they neuter all of Spanish? HS students are awaiting the answer.
There’s something to be learned by the failure and coninued pushing of “LatinX”. Why did it fail (and yet still get airtime on NPR) where terms like “people of color” were more widely adopted.
Because “people of color” is much closer to their favored phrase "colored people" that they refer to their hired help as.
‘People of color’ is actually somewhat descriptive.
‘Latinx’ is meaningless and insulting.
They are insensed by cultural appropriation, but think cultural imperialism is just fine (as long as they’re the ones doing the empire building).
I think it’s because the people so described liked the latter term but not the former.
I work with a LOT of highly educated POC, *none* of them liked ‘Latinx’. “People Of Color” works, on the other hand, for describing non-whites when that is necessary. Just my observation.
Someone here said it’s an attempt to force the Germanic neuter gender onto the Spanish language that only has masculine and feminine.
I’d like to see them try this with the French.
Big Mike Obama tried ‘womxn’ other day on Twatter and was laughed at until he took it down. These Leftists have over played their hand.
Francox?
The French would look down their supercilious noses and say, “Non, non, et non!”
The same leftist who screech about cultural imperialism will have no self-awareness that it is exactly what they are doing when they insist that Spanish must have a neuter gender.
Nothing more condescending than white people (usually liberals) calling “Hispanics” “brown people.” Hispanics can be of any race and come in many colors.
European descended Hispanics (I’ve known many of these especially when I lived in Miami) should not be considered people of color. Odd that Arabs, Armenians, and Persians are considered “white” while Latin Americans of pure Euro ancestry are considered “nonwhite.”
I kind of get why “people of color” is a decent descriptor ... but not really. Every human is a person of color, including me, a “white” guy whose skin is light brown.
We’ve moved on to “Mestinx”
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