# Have you heard the term "Latinx"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 7, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750 "2018-05-07T13:31:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/1 "2018-05-07T13:31:21Z")
I heard it for the first time last night on an NPR show (_Latino USA_). It’s pronounced “la-teen-ex” although I can’t quite remember which syllable was accented. Anyway, it was used in the context of a group trying to get more minorities into tech fields as in “We have programs specifically targeting black and Latinx students…” At first, I was confused and thought it had something to do with Texas (don’t laugh, I’m hearing this on the radio and not seeing it printed), and then from the context I figured it must be some non-gendered way to say Latino/Latina. I was really surprised that we, the listeners, were supposed to understand this term without having it explained. Now, granted the show is probably aimed at “Latinx” listeners, but still. Is this some trend to take Spanish nouns and de-gender them with an “x” in place of the typical “o” or “a” ending, or is it just this one word that gets special treatment? I guess this has been [a thing since at least 2016](https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-people-are-using-the-term-latinx_us_57753328e4b0cc0fa136a159), but this is the first time I heard it. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/2 "2018-05-07T13:40:53Z")
I’ve heard it a few times, I think also on NPR. I’ve also seen it in writing a few times. It seems to be catching on. I’m not crazy about it, just because it looks like it should rhyme with minx or lynx. But otherwise, I guess if it catches on as the preferred term among Latinos, I’ll start using it. As an aside: “Hispanic” seems to be fading in popularity except on government forms. Is it becoming outdated? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/3 "2018-05-07T13:44:00Z")
I’ve heard of and seen it for several years now, albeit infrequently. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/4 "2018-05-07T13:58:27Z")
Yes. But only because an old friend on Facebook is a fairly prominent political activist in the Puerto Rican and wider Hispanic (or Latinx) communities. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/5 "2018-05-07T14:04:05Z")
I’ve heard/read it - it’s the preferred term in _some_ of my circles. And virulently _hated_ in others. It doesn’t come up often enough for me personally to have ever used it, though. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/6 "2018-05-07T14:09:48Z")
Yeah, I’ve heard it a lot lately in the last couple of years, especially in online communities. > [@Bayard](#): > > As an aside: “Hispanic” seems to be fading in popularity except on government forms. Is it becoming outdated? My understanding, and I realize not everyone operates with this distinction, is that latino/a/x means someone with latin american heritage and hispanic means someone from a spanish-speaking country. So a brazilian is latino but not hispanic, a spaniard is hispanic but not latino and a venezuelan is both. ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/7 "2018-05-07T14:12:34Z")
Grew up in a heavily Hispanic area of eastern Washington State. I have never heard this term or even know how it’s pronounced. Over the years we’ve gone from the “approved” term be Mexican=\>Chicano=\>Hispanic=\>Latino/a. Guess what term we commonly call each other…Mexican. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/8 "2018-05-07T14:12:52Z")
First time I’ve seen it. At first sight, and as confirmed in the thread, equivalent to the Spanish versions _latino/a_ (correct in writing, incorrect when pronounced /latinoa/) and _latin@_ (justifiable in writing only when spaces are at a premium). I much prefer it when people either pick a version or find a gender-invariant word, but I also have come to recognize that for some, being able to see Fighting The Genders Fight is more important than actually getting any results. ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/9 "2018-05-07T14:15:40Z")
Both Latinx & Latin@ fairly frequently. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/10 "2018-05-07T14:22:27Z")
I first encountered the word Latinx around a year ago and I shared the OP’s confusion. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/11 "2018-05-07T14:31:39Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > As an aside: “Hispanic” seems to be fading in popularity except on government forms. Is it becoming outdated? Depends somewhat where you are. Hispanic isn’t a popular term in some areas, but it has been and still is the general “correct” (as in it’s what people default to) term in much of New Mexico, probably even more so from Santa Fe to further north. Especially with the long history of Spanish settlement and rule in New Mexico and it being perfectly possible to be both white and Hispanic. (I had classmates who could build a family tree in New Mexico to well before the Mexican Revolution.) I’m sure Latino gets some use, but I’ve almost never seen Chicano used. I’d argue that’s more of a Texas/California thing and probably depends heavily on how much one identifies as Mexican. A quick look at a Wikipedia article on “Hispanos in New Mexico” seems to me to be rather biased in tone. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/12 "2018-05-07T14:38:36Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Yes. But only because an old friend on Facebook is a fairly prominent political activist in the Puerto Rican and wider Hispanic (or Latinx) communities. Same here. It’s used by the same people who use “womyn”. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/13 "2018-05-07T14:40:40Z")
Read it several times, heard it never. ---
**Author:** ![SmellMyWort](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SmellMyWort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmellMyWort)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/14 "2018-05-07T14:41:03Z")
I attended a large conference for education professionals a few weeks ago and noticed the term used in a lot of the paper/presentation titles. First I’d noticed it. ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/15 "2018-05-07T15:21:32Z")
I had not seen or heard the term until last week, when I read several articles about the accusations against Junot Diaz that included it. Diaz’s own piece in the New Yorker also uses it. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/16 "2018-05-07T15:36:06Z")
Yes. It may depend on your region. ---
**Author:** ![FlikTheBlue](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fliktheblue/32/10972_2.png) [@FlikTheBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlikTheBlue)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/17 "2018-05-07T15:40:14Z")
I’m from south Texas and a Latino. Here the terms Hispanic and Latino are used pretty much interchangeably, but that is changing somewhat. The change is that now Hispanic tends to refer to anyone with roots in Latin America (including people of primarily European descent), while Latino now tends to mean specifically those people of mixed Native American and European descent. I had never heard the term Latinx before and IMHO it’s a silly term. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/18 "2018-05-07T15:45:06Z")
I’ve never heard it, but I’ve read it, albeit only in the context of a piece saying how idiotic the idea of de-gendering Spanish is. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/19 "2018-05-07T15:51:34Z")
Never “heard” it, have read it online from some authors/sites that make a point of their progressiveness. As a Latino myself, it gets a momentary :rolleyes: but then again I’m in my 50s so what do I know about The Struggle, right? The way we look at it in my community,”Hispanic” is a Census Bureau category, Latinos is a cultural identity ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2018, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750/20 "2018-05-07T15:59:32Z")
I’d argue you can de-gender a language (English did, after all), but not quickly and definitely not by some sort of online social media campaign. English spent centuries in a small area and small population being overlayed with other languages and slowly simplifying inflection, removing case, and losing gender. A bunch of activists writing Latinx and Latin@ isn’t going to change Spanish anytime soon. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-the-term-latinx/813750.md?page=2)