# Latinx (Your thoughts on the term) **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [April 5, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358 "2022-04-05T23:03:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/102 "2022-04-11T21:15:31Z")
> [@Retzbu\_Tox](#): > > One issue I have read about regarding the difficulty in getting “Latinx” to catch on with Latinx people is that in Spanish, pretty much _ **everything** _ is gendered, even things that don’t biologically have a gender at all. “The swimming pool” is “la piscina” (feminine). “The computer” is “el ordenador” (masculine). Gender-neutral usages are generally alien to the grammar of Spanish and other Romance languages. “Latina” and “Latino” match their grammar. “Latinx” is weird to use in a sentence because it is doesn’t quite make sense in Spanish. (Or something to that extent.) That’s pretty much what I was going to say- Spanish and I would assume the rest of the Romance languages as well, are explicitly gendered- every noun has a gender, and that affects the pronouns, endings, etc… So for example, a wooden table is “una mesa de madera”. Tables are feminine, so it’s “una” rather than “un”. Similarly, a car is “un automobile”, and cars are masculine. If I remember right, the default in Spanish for collective nouns is masculine. So you might have a bunch of Latinas marching for women’s rights, but if you’re collectively talking about people of Latin American derivation, the way the language works is that they’d collectively be called “Latinos”. Latinx seems like some sort of (IMO) peculiarly PC way of trying to circumvent the gendered nature of the Romance languages, and it seems a bit silly to me, although I don’t have a dog in the fight either way. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/103 "2022-04-11T21:19:09Z")
I am unclear exactly what “Latino” or “Hispanic” means. I tend to avoid using either. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/104 "2022-04-11T22:20:31Z")
> [@bump](#): > > If I remember right, the default in Spanish for collective nouns is masculine. So you might have a bunch of Latinas marching for women’s rights, but if you’re collectively talking about people of Latin American derivation, the way the language works is that they’d collectively be called “Latinos”. > > Latinx seems like some sort of (IMO) peculiarly PC way of trying to circumvent the gendered nature of the Romance languages, and it seems a bit silly to me, although I don’t have a dog in the fight either way. And that’s the problem. Intrinsically gendered language when referring to people. Much like the generic he for people of unknown gender in English being lately changed to a simple they, the supporters of Latinx would like to see something similar. The male form should not be the default. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2022, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/105 "2022-04-11T22:41:19Z")
There is something to this (modulo the debate on what is in fact sexist language and what is just random gender stuff that does not mean anything), but the neuter gender is pretty vestigial in Spanish, and IMO none of that has to do with _English_ anyway. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/106 "2022-04-12T02:38:09Z")
Tell it to the Romans. It’s just a linguistic convention with thousands of years of use, not the patriarchy keeping anyone down. That’s why it’s a bit absurd, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/107 "2022-04-12T03:08:01Z")
Heck, go further back than that and tell it to the speakers of Proto-Indo-European. Clearly people somewhere in the range of 4000 to 7000 years ago got it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/108 "2022-04-12T03:08:58Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Tell it to the Romans. It’s just a linguistic convention with thousands of years of use, not the patriarchy keeping anyone down. That’s why it’s a bit absurd, IMO. Are you claiming that Roman society wasn’t patriarchal? Why do you think the linguistic convention is what it is? ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/109 "2022-04-12T05:01:19Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Tell it to the Romans. It’s just a linguistic convention with thousands of years of use, not the patriarchy keeping anyone down. That’s why it’s a bit absurd, IMO. I’ll address the inherent misogyny that exists in the here and now. If it’s just a convention and a bit absurd, then surely the current trend of eliminating the generic he in English is equally absurd. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/110 "2022-04-12T12:53:04Z")
> [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](#): > > I am unclear exactly what “Latino” or “Hispanic” means. I tend to avoid using either. Please explain. How “exact” do you require ethnic descriptors to be? How would you describe persons/issues dealing w/ unspecified central/S Am countries? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/111 "2022-04-12T13:47:45Z")
Well yeah it is a little silly, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/112 "2022-04-12T14:00:13Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Please explain. How “exact” do you require ethnic descriptors to be? How would you describe persons/issues dealing w/ unspecified central/S Am countries? A “Central or maybe South American.” Is someone from Spain a Latino or a Hispanic? The first president of Peru was Bernardo O’Higgins. Was he in one of these groups? ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/113 "2022-04-12T16:35:20Z")
So I imagine you are a big fan of the precise term “Asian.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/114 "2022-04-12T18:00:38Z")
“Asian” is a geographical descriptor. “Tai Yai” is an example of an ethnic group. Since we are talking “thoughts on the term”, you tell me, but do you really encounter many references to “Latin America” or “Hispanic America” compared to South America? Spaniards are obviously Hispanic (and technically Latino, but not in the sense of Latino **americano** ), but let us not forget about Catalans, Basques, etc. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/115 "2022-04-12T20:38:21Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Spaniards are obviously Hispanic (and technically Latino, but not in the sense of Latino **americano** ), but let us not forget about Catalans, Basques, etc. Most Basque would say that they are definitely not Hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/116 "2022-04-12T21:02:24Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Latinx seems like some sort of (IMO) peculiarly PC way of trying to circumvent the gendered nature of the Romance languages, and it seems a bit silly to me, although I don’t have a dog in the fight either way. There is one and only one (IMO) case where Latinx makes sense. That is for a Latino person who is nonbinary or trans or otherwise nonconforming. They have a very understandable reason to eschew gendered pronouns, and they have a right to define how they themselves want to be called. As long as it’s an individual preference, I’ll respect it and use it. But as for all the well-meaning Anglos who have now decided that Latinx is a more sensitive way to say “Latin-American Person or Persons”, sorry, that’s a dumb contrived fad, and I’ll continue to oppose it vigorously. ---
**Author:** ![GreysonCarlisle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@GreysonCarlisle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreysonCarlisle)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/117 "2022-04-12T21:04:49Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Well yeah it is a little silly, IMO. Well, I’ll just say that when a person don’t fit neatly into the language conventions, then it’s the language that has to change, not the person. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/118 "2022-04-12T21:12:10Z")
> [@GreysonCarlisle](#): > > > [@DPRK](#): > > > > Spaniards are obviously Hispanic (and technically Latino, but not in the sense of Latino **americano** ), but let us not forget about Catalans, Basques, etc. > > Most Basque would say that they are definitely not Hispanic. To be sure: nor Latin. But many Basques are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain, which is an illustration of why things are tricky. They are as Spanish as anyone, at the same time there are Basque nationalists. Catalans and Portuguese are Latin but also maybe not that Hispanic. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/119 "2022-04-12T21:23:47Z")
In general, people can call themselves what they want to. It’s certainly not my place to rule on decisions completely or largely outside of my experience. I know no one who uses this term, many who potentially could - so a debate on how much I like it is even less relevant. In general, traditional usages have at least one thing going for them. Tradition. That’s not always enough, of course. But if it is good enough for potential users of this term, so be it. If they prefer this term, that too is their choice and not mine. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/120 "2022-04-12T21:29:51Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > There is one and only one (IMO) case where Latinx makes sense. That is for a Latino person who is nonbinary or trans or otherwise nonconforming. How magnanimous of you. > [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > But as for all the well-meaning Anglos who have now decided that Latinx is a more sensitive way to say “Latin-American Person or Persons”, sorry, that’s a dumb contrived fad, and I’ll continue to oppose it vigorously. Where are you running into these “well meaning Anglos” who are insisting that everyone use “Latinx?” You’ve been complaining about them a lot, but as near as I can figure, they don’t appear to actually exist. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2022, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358/121 "2022-04-13T01:29:56Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Where are you running into these “well meaning Anglos” who are insisting that everyone use “Latinx?” You’ve been complaining about them a lot, but as near as I can figure, they don’t appear to actually exist. Also, [about 3% of Hispanic/Latino adults in the US use “Latinx” to describe themselves](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2020/08/11/about-one-in-four-u-s-hispanics-have-heard-of-latinx-but-just-3-use-it/), according to this 2020 survey. If there are what, 40 million or so of those adults?, then in raw numbers that’s about 1.2 million Americans of Latin American origin who use “Latinx”. Still definitely not a widely preferred or standard term among people of Latin American descent, but obviously not merely a “dumb contrived fad” on the part of “well-meaning Anglos”. I’m not trying to argue that anybody, Anglo or otherwise, is obligated to like or use the term “Latinx” if they don’t want to, except in contexts where they’re specifically requested to do so as a preferred descriptor. But AFAICT, the claim that the use of “Latinx” is merely an “Anglo” “fad” completely unrelated to the choices and preferences of Spanish-speaking people themselves is just the usual smugly contrarian urban legend. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latinx-your-thoughts-on-the-term/962358.md?page=7)