by Michelle SencionLatinx is a term that has sprung up in the past couple of years. If you aren’t from the generation that uses social media actively and is “in-the-know,” then this word could be foreign to you. To many older Latino/as, it is a word that seeks to ruin the Spanish language and has a difficult pronunciation that only the kids who speak English can say. If you’ve ever taken a Spanish class you will realize that the letter X has a difficult pronunciation. For native Spanish speakers, Latinx sounds like “Latin(?)” because what sound could you make. In Spanish the x does not equal “ex” it equals confusion and frustration. So if Latinx is so difficult to pronounce, and it isn’t actually a widely accepted word (yet), so, why do people use it? That question has many answers, but we will focus on two. Latinx gives the middle finger to patriarchy. Let’s go back to Spanish class, shall we. Spanish is a rich and colorful language that has produced some of the best works of literature in the world. It is also gendered as hell. Think about it, everything in Spanish has a gender, even inanimate objects! Take, for example, the very basic word, “friends.” In English, friends can be used to describe anyone no matter what gender they are/prefer. In Spanish, however, “friends” suddenly becomes gendered, and whether you are out with your girl friends or your guy friends becomes an issue. If you are with a group of your girl friends, you have to say that you are with your “amigas, but if you are out with *just* your guy friends, you would have to say, “amigos.” The problem starts when you are out with a group of women and one man joins the group of “amigas,” you would have to describe the newly configured group as “amigos,” even if the majority is female. Masculine terms become the universal description for everyone once there is more than one gender involved. The X in Latinx is a protest against the everyday patriarchy that the Spanish language imposes upon its speakers. People are not just male and female, why should they not be able to remove themselves from the narrative of being “ella” or “él” for the rest of their lives? That brings us to our second reason. Latinx is a way to break down the gender binary. Now we’ve heard so much about the gender binary and our society is showing that two genders just don’t cut it. There is no clear line between male and female, people often float in between or are just removed completely. Latinx allows people who are transgendered to not be forced into a category based on a gender with which they don’t identify. The term was created as an act of protest, of non-conformity, and of inclusiveness. Still with me? Well you’ve made it through a lesson on Latinx and why it's important. If you are a native Spanish speaker and don’t like to use Latinx because it does not define you, that’s fine! Just because Latinx is now a thing doesn’t mean that Latino and/or Latina are suddenly wrong. It’s just a word, but words can mean a lot to people, and just like someone may be proud as hell to say they are Latino, I am proud to say I am Latinx. Interesting Pieces About Latix Why We Say Latinx: Trans & Gender Non-Conforming People Explain |
Categories
All
Archives
November 2017
|