What is Latinx and what does it mean?
What is Latinx and what does it mean?
Latinx (lah-teen-ex) is a non-binary term used in place of Latina/Latino or Hispanic. While it does not grammatically fit within classical Spanish, it is a term that has been used since 2004 to be inclusive of all genders and gender non-conforming people, and does not have the masculine bias of “Latinos” for plural. As well, the term “Hispanic” often erases indigenous and African populations because of its association with Spanish heritage, and ignores the implications of colonization.
For example, Maritza, the founder of Pisqueya, uses Latina to describe herself, but some people do not identify as women or men, and feel more comfortable with a gender-neutral word like Latinx. Because Pisqueya wants to be inclusive and appreciative of all members of our community, regardless of gender, we want to use the term Latinx to make everyone feel comfortable.
Latinx people are not just one thing. We are a diverse group of ethnicities, races, religions and genders, and no one should feel excluded from that. Using Latinx does not take away from whether someone identifies as a woman or a man, but rather makes space for all of our diverse backgrounds.
We think everyone should use whatever term they feel expresses themselves, but we want to make sure we are including everyone in our community and beyond!
For example, Maritza, the founder of Pisqueya, uses Latina to describe herself, but some people do not identify as women or men, and feel more comfortable with a gender-neutral word like Latinx. Because Pisqueya wants to be inclusive and appreciative of all members of our community, regardless of gender, we want to use the term Latinx to make everyone feel comfortable.
Latinx people are not just one thing. We are a diverse group of ethnicities, races, religions and genders, and no one should feel excluded from that. Using Latinx does not take away from whether someone identifies as a woman or a man, but rather makes space for all of our diverse backgrounds.
We think everyone should use whatever term they feel expresses themselves, but we want to make sure we are including everyone in our community and beyond!
What is Latinx and what does it mean?
Latinx (lah-teen-ex) is a non-binary term used in place of Latina/Latino or Hispanic. While it does not grammatically fit within classical Spanish, it is a term that has been used since 2004 to be inclusive of all genders and gender non-conforming people, and does not have the masculine bias of “Latinos” for plural. As well, the term “Hispanic” often erases indigenous and African populations because of its association with Spanish heritage, and ignores the implications of colonization.
For example, Maritza, the founder of Pisqueya, uses Latina to describe herself, but some people do not identify as women or men, and feel more comfortable with a gender-neutral word like Latinx. Because Pisqueya wants to be inclusive and appreciative of all members of our community, regardless of gender, we want to use the term Latinx to make everyone feel comfortable.
Latinx people are not just one thing. We are a diverse group of ethnicities, races, religions and genders, and no one should feel excluded from that. Using Latinx does not take away from whether someone identifies as a woman or a man, but rather makes space for all of our diverse backgrounds.
We think everyone should use whatever term they feel expresses themselves, but we want to make sure we are including everyone in our community and beyond!