I think it's interesting that the term "Latinx" was coined by mostly white liberals in order to show other white liberals that it was more important to not differentiate between genders than to respect hundreds of years of cultural norms.
It's been a while but I remember reading somewhere a year or two ago that while the term was very popular among white liberals, only about 3% of Latinos and Latinas approved of the term while the remainder found it offensive to their culture.
So, I guess you're right, it does seem to be the epitome of white supremacism.
"Things should be made as simple as possible, but not one bit simpler." ~ Albert Einstein
I believe the specific etymological history of the word is a bit unclear and disputed.
That said:
- I think prescriptivism in language is a bit silly to get hung up on, especially if you have any familiarity with diachronic linguistics.
- In my personal experience, most people who use "latinx" have little familiarity with the Spanish language.
- I have more than passing familiarity with Spanish and several other Romance languages. Latinx does not "feel" right, it does not conform to the language's historical or current structure.
- "Real"(*) Spanish is a prescriptive language. It has a formal gatekeeping organization, much like French does. The Real Academia Española. The academy in its style manual rejects the use of "x" as a gender-neutral marker. With some vehemence. (**)
- Languages do change over time, don't get wrapped around the axle about it. Fæder ure, þu þe eart on heofonum, and so on.
(*) There are a *lot of Spanish dialects out there, many do not follow the "real" Spanish as dictated by the Real Academia Española.
(**) Bunnytrail - the selection of "x" for these grammatical changes (see also "Xicano" compared to "Chicano" may have something to do with the Nahuatl language, and its region of use. I have some modest knowledge of Nahuatl myself, but my daughter is rather fluent in it from her "Lara Croft, Tomb Raider" period.
I have done a lot of multicultural market research and I've learned that the Latin community does not prefer Latinx, but when we were creating the test materials, there was no definitive agreement on that so we just went with what our community leaders were telling us.
"Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
www.silententry.wordpress.com
If you think about it, even the "Latin" bit is problematic.
https://sixthsunridaz.com/not-hispan...x-not-mestizo/
to the bold:
Yes, exactly. Electing old feeble Joe, pretending he was up to it for 4 more years, would be delusional.
People (well, me anyway) would be far more accepting of a plan that had him going softly into that good night after 4 years, anointing the youngster who would take over.
But the Dems had to get down and dirty to boot him out, and those stories are now coming out about the enormous pressures exerted upon the power hungry ancient pol who wouldn’t let go. He is an embarrassment. How many more days do we have again, 2?
Ah, but when he was elected, he was NOT of diminished capacity, or at minimum, LESS SO than his opponent. In 2024, we (well, not ME!) elected someone of reprehensible moral character who rants like a mad-man and is proud to be a misogynist and bigot. And you think Biden is an embarrassment? You cast Biden as power-hungry, as opposed to the man who refused to acknowledge his own defeat, who believes that if he says it's so, it really is? A person who has be the center of all attention at all times, or throwing a pathetic toddler tantrum if not? Really?Electing old feeble Joe, pretending he was up to it for 4 more years, would be delusional
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