Debate is growing over use of ‘Latinx’ for ethnic identityPosted in Articles, Census/Demographics, Latino Studies, Media Archive, Social Science, United States on 2022-02-08 01:48Z by Steven |
Debate is growing over use of ‘Latinx’ for ethnic identity
The Houston Chronicle
2021-01-24
Olivia P. Tallet, Staff Writer
Many Latinos and Hispanics who are familiar with the word “Latinx” respect it in the context of LGBTQ+ inclusiveness. But it’s overwhelmingly unsupported as a pan-ethnic identity word.
Latinx is a buzzword for individuals of Latin American origin in the United States, yet the use of “Latinx” as a noun to identify people of Latino and Hispanic heritage is not universally welcomed.
“Ooooo, you’ve entered the dangerous territory of ‘identity politics,’” said Rice University professor Luis Duno-Gottberg on a social media post where a journalist asked for opinions about the use of Latinx.
The word “Latinx” and its plural “Latinxs” spark passionate discussions, with supporters asserting it is more inclusive than the predominant “Latinos” or “Hispanic” to group the multifaceted identities of people who trace their origins to Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries.
Some analysts trace the original use of Latinx to the mid-2000s when it began to appear in web searches. The word started a slow trend upward in June 2016, according to Google Trends data. Some observers associated it with the mass shooting that month at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando where 49 people were killed and 53 injured…
Read the entire article here.