Throughout my study, I use the terms Latinx and Chicanx, as opposed to Latinas/os and Chicana/o. This is done deliberately and with reason. When learning the Spanish language, one is taught that every noun has a gender. The language promotes a dichotomized vocabulary which generally favors the masculine version over the feminine. There are many problems that arise from having such a language set-up. The term Latinx has been gaining popularity in recent years to reflect a more inclusive vocabulary instead of one that perpetuates a patriarchal system.
In “In Defense of Latinx”, Christine Garcia (2017) explains the history behind the term ‘Latinx’ and why it is important to continue to use it in Latinx scholarship. She describes it as a term that is intersectional and that is supposed to be gender fluid. This is extremely important because gender exists on a spectrum, and is not strictly male and female. Prior to the creation of this term, the Spanish language always used masculine and feminine endings for nouns and did not have anything to represent a community with non-binary or gender non-conforming people. With the use of these gendered endings, the masculine ending was always favored in mixed gendered situations. |
There have been other attempts prior to the use of Latinx. Before the term Latinx, there was the use of Latina/Latino, and it was up to the author to determine which ending to put first. There was also the attempt to use Latin@ which was supposed to incorporate both genders, but faced issues because the @ was also used for tagging purposes. Then there was also an attempt to use Latine as a gender-neutral term. The problem with all these terms is that they still only reflected a binary rather than a spectrum with gender.
The use of Latinx also served as a way to show resistance and opposition that came with the Spanish language: “It serves as a way of rejecting the silencing and erasure of AfroLatinx and Indigenous languages by standard Spanish the language of the colonizer of much of Latin America and the Southwestern United States” (Garcias, 2017, p. 210). Latin America was colonized by the Spanish who imposed their language onto the people, and therefore the use of Latinx is a way of challenging everything. The use of this term in my research is extremely important. From the choice of methods to the use of language, the purpose is to help decolonize and liberate the gay Latinx community. |
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