CEED is Embracing ‘Latine’

​Is it Better to Say Latino or Latinx?
 
Hispanic. Latino. Latinx. There is increasing debate about how to respectfully refer to people of Latin American and Spanish descent both nationally and internationally. Many scholars in the U.S. have resorted to using the gender neutral term, Latinx, despite pushback from academics and non-academics from these communities. Yet, the use of Latinos to refer to all Latin American descent people minimizes the voices and experiences of women and non-binary individuals.
 
CEED’s Journey to “Latine”
 
Over the past year, researchers at CEED have been reflecting on the use of Latinx in our academic work. While we’ve found guidance from the American Psychological Association Racial Ethnic Identity Principles useful, we continue to experience dissonance between the use of gendered versus gender-neutral terms. In an effort to respect and honor the identities of the participants in our studies, we wanted to think carefully about how we describe people.  In order to deepen our understanding, we consulted Dr. Gigliana Melzi , a developmental psychologist from New York University Steinhardt School who is an expert in the language development and family communication for Spanish-speaking families.
 
Below we describe Dr. Melzi’s response to our question, “Which term do you think is a more socially inclusive and culturally respectful term to use to describe the ethnic and racial identities of people from Latin America?”  Below is Dr. Melzi’s response in her own voice, illustrated exactly as she shared it with us.

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​Dr. Gigliana Melzi’s “Latine” Story
 
“This is a complex issue that is dividing a cultural group. I often wonder if it has been done on purpose to reduce political power!
 
There are a few pieces that have been written about it. My favorite is this one.
 
For me, the issue at hand is this:
 
Latino is what most Spanish-speakers and those from Latin American heritage will likely identify and use. Some scholars opt to use Latino because it is what the community they study use and identify with. The term, however, does not embrace gender diversity and continues to privilege masculinity, given that the “o” morpheme is masculine, as in el amigo (e.g., male friend), but also we see it in el barco, where the noun is gendered but there is no gender identity.  So, the Spanish language is a gendered language, unlike English.
 
Then we have Latinx, a term that embraces gender diversity and started in the United States.  The x, intended to represent all genders, creates flexibility and inclusiveness. While I agree with the intention of the term, I personally do not use it, unless I am explicitly asked to do so. For instance, an editor of a special issue decided that all contributions would use Latinx (instead of what the authors wanted to use), so I published with Latinx.  Even more recently, my colleagues and I were asked to use Latinx (instead of our preferred Latine) on a public abstract given that Latinx is more widely used in the United States; so we did.
 
A few years ago, I had an internal conversation and realized that I had to make a conscious decision about which term I wanted to adopt in my oral and written communications, especially professionally. As a Latina and a Spanish-speaker, I faced a dilemma:  On the one hand, I fully support gender identity diversity and understand the need to use language that is more inclusive. On the other hand, I have a negative visceral reaction towards the term Latinx for the following reasons:
 
1. It is unpronounceable in Spanish. X is not a vowel. I have heard the argument that X is used in indigenous languages and saying that it is unpronounceable in Spanish is centering the colonizers’ language. X is a consonant in some Indigenous languages. In Mexican Indigenous languages, it has a [j] sound as in meJico, a [sh] sound, or an [s] sound or even an [ks] sound.  Other Latin American Indigenous languages, such as Quechua, do not have the X.
 
2. "Un equis" in Spanish means of unknown identity and has a negative connotation.
 
3. Being born and raised in Latin America, I am sensitive to the historic hegemonic attitude and approach of the U.S. toward Latin American countries. I see the imposition of Latinx as a manifestation of that hegemonic attitude; I see it as a form of linguistic imperialism.
 
While the use of Latino to mean of Latin American heritage was adopted in the U.S., it is a borrowed word from Spanish (I can assume an abbreviation from latinoamericano). It is a term used outside of the U.S. by Spanish-speakers still living in their countries of origin (just check out Carlos Vives’ song, Amor Latino).  As an adjective in English, it shouldn't be gendered, in the same way that Hispanic doesn't have gender (we say Hispanic men, Hispanic women). So, technically, Latino mothers is grammatically correct. In fact, I have never said Latina mothers, unless I am speaking Spanish and I need to match the adjective with gender of noun, irrespective of the gender identity of the referent (i.e., la realidad latina). The fact that Latino ends in an O and some folks say Latina mothers (matching the adjective to the supposed gender identity of the referent) is further evidence, for me, that the term Latino is viewed as a Spanish term and used as such.
 
So then, what we really want is for the Spanish language to create a gender-neutral ending for nouns and adjectives that refer to people who are gendered. Ergo, we need to take into account all the Spanish speakers and Latinos of the world, not just those who live in the U.S. Otherwise, it is cultural and linguistic hegemony. Since the term is used to refer to an identity of people who exist beyond the U.S. borders, or who live within the U.S. but who are very close to cultural and national heritage, we need to think about the repercussions beyond the U.S. borders. Otherwise, we are being isolationist.
 
The U.S. culture is extremely influential in the world, so what we do here matters. To say that it's an American term, we only use it in the U.S., is an egocentric argument that, unfortunately and frankly, aligns with U.S. attitudes and the treatment of Latin America since the 1950's.
 
Given that I will not use Latinx, I have started using Latine for my professional writing and speaking. The ‘’E” already exists in Spanish as in: una estudiante or un estudiante.  In Spanish-speaking America, it is now becoming the preferred term to refer to gender fluid or gender non-conforming identified individuals. I do not see the reason why we cannot expand and use the term widely. So we can talk about ellos, ellas, elles; los niños, las niñas, les niñes.
 
I have Latine colleagues who use Latinx and are adamant about its use, but have NEVER corrected me when I have said Latinos or Latines because they know the issue is complicated. I have been corrected three times, all English-speaking white academics. Therefore, what I would say is: use what makes you feel comfortable and what you can defend.
 
I would never use Hispanic heritage because not all Latine people are Hispanic. I went to high school with Peruvians who identified culturally as Latin Americans, but whose ancestors were Chinese, Japanese, Palestinian, German, Italian ... etc. Hispanic to me means from Spain. Being Latine means that you are "mix", the product of the mestizaje of various ethnocultural and racial origins- African, Indigenous, European being the most prominent. This mestizaje is what makes us, Latines, unique.
 
So there's no citation that I know of. I use Latine because I am a Spanish-speaker with reasons for using it. I want my language to change, to become more inclusive. Using Latinx won't do that. I want my language to have a gender-inclusive/neutral morpheme, so that my daughter does not ask me: why do we say niños when there are three girls and one boy? Or when we refer to all children, regardless of their gender? If Spanish had a gender-neutral morpheme we could use niñes. Languages are alive and they evolve. Long time ago, Spanish dropped the ph in favor of the f, to make writing easier. I think we can move towards a gender-inclusive morpheme.
 
But the issue is quite complicated and there is not a single answer.
 

​CEED’s Reflection on the Term “Latine”
 
CEED’s research on Latine communities, and all the communities we work with, has always aimed to uplift people’s identities and  voices in a respectful manner. We, like Dr. Melzi,  believe that the word “Latine” allows us to do this while also pushing for gender equality and gender inclusivity. While “Latinx” tried to do the same, it is a reminder of the complicated history the United States has had with Latin American communities. Of course, the word “Latine” is not without controversy as many individuals prefer to identify themselves and their community as Latino, Latina, Hispanic, or Latinx. Such individual preferences should be honored and accepted. At CEED, we will continue to respect how each individual identifies themselves and will use “Latine” to describe the community as a whole. We believe the unique cultural origins of Latine people should be acknowledged, uplifted, and celebrated unapologetically!