The Word Latinx is Offensive to Many

A recent and failed attempt to change ethnic descriptions would be the word Latinx. Latinx is supposed to describe Latinos, Latinas, Hispanics, or any other Spanish speakers. No matter if one is trying to describe one's race or ethnicity, for some reason people think that they need to change other people's language in order to be more “inclusive”.

This title change was created in order to eliminate a gender distinction between Latino and Latina. It is prominently used by politicians, universities, and activists. The problem is that there are a large number of people who do not identify with the word and some even find it offensive, like myself.

A survey done by Bendixen and Amandi International, which are Democratic firms located in Miami, to 800 Latino registered voters showed how only 2% of them describe themselves as Lantix, while 89% rather be identified as Hispanic or Latino. The poll even showed that 40% of those people found the word offensive.

The reason why so many people find it offensive is because it is an English word that pretty much defies the rules of the Spanish language. A large number of the Latino community do not believe it is right for others to change their language when no one asked them to. There are countless other gender-neutral options in order to explain one is Latino. Which works with the Spanish language, with Argentine activists having offered Latine, even Latin or Latin American.

When hearing all these politicians and how universities try to describe Latinos really does bother me. I understand that their intention wasn’t to offend anyone but this word they are trying to indoctrinate into everyone isn't appreciated by those who it's supposed to represent. I do prefer being referred to as Latino or Hispanic. Latinos are very proud of where they come from so some might even like to refer to their nationality instead. I for instance like to be referred to as Mexican.

Martin Solorio Hinojosa is a student at Sonoma State University working on his Bachelor's degree in Sociology