Recently, I got some blowback on a feminist listserv when I said I was thinking of writing about “Latinx,” the new gender-neutral replacement for “Latino” and “Latina.” Why was I, a non-Latinx, writing about it?
Never mind that no one, including myself, knew what I would say, or that “Latinx” is an English word and that as an English-speaking person, I have a certain stake in its usage.
The same goes for other “x” words—“Mx.” as a genderless honorific, “womxn,” and yes, “alumnx”—to say nothing of “they” as a singular pronoun. Still, the discussion reminded me that there is a rich conversation already going on about “Latinx” that I was ill prepared to take part in without more research and interviewing. So I’m staying in my lane. Let’s talk about…
