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All Latinx, Latine, Latina, Latino, and Hispanic Identities Are Valid
If you’re not part of the Latine community (and even you are!), you might not know what’s the best language to use to describe us. Let me help you with that.
To get us started, if you don’t know what these words mean, where they come from, and what their history is, you can go over the basics with me in this article I wrote a few months back.
But if you’ve been online lately, you probably saw that the article that goes something like “Please don’t call me Latinx” making the rounds again. And that can be triggering for many.
For some, the article is hurtful because — in a way — it’s trying to invalidate and take visibility away from a group of individuals.
For others, it’s quite the opposite; they’d like to see that word burn to the ground. And they’d use every available opportunity to remind you that, no, Latinx is not a real word (?)
… and if it’s not a real word, it’s not a real identity. Right?
You might even be referring back to that Gallup survey that explains how just a handful of people use Latinx. And how many others prefer to ignore the word completely… and they are not wrong!
