Connecticut Hispanic Democrats want to ban “Lantix” from state documents

A group of Hispanic lawmakers in Connecticut are trying to ban the use of the word “Latinx” from official government documents – claiming the term is “offensive” to Spanish speakers.

Five of the state’s Hispanic Democrats have proposed legislation to ban the gender-neutral alternative to “Latino” or “Latina,” which describes people of Hispanic descent.

The bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Geraldo Reyes Jr., called Latinx a “woke” term that offends Connecticut’s large Puerto Rican community.

“I’m of Puerto Rican descent and I find it offensive,” Reyes said.

However, proponents say the descriptor is broader for both women and those who do not confirm gender. The masculine plural “Latinos” refers to a group of men and women in the Spanish language.

Reyes said “Latino” is already inclusive.

“The centuries-old Spanish language is Latino by default for everyone,” he said. “It’s all inclusive. They didn’t have to create a word, it already exists.”

Republicans have also come past term in their war against the so-called “awakened.”

Last month, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders — former Trump White House press secretary — banned government officials from using Latin in state documents in one of the first moves the Republican took within hours of taking office.

However, the move appeared to be for political show rather than action. “Latinx” doesn’t seem to be widely used among Arkansas government officials.

In Connecticut, a keyword search for the word on the state government portal returned 945 hits in documents including press releases, blogs and reports.

Many Latin Americans have rejected the descriptor itself – particularly older generations.

In 2021, the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the United States — the League of United Latin American Citizens — announced it would no longer use the term Latinx.

David Pharies, a professor of Spanish language at the University of Florida, said using an “x” instead of an “a” or “o” violates the typical grammar of the language and is unfamiliar to native speakers.

“Latinx was clearly a solution proposed outside of the Spanish-speaking world,” said Pharies.

He added that “Latin”, sometimes used for the same person, is more intuitive for Spanish speakers.

However, Maia Gil’Adi, an assistant professor of “Latinx and Multiethnic Literature” at Boston University, said that the term actually originated in Latin American youth and queer culture in the 1990s.

The “x,” she said, is a nod to many people’s indigenous roots.

“The word Latino is incredibly exclusive, both for women and for gender-nonconforming people,” she said. “And the term Latinx is really useful because it challenges those notions.”

With postal wires