Latin-Ex: Breaking Up With the Binary

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If you're reading this article there is a good chance you've heard of the term Latinx, but you still don’t really know what it means. Well it's a good thing we're here to help. Latinx is a gender-neutral term for latino/a. Sounds pretty simple right? Well unfortunately there has been quite a bit of loud disagreement on the subject. Some people think that adding words to our language changes the culture, others are suggesting Latine instead of Latinx, and so many other opinions. It can be a lot.We know we all just want an easy solution to every problem.

But this situation might require a little more adjusting for some people. For some reason some people just can’t comprehend that ALL WORDS are made up and meant nothing before we decided they did. So why can’t we just make some new ones?! And no, it doesn't mean that all of a sudden you have to change how you identify. That doesn’t mean your gender identity or expression should change, just that it doesn’t have to. Creating a more inclusive environment for gender non-conforming Latin American individuals is something to embrace.

Why wouldn’t we want to welcome our fellow Latin-Americans to embrace their culture fully?

We get that for some of you, the idea of having to learn some new words or adjusting your vocabulary slightly can seem like a lot. It might take some time, and you know what, that’s okay if you’re trying your best. That's all we can ask. However, if you just don’t wanna use new words just because you’re stubborn or being a bigot, we need to talk.

For so many years, queer people have felt isolated and alienated from “normal” society. And the Latin-American culture doesn’t have the best reputation for being welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community. As a Colombian-Venezuelan queer woman, this is a matter very close to my heart. I can count on one hand the number of times I have felt that my culture accepts and welcomes all of me for who I am. And that can become an exhausting existence, straddling two worlds, two communities.

So if adding one more word to our language can help make our Latin-American siblings feel more at home in their culture, then why not? Is it really so hard to make the minimum amount of effort?

So to my fellow Latin-American community and to everyone else reading this, I ask you to please just add one more word to your vocab, make it your word of the day, or something. Anything. We don’t care how you do it. Just make the effort to let people know they are seen and valid.

Hagamos que nuestra cultura sea más acogedora y tolerante para todos nosotros, de todas las identidades de género!

xoxo, katelin d