Running Head: LATINX STUDENT PERCEPTIONS 1

Latina/o/x and Student Perceptions

Donavon A. Barbarisi

Fort Hays State University

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Latina/o/x and Student Perceptions

The Event

Within recent years, gendered language has gone through a partial evolution with the

development of the word Latinx. Logue (2015) demonstrates that until late 2015, the term

Latinx was almost non-existent before surging as a search at the end of the year. The intent

behind the term is to account for non-gender binary students, as currently, the distinction of

Latino/a specifically refers to male or female.

One researcher, Maria Scharron-del Rio, describes Latinx as a means of defining one’s

own identity, wherein someone wants to be proud of Latin descent but does not identify with the

gender binary the language purports. Research has in part joined the movement, as Scharron-del

Rio describes research in Puerto Rico as using lxs participantes as opposed to the traditional los,

a masculine article (Logue, 2015).

On one hand, many student groups have begun changing their language to be more

inclusive of non-gender binary Latin students replacing Latino and Chicano with Latinx and

Chicanx respectively when referring to student organizations and activities. While Latinx does

have supporters, it also has its detractors. Some students who identify with Latino/a feel as

though Latinx is an American way of removing gender from language, as not only would Latinx

be complex for native speakers; it also removes a key aspect of Spanish language development.

Some purport that taking gender out of Spanish does include non-gender binary people, it also

deletes the culture and history surrounding the language (Logue 2015).

Cultural Dilemma
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The main cultural dilemma that arises as a part of the transition from Latino/a to Latinx is

whether culture is being sacrificed for the advancement of another group. While this may matter

to some members of the Latino/a community, the argument carries a similar weight to renaming

buildings based on their history and linkage with white supremacists. Some perceive renaming

buildings as deleting the cultural history, but cultural should not come at the expense of others,

especially when it serves as a constant reminder of atrocities or alienation. In the case of

Latino/a it will always serve as a reminder for non-gender binary students that they are not part

of that community, and do not belong.

Stakeholders

The stakeholders in the transition from Latino/a to Latinx is (as it should be) students

who identify as members of that community. These are the people and students going through a

language change that must, in some part, alter the way they define themselves and the population

they identify with. It is important to recognize that these are the people primarily being affected

by transition, or lack thereof, and to keep the focus on what they may be experiencing.

Other stakeholders do include anyone who interacts with students who identify with this

community. Again, they should not be the focus but they are involved in the decision, and will

be affected by the outcome.

Elements of Oppression

The major element of oppression stemming from the transition to Latinx is the present

alienation of non-gender binary students. Similarly, to how administrators work to utilize more

inclusive language, Latinx does this for a group of students previously unaccounted for.
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Centuries of the Spanish language have been binary and this can very easily make non-binary

students feel unwelcome in groups that do not express this inclusive language.

Remedies and Suggestions

One major remedy for this situation is identifying students by their individual cultural

origin. Latino/a/x is a generic term referring to people from central or southern America, but

each student would have their own more specific identity. While this would not be a university

action plan, as an individual it would be a powerful step to making students feel welcome and

part of the university as opposed to a number or dollar sign (Cuyjet, Linder, Howard-Hamilton,

& Cooper, 2016).

One major suggestion would be for the administration to understand the intersectional

identities that non-gender binary students who identify as Latinx are part of, and what things they

need to succeed. Again, one-step would be to treat them as individuals and never assume that

the way one student feels, as part of this intersectional identity is the same as every student or

even one other. Viewing theory can serve as a proper base, but it should not be relied on solely

to understand any student entirely nor how to interact with them. Identifying areas that these

students feel would help them best succeed and work towards actually achieving them as a

university (Cuyjet, Linder, Howard-Hamilton, & Cooper, 2016).

Finally, in terms of actual implementation on the behalf of the university, it would seem

appropriate to utilize Latinx from an organizational standpoint, but making open comments

about the culture of the language. Knowing a university tends to aim towards a family feeling,

focusing on including members of that family would be good, as well as talking with students
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who do not identify as Latinx and recognizing them as individuals by the language they choose

to use.
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References

Cuyjet, M. J., Linder, C., Howard-Hamilton, M. F., Cooper, D. L. (2016). Multiculturalism on

campus: Theory, models, and practices for understanding diversity and creating

inclusion. Sterling, VA. Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Logue, J. (2015). Latina/o/x. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved from

https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/12/08/students-adopt-gender-nonspecific-

term-latinx-be-more-inclusive