Staff Reports
In Connecticut, some state lawmakers want to ban the use of the Latinx word "woke" in government documents. They said it's an offensive term for Spanish speakers.
A group of Hispanic state legislators has proposed a bill that would replace the terms "Latino" and "Latina" with a gender-neutral term. According to the AP, the term "Latino" is not a Spanish word and "Latina" is offensive to Puerto Ricans. The chief sponsor of the bill is Geraldo Reyes Jr. of Connecticut.
He said it's offensive to him because he's from Puerto Rico. He also noted that the Spanish language is centuries old and has always been inclusive.
Democratic-backed Connecticut bill would ban 'Latinx' term (from @AP) https://t.co/GRUC02u0wV
— Aamer Madhani (@AamerISmad) February 2, 2023
A Boston University professor who specializes in multicultural literature said that the term "Latinx" is more inclusive than "Latino" because it came from queer culture during the 1990s.
According to the activist, the term Latino is an exclusionary term that targets women and non-gender conforming individuals. She also stated that Latinx is helpful because it challenges certain conceptions.
According to the AP, Reyes anticipates that the bill will be heard by the Elections and Government Administration Committee during the legislature's current session.
If the bill is passed, Connecticut would follow Arkansas' lead. In January, newly-elected Republican governor Sarah Sanders of Arkansas prohibited the use of the term Latinx in government documents.
The head of a prominent Latino civil rights organization in the US told NBC News that he ordered his group to stop using the term Latinx in December. According to him, there is little support for the term, which he said is often used in Ivy League settings and the corridors of the Washington DC area.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on DAILY CALLER.
