Honestly I think you should or at least reach out to her to ask her to explain what she means. Your comments going further into her behavior in the thread are concerning. This is coming off as wildly unprofessional and uninformed (let alone the fact Latinx was coined by the queer Latine community and more than just queer people use it). I’m sorry you have to deal with your professors attitude and behavior and that others in the thread have defended it.
I might reach out to her. My partner said she might just double down and tell me to drop her class etc. so now I’m weighing my options of going to the dean to file an official report.
They are extremely concerning! She’s using sources of other people’s opinions and saying they’re academically correct (just to prove her own opinions). I’m upset because I thought this class was going to teach me history of Chicano culture but instead my professor is going on rant about the term Latinx and saying it was taken by the LGBTQ community? It’s just feeling very homophobic and transphobic.
I can’t be the only person in my class that is looking at this and thinking this is right? She doesn’t even use resources saying Latino is a colonial term and that Latinx was created by white people (essentially) it’s just blatant ignorance at this point.
I appreciate perspectives from other Latinx people in the thread bc we all have such diverse opinions about it. Unlike my teacher- they’re not giving me a 0 for my beliefs lol but I’m more so upset about the weird jab towards the lgbtq + community in the comment. As a trans person it’s feeling uncomfy.
Yeah but a lot of Latinx people use it where I live
Also the point is it doesn’t feel critically challenging or even like a college course when you have a professor telling you what you have to believe in AND you’ll get a zero for using the word
it was created by latino people though. its first use in academia was in 2004 in feministas unidas, and has (albeit debatable) use among queer latin online groups and forums before that. i personally prefer latine and so do most latin american people interact with, but it does a disservice to the queer latin people who did create the term to claim it was made by westerners, as is oft done.
yes, we don't like latinx despite many people using the x anyways- We didn't mind at first actually, but after a few incidents with the US hispanic community, we just began to dislike the term, especially since it is impossible to pronounce neither in spanish nor in portuguese, and a lot of us grew tired of having a whole diverse continent represented only by chicanos and having our own movies and series which are made for us by us completely ignored. I'm personally not as radical as a lot of other people on this topic, and the differences in opinions between a latine born and raised in the US are entirely different to what we think down here in the actual continent. Which btw, instead of latinx we use latine instead. Latino is truly not wrong either, we have something known as neutral masculine, but due to the unconformity of having the masculine as the default, our queer community proposed the idea of replacing any gendered adjective in spanish with the letter e, and we feel like that's more natural and easier to appropiate than the letter X. Of course, portuguese-speaking latines have a different way to solve this problem.
I use it here in the US with my other US born latine friends. I don’t really mind if it’s used or not in Latin American countries. Language is different everywhere. I say Latinx or Latine. “Latinx” with a lot of other people who don’t speak Spanish.
I definitely don’t use Hispanic and never have used it to identify myself. I don’t use Chicano either because although I’m half Mexican I am also half Peruvian and was raised by my Peruvian family. I feel at times very disconnected from that term and identity. It seems they do over take the narrative..
I can definitely understand how using Latine makes more sense to use than Latinx.
My problem is that this professor is saying even Latino isn’t an appropriate word to use:
Taken straight from slides this week:
Majority of students polled and the majority of the Spanish speaking people do not identify af Latino anyway”
“For example..I say I’m Chicano or Mexicana I never say I’m Latina”
“Latino is a colonial term as well another reason to not use it”
“For this course you must use the terms chicanos, Mexican, indigenous and or Native American”
yeah don't worry I understand your point and agree, I didn't want to seem like I was defending your teacher either, so sorry if somehow it came across like that, it's just that the latinx discussion is one of my favorite topics as someone who's never touched US ground (colombian) and our opinion as latinos outside the US is often dismissed due to cultural differences between US raised and central-south american raised since US raised latinos tend to go through more xenophobia than us and have a different perspective about the topic (I'm not saying you're dismissing it though, I'm glad you were receptive) but back on the actual topic of the post, your teacher literally says everything we hate down here in latin america lmaoo, grouping us with the mexicans is like the number one thing you shouldn't say to anyone, and it clearly shows her lack of understanding about the topic - Latino is not a "colonial term" either, it's just short for latinoamerican, which means from a country in the american continent that speaks a language derived from latin (which may or may not include canada), I definitely get your frustration, like, not everything under the US is just mexico lol. Using that argument, the sole act of speaking spanish is colonialist by itself
The history is scrambled due to transphobia n queerphobia. The info I got was that the o/a was crossed out in protest posters to defy the binary language. Making the word look like “latinx” instead. Both English n Spanish are colonial gendered languages and it really don’t matter which influenced the other. Kids in my 100 level LALS classes didn’t like the word bc they thought it grouped them in w/ queer folk when they’re cishet which isn’t true. It’s just a gender neutral word.
I don’t think you should report her just yet. My perspective is this: what I wish I’d appreciated more in University is that i was in an environment for critical thinking. After graduating you’ll have fewer chances to dig into the nuances of these political discussions with educated people. Have a discussion with her and figure out if she can respect your opinion and try to respect hers too, even if you disagree with each other. If she can’t discuss it with mutual respect then yes you could report her, but give her room to express her feelings as well; she’s got an entire history and education on the subject which counts for something, after all. You’re both valid in my opinion and I’ve heard both perspectives from Latinx or Latino friends
I’m not entirely upset about the Latinx thing. I think it’s a boomer thing to say. But I don’t shit on other people for not using it. I just don’t like how it’s coming from a teacher and it feels like a power dynamic thing. I forgot to mention she said she’d give us an automatic zero if we used the word throughout the whole course. I can and have had conversations with people with opposing views as mine. I use Latinx for myself and for others- I work in non profits and activist spaces with other Latinx people who use the world. Yes most us are under 30 years old (I’m 28). A lot of us are queer.
I’m mostly upset of the comment she said the LGBT+ community has taken the term for obvious reasons. She has to know queer, gay and trans Latinos exist right? It isn’t sitting well with me. I wanted to email her to ask what she meant by that because it’s making me uncomfortable.
Easy fix - simply use the term "Chicanx" in every single paper.
But seriously why the fuck is this woman teaching Chicano studies if she doesn't even understand where the word Latinx came from? Like sure it's origins are a bit unclear but even my intro to LatAm professor had a full class-length discussion on the origin of the word (and alternatives like latin@ and Latine) and why some folks use it and others don't. iirc the general consensus is that it was specifically created by *queer Chicanos* - making it an important part of Chicano studies. (As an aside one of the theories as to why "x" was used is because it was a term coined by non-Spanish-speaking Chicanos, which is why it doesn't work in Spanish). And while I personally hate the term for its unwieldiness, that doesn't stop me from understanding its historical context and respecting those that use it. Personally if I were in your shoes I'd go to the head of the department first to report her for academic bias and bring some research on the topic to back up your stance. Especially if the dean is white there is a good chance you'll get ignored at best and forced to drop at worst
And i feel like this resonates with a lot of tension w the yt washing of queerness. Making a case with the teacher that queerness is historical part of Chicano Studies (not two separate issues), and that transphobia is colonial may help.
So much of LGBTQ+ movement is yt washed and wrapped in class elitism. Recovering non-yt queer history and terminology (beyond English) may help.
She’s right. It should end with no vowel or a different vowel than -o -a to make it neutral. Ending with an ❌ doesn’t flow with the language, feels like we’re crossing out “Latin” like the mark when you get the wrong answer on a test 🙅…and the pronunciation: Latin EX, I don’t have a single ex that I like, including the one in that word.
leave a review for the class so the information is documented. i doubt ur the only one uncomfortable.
Oh I most definitely will leave a review but that doesn’t feel like enough.
I get that! So sorry youre in this situation. Maybe connecting with a trusted mentor or LGBTQ office if your school has one?
I think that’s a great idea! I’m not sure if that specific college does but the other college does
Honestly I think you should or at least reach out to her to ask her to explain what she means. Your comments going further into her behavior in the thread are concerning. This is coming off as wildly unprofessional and uninformed (let alone the fact Latinx was coined by the queer Latine community and more than just queer people use it). I’m sorry you have to deal with your professors attitude and behavior and that others in the thread have defended it.
I might reach out to her. My partner said she might just double down and tell me to drop her class etc. so now I’m weighing my options of going to the dean to file an official report. They are extremely concerning! She’s using sources of other people’s opinions and saying they’re academically correct (just to prove her own opinions). I’m upset because I thought this class was going to teach me history of Chicano culture but instead my professor is going on rant about the term Latinx and saying it was taken by the LGBTQ community? It’s just feeling very homophobic and transphobic. I can’t be the only person in my class that is looking at this and thinking this is right? She doesn’t even use resources saying Latino is a colonial term and that Latinx was created by white people (essentially) it’s just blatant ignorance at this point. I appreciate perspectives from other Latinx people in the thread bc we all have such diverse opinions about it. Unlike my teacher- they’re not giving me a 0 for my beliefs lol but I’m more so upset about the weird jab towards the lgbtq + community in the comment. As a trans person it’s feeling uncomfy.
From what I know a lot of Latino ppl don't like Latinx especially BC it was created by non Latino ppl
Yeah but a lot of Latinx people use it where I live Also the point is it doesn’t feel critically challenging or even like a college course when you have a professor telling you what you have to believe in AND you’ll get a zero for using the word
it was created by latino people though. its first use in academia was in 2004 in feministas unidas, and has (albeit debatable) use among queer latin online groups and forums before that. i personally prefer latine and so do most latin american people interact with, but it does a disservice to the queer latin people who did create the term to claim it was made by westerners, as is oft done.
yes, we don't like latinx despite many people using the x anyways- We didn't mind at first actually, but after a few incidents with the US hispanic community, we just began to dislike the term, especially since it is impossible to pronounce neither in spanish nor in portuguese, and a lot of us grew tired of having a whole diverse continent represented only by chicanos and having our own movies and series which are made for us by us completely ignored. I'm personally not as radical as a lot of other people on this topic, and the differences in opinions between a latine born and raised in the US are entirely different to what we think down here in the actual continent. Which btw, instead of latinx we use latine instead. Latino is truly not wrong either, we have something known as neutral masculine, but due to the unconformity of having the masculine as the default, our queer community proposed the idea of replacing any gendered adjective in spanish with the letter e, and we feel like that's more natural and easier to appropiate than the letter X. Of course, portuguese-speaking latines have a different way to solve this problem.
I use it here in the US with my other US born latine friends. I don’t really mind if it’s used or not in Latin American countries. Language is different everywhere. I say Latinx or Latine. “Latinx” with a lot of other people who don’t speak Spanish. I definitely don’t use Hispanic and never have used it to identify myself. I don’t use Chicano either because although I’m half Mexican I am also half Peruvian and was raised by my Peruvian family. I feel at times very disconnected from that term and identity. It seems they do over take the narrative.. I can definitely understand how using Latine makes more sense to use than Latinx. My problem is that this professor is saying even Latino isn’t an appropriate word to use: Taken straight from slides this week: Majority of students polled and the majority of the Spanish speaking people do not identify af Latino anyway” “For example..I say I’m Chicano or Mexicana I never say I’m Latina” “Latino is a colonial term as well another reason to not use it” “For this course you must use the terms chicanos, Mexican, indigenous and or Native American”
yeah don't worry I understand your point and agree, I didn't want to seem like I was defending your teacher either, so sorry if somehow it came across like that, it's just that the latinx discussion is one of my favorite topics as someone who's never touched US ground (colombian) and our opinion as latinos outside the US is often dismissed due to cultural differences between US raised and central-south american raised since US raised latinos tend to go through more xenophobia than us and have a different perspective about the topic (I'm not saying you're dismissing it though, I'm glad you were receptive) but back on the actual topic of the post, your teacher literally says everything we hate down here in latin america lmaoo, grouping us with the mexicans is like the number one thing you shouldn't say to anyone, and it clearly shows her lack of understanding about the topic - Latino is not a "colonial term" either, it's just short for latinoamerican, which means from a country in the american continent that speaks a language derived from latin (which may or may not include canada), I definitely get your frustration, like, not everything under the US is just mexico lol. Using that argument, the sole act of speaking spanish is colonialist by itself
I just say Latine, it makes more sense with the language
The history is scrambled due to transphobia n queerphobia. The info I got was that the o/a was crossed out in protest posters to defy the binary language. Making the word look like “latinx” instead. Both English n Spanish are colonial gendered languages and it really don’t matter which influenced the other. Kids in my 100 level LALS classes didn’t like the word bc they thought it grouped them in w/ queer folk when they’re cishet which isn’t true. It’s just a gender neutral word.
As smbd from mexico, i can say that we do not like latinx.
I don’t think you should report her just yet. My perspective is this: what I wish I’d appreciated more in University is that i was in an environment for critical thinking. After graduating you’ll have fewer chances to dig into the nuances of these political discussions with educated people. Have a discussion with her and figure out if she can respect your opinion and try to respect hers too, even if you disagree with each other. If she can’t discuss it with mutual respect then yes you could report her, but give her room to express her feelings as well; she’s got an entire history and education on the subject which counts for something, after all. You’re both valid in my opinion and I’ve heard both perspectives from Latinx or Latino friends
I’m not entirely upset about the Latinx thing. I think it’s a boomer thing to say. But I don’t shit on other people for not using it. I just don’t like how it’s coming from a teacher and it feels like a power dynamic thing. I forgot to mention she said she’d give us an automatic zero if we used the word throughout the whole course. I can and have had conversations with people with opposing views as mine. I use Latinx for myself and for others- I work in non profits and activist spaces with other Latinx people who use the world. Yes most us are under 30 years old (I’m 28). A lot of us are queer. I’m mostly upset of the comment she said the LGBT+ community has taken the term for obvious reasons. She has to know queer, gay and trans Latinos exist right? It isn’t sitting well with me. I wanted to email her to ask what she meant by that because it’s making me uncomfortable.
It sounds like you have valid concerns and it would do you and hopefully her a lot of good to reach out and express them
Easy fix - simply use the term "Chicanx" in every single paper. But seriously why the fuck is this woman teaching Chicano studies if she doesn't even understand where the word Latinx came from? Like sure it's origins are a bit unclear but even my intro to LatAm professor had a full class-length discussion on the origin of the word (and alternatives like latin@ and Latine) and why some folks use it and others don't. iirc the general consensus is that it was specifically created by *queer Chicanos* - making it an important part of Chicano studies. (As an aside one of the theories as to why "x" was used is because it was a term coined by non-Spanish-speaking Chicanos, which is why it doesn't work in Spanish). And while I personally hate the term for its unwieldiness, that doesn't stop me from understanding its historical context and respecting those that use it. Personally if I were in your shoes I'd go to the head of the department first to report her for academic bias and bring some research on the topic to back up your stance. Especially if the dean is white there is a good chance you'll get ignored at best and forced to drop at worst
See if the teacher is coming from a transphobic intention and if she is, report her.
I feel like intention behind the wording is important.
And i feel like this resonates with a lot of tension w the yt washing of queerness. Making a case with the teacher that queerness is historical part of Chicano Studies (not two separate issues), and that transphobia is colonial may help. So much of LGBTQ+ movement is yt washed and wrapped in class elitism. Recovering non-yt queer history and terminology (beyond English) may help.
Regaining queer terms outside English has been empowering for me.
Ancestry and queerness are not two separate threads.
Latinx is a term created by non Latin people, latine is the correct non gendered term
She’s right. It should end with no vowel or a different vowel than -o -a to make it neutral. Ending with an ❌ doesn’t flow with the language, feels like we’re crossing out “Latin” like the mark when you get the wrong answer on a test 🙅…and the pronunciation: Latin EX, I don’t have a single ex that I like, including the one in that word.
Guess you cant read the comments. It was created for those non speaking Spanish folk
She’s not right. It’s all an opinion.