Latinx
Gender-neutral heritage term
Latinx is a gender-neutral alternative to Latino and Latina, used to describe people of Latin American origin or descent.
The x replaces the gendered Spanish endings.
The term emerged in the 2000s among activists and academics seeking inclusive language: Latinx students organized a campus event.
Its use remains controversial—some embrace it as progressive, while others consider it an imposition of English norms on Spanish, which grammatically uses Latino as the default mixed-gender term.
Pronounced la-TEEN-ex or la-TEENKZ.
Of Spanish-speaking origin
- ChicanoMexican-American with activist heritage
- ChicanaMexican-American woman, culturally identified
- NuyoricanStateside Puerto Rican identity
- TejanoTexas-Mexican musical style
Mexican-American · Cuban-American · Puerto Rican · Dominican · Colombian · heritage · ancestry · ethnicity
Covering all members
- non-binaryGender outside two categories
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- neologismNewly created expression
- pronounNoun's grammatical replacement
linguistic · gender-inclusive · Spanish · language · evolution · contemporary · modern · usage
Pleading for a cause
- representationDepiction or likeness
- social justiceFair distribution of opportunities
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
- grassrootsCommon people as political base
movement · solidarity · equity · visibility · organizing · rights · voice · liberation
All inhabitants combined
- communityCollective of connected people
- censusOfficial population count
- minoritySmaller part of whole
- immigrantsThose settling abroad
Spanish-speaking · bilingual · American · voters · households · workforce · youth · representation
Hispanic
Of Spanish-speaking origin
- ChicanoMexican-American with activist heritage
- ChicanaMexican-American woman, culturally identified
- NuyoricanStateside Puerto Rican identity
Tejano · Mexican-American · Cuban-American · Puerto Rican · Dominican · Colombian · heritage · ancestry · ethnicity · cultura
inclusive
Covering all members
- non-binaryGender outside two categories
- terminologySubject-specific vocabulary
- neologismNewly created expression
pronoun · linguistic · gender-inclusive · Spanish · language · evolution · contemporary · modern · usage · spelling
advocacy
Pleading for a cause
- representationDepiction or likeness
- social justiceFair distribution of opportunities
- empowermentGaining authority or confidence
grassroots · movement · solidarity · equity · visibility · organizing · rights · voice · liberation · resistance
population
All inhabitants combined
immigrants · Spanish-speaking · bilingual · American · voters · households · workforce · youth · representation · statistics
- gender-neutralthey, them, their, themself, singular they
- Latino identitiesHispanic, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Colombian
- inclusive languagegender-neutral, they/them, singular they, preferred pronouns, pronouns
LatinxLatino
Latin American by heritage
gendered language · Latinos · Latinas · Hispanic · Latin
LatinxAnglo
English-origin prefix
gringo · WASP · African American · European · Indigenous
- Latin AmericaRomance-speaking Western Hemisphere
- Latin musicSpanish-language popular genres
- Latin danceCaribbean ballroom style
- Pig LatinSyllable-shuffling word game
- Latin originFrom the Roman tongue
- Latin jazzFusion of bebop and Caribbean rhythms