Univision anchor Jorge Ramos’ obsessive moral lecturing always comes in pairs. It is no different, this time, with his insistence on making the non-binary non-word ‘Latinx’ into a thing.
There is, usually and in no particular order, a video segment (whether on Univision’s Sunday political affairs show Al Punto or on his Facebook Watch platform) and an opinion column- which continues to be a rarity in that no other national news anchor, to our knowledge, has an opinion column.
As pertains to ‘Latinx’, we’ve already discussed the video segment, which aired on Al Punto. Watch below for a refresher:
JORGE RAMOS: Are you Latinx? Over the past few years, a new word has been gaining traction
Among young Latinos in the United States- Latinx. For some, it’s a symbol of inclusion. For others, (a symbol) of rebellion. For many, this is still a confusing issue, What does it mean, exactly, and who is Latinx? Miriam Arias tells us.
MIRIAM ARIAS, DIGITAL PRODUCER, UNIVISIÓN: Latinx. It is not a typographical error. It’s that relatively new word that we hear from celebrities, and even politicians in the United States. It is a term that rejects the gender binary system. For some, it’s no longer just about female or male, but about inclusion. The word already has 350,000 tags on Instagram.
Who can be Latinx? Men and women, heterosexuals, members of the LGBTQ community. Those who identify as nonbinary. This describes persons whose gender identity is not exclusively female or male. All persons coming from (with origins in) Latin America.
Several celebrities have decided to raise their children without gender stereotypes. When did (the term “Latinx”) begin to be used? In 2004. But, according to Google Trends, it gained traction in June 2016, the same month as the massacre (at) Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando. It has also become a feininst issue. In English, both adjectives and plural pronouns are genderless. However, they are (gendered) in Spanish.
Why use the letter X? It’s seen as a political symbol, and as one of rebellion. The term’s influence continues to grow, (and is) being adopted by other groups. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary officially designated “Latinx”as a word. But the Royal Spanish Academy has not.
As we noted in our analysis of this recent segment,
Segments like these, which seek to steer Univision’s audience to the social left, remind me of a conversation I had with a then-anchor for the network in 2012. When I asked him flat out whether there were other policy items on Univision’s agenda beyond immigration, his answer was, “well, immigration is first”.
So it is with “Latinx”. The key point to remember in the explainer above is its last sentence. Merriam-Webster, a dictionary of the English language, says it is a word, while the Royal Spanish Academy (Real Academia Española), the defining authority on the Spanish language, says it is not. This is an important part of the debate over whether Hispanics in the United States should be compelled to identify as a non-word variant of an umbrella term which was coined only in the latter half of the last century.
“Hispanic” and “Latino” are problematic and divisive enough, in that these terms have the invariable effect of shoving people from many different ethnic origins into a single brown box, for purely political purposes. Now, there’s “Latinx” to deal with, and Univision is all too content to push this term down the throats of its viewers. Be sure to file this one in the back of your heads for the next time that Ramos whines about how Hispanics are more conservative than expected.
And so, the other shoe drops- that is, the opinion column on Univision’s main site.
“The Power of Latinx” picks up where Ramos left off on Al Punto, and recycles familiar tropes.
First, there is the self-congratulation, this time over Ramos’ pandering statement at the Democratic debate:
This month, for perhaps the first time in history, the word “Latinx” was uttered during an American presidential debate. As a moderator at that Democratic debate in Houston, I began by telling the 10 candidates that the time had come to discuss “Latinx” issues.
Then, switching over to Spanish, I said: “En este país también se habla español. Este debate se realiza en un momento muy difícil para los Latinos en Texas y Estados Unidos. Pero es importante que ellos sepan — que sepamos — que este también es nuestro país.” (“In this country we also speak Spanish. We are having this debate at a very difficult time for Latinos in Texas and all over America. But it is important to remind them — all of us — that this is also our country.”)
Then, after pushing the notion of Texas flipping blue, Ramos goes into the subject at hand: the supposed ascendancy of “Latinx”.
At the same time, a revolution is taking place within the Latino community itself. The political leadership is changing. Our opposition strategy is changing. Even the words we use are changing.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 29-year-old Democratic representative from New York, is at the forefront of this generational transformation. But she isn’t alone. American-born Hispanics, not immigrants, are driving most of the growth within the Latino community. And this in turn is giving rise to a new and dynamic political class. Nothing is beyond their reach.
No matter the issue at hand, Ramos will always find time to bend the knee to Ocasio-Cortez. Ramos has taken it upon himself to crown her the leader of the Latinx. Well, who died and made Ramos queenmaker? After more platitudes and attempts to sell the term, Ramos goes for his big close:
I don’t know if “Latinx” will replace “Latino” or “Hispanic” any time soon. But “Latino” and “Hispanic” are both male-gendered terms, which already leave out half the population. That’s not fair. “Latinx,” in contrast, isn’t a binary term. This makes it more egalitarian.
As we celebrate America’s Hispanic heritage, the fight continues for the Latinx idea to be seen as an essential part of that heritage, and of the nation’s future. The Latino-American labor leader Cesar Chavez had it right when he said: “We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”
A true celebration of America’s Hispanic heritage respects the diversity within the community, including diversity of origin, as opposed to shoving everyone into a single brown box. Already, half of U.S. Hispanics don’t identify as either “Hispanic” or “Latino”- and one wonders how many are interested in having “Latinx” foisted upon them.
What the column proves, yet again, is that Jorge Ramos is disconnected and out of touch with the community he purports to represent; acting more as the liberal media’s ambassador to the Hispanic community.
