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People Question Sarah Huckabee Sanders for Banning the Word ‘Latinx’ On Her First Day as Arkansas’ Governor

People Question Sarah Huckabee Sanders for Banning the Word ‘Latinx’ On Her First Day as Arkansas’ Governor belatina latine
Credit: By The White House - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glKTertdqXk, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58534043

Arkansas has a lot of pressing issues. For instance, in a report conducted by Scholaroo, it was ranked as the worst state in terms of health recently. It is also struggling with affordability and overall quality of life for its residents.  

However, as Sarah Huckabee Sanders steps into her role as governor of Arkansas, she decided to take a jab at inclusive language.  

“The people of Arkansas, in their vast wisdom, have entrusted a new generation to lead. This is our moment. This is our opportunity,” Huckabee Sanders said shortly after she was sworn in. 

As though there aren’t more important things to prioritize, she went ahead and banned the word “Latinx” — on her very first day as governor.

Naturally, people have some thoughts about this.  

Huckabee Sanders is a former White House press secretary. She served under the Trump administration. 

The gender-neutral term won’t be allowed for official use in state government. This move gets a nod from the “anti-woke” agenda that is currently being pushed around by right-leaning, conservative politicians. 

Unpacking Latinx, yet again

Latinx is a gender-neutral alternative to Latino or Latina. As written in a previous BELatina article, we write that for those who don’t want to identify as gender binary, or who are tired of having to assign themselves or others as “he” or “she.” Latinx offers a more neutral way of identifying to their Latin roots. It seems that the term evolved due to a need for a term to replace the more masculine words with a term that is more inclusive. Remember, inclusive language can save lives. 

There are differing opinions on when the term came about. Some say it derived from a feminist movement in Brazil, which is considered a Latin American country, in the late 1900s. Others claim the term gained traction when nonbinary scholars started using it in the United States. Whatever the case may be, the gender-neutral word wasn’t manufactured by a pompous millennial over an avocado toast breakfast.  

It is of note to state that the word Latinx seems to be getting replaced with Latine as of late.   

What else did Huckabee Sanders do?

Overall, on her first day, she signed seven executive orders. One of the orders will prevent public schools from teaching critical race theory.  

Yet, Arkansas was recently named the fourth worst state to live in and it surely isn’t because of the use of “Latinx.” 

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