Trans Thoughts on Gender Neutrality in the Spanish Language
Bilingual trans community members speak on language, gender, and identity
Today, October 1, is the midpoint of Latinx Heritage Month, also known as Hispanic Heritage Month, observed annually in the U.S. from September 15—October 15. The occasion celebrates the cultures and contributions of people of Latin American origin, who may identify as Latino, Hispanic, or by other terms.
One of these terms is Latinx, which has gained popularity amongst those working toward more gender-inclusive language. Latinx is an alternative to the Spanish-language terms Latino (masculine) and Latina (feminine), and a challenge to a masculine term being used in Spanish to represent mixed-gender groups.
Other gender-neutral variations on the term include Latine, and (primarily in written text rather than speech) Latin@. The gender-neutral word endings -x, -e, and -@ have been applied to other gendered Spanish-language terms as well, such as Chicanx for Chicano. However, some have criticized this evolution of the Spanish language, particularly the -x and -@ variants, as confusing, difficult to pronounce, or colonizing.
As a nonbinary trans person with no known Latin heritage and only limited Spanish proficiency, I wanted to know the opinions of Spanish speakers in the local trans community on this subject. I reached out and received responses from several bilingual Spanish/English community members. I’ve presented their unedited responses to my questions below.
Interviewees
Joaquin Remora-Guerrero (pronouns: he/him, we), Director of Housing for Our Trans Home SF.
Sofía S. Ríos Dorantes (pronouns: ella, she/her/hers), Data Specialist for El/La Para Translatinas.
Nicole Santamaria (pronouns: she/her/hers and we/our/ours), Executive Director of El/La Para TransLatinas.
Jupiter Peraza (pronouns: she/her/hers), Director of Social Justice Initiatives for The Transgender District.
Questions and Answers
How would you describe your identity in terms of gender, race, and ethnicity?
Joaquin
I am a two-spirit transgender man. I have been transitioning with HRT for 5 years and present as male. From a decolonial perspective I do not identify as non-binary however I experience my gender as the embodiment of 2 genders, my racial identity is mixed race Mexican indigenous (Yaqui) and white.
Sofía
I am a Latina/Mexican Transgender Heterosexual Woman
Nicole
I describe my identity in triple “I”: I am an Intersexual, Indigenous, Immigrant latina woman.
Jupiter
I consider myself a trans Latina.
When using Spanish words for mixed-gender groups, do you use gender-neutral word endings such as –x, –@, or –e? (Example: Latinx, Latin@, or Latine instead of Latino.)
Joaquin
I use latine or latinx, I prefer latine. It seems to create less confusion and allows for better pronunciation.
Sofía
X and E
Nicole
Yes, I do always use gender neutral word endings in mixed gender groups. I generally use the “x” for example “Latinx community” and I use the “e” for example “Todes estamos reunides”
Jupiter
Yes, I use gender-neutral pronouns when using Spanish words in my work and with other queer and trans Latinx people.
Does your use of gender-neutral options depend on circumstances such as the audience or the language you are speaking or writing in?
Joaquin
No, They shouldn’t. I aim to transition to normalizing the use of gender neutral options in the Spanish language as well as in English.
Sofía
Both
Nicole
No, I use the gender-neutral language in all context, since for me is a matter of inclusion and not only for a particular audience/circumstances…so far nobody outside of the LGBTQI+ community has approached directly to me with a complaint, but I have read comments in social media such like “we are destroying the language” “if you want to be real inclusive learn sign language or braille” “That theory of gender is contaminating the minds of our children” etc…I do believe that languages are a living organism and it is in constant change…we speak the language of our colonizers and the language from that time is different than the languages we speak now…I do believe that language is important to make visible and normalize the diversity and the richness of our humanities.
Jupiter
There are circumstances in which I do not use gender-neutral pronouns. For example, I do not use gender-neutral pronouns with my parents who are monolingual Spanish speakers. Spanish is a very complex and intricate language, which makes gender-neutral Spanish language for traditional, monolingual speakers a challenging and overwhelming task. Gender-neutral language is not as mainstream as we would like it to be, therefore there are older generations that are unaware of the evolving language. Nonetheless, the future looks promising as we are working to integrate and transform language to be inclusive of queer and transgender people.
When did you first become aware of gender-neutral options in the Spanish language?
Joaquin
I became aware of them probably around 4 years ago.
Sofía
Just right before the pandemic. At the beginning of 2020. Then about 2 years ago.
Nicole
About 10+ years ago in the feminist movement. At that moment we used the “@” as an ending word…I am a product designer and many other women in the movement analyzed that the semiotic of the image of that ending still conflicted us in the sense that the letter A was enclosure in the letter O, so we decided to change it to the X…personally as an intersex woman, I feel more connected with the X since is the shared chromosome humans shared in our DNAs.
Jupiter
I became aware of gender-neutral options in the Spanish language when I began medically transitioning. I looked into the queer Latinx community to gather context and vernacular in regards to my identity.
Do you feel that gender-neutral options make Spanish speakers who are trans, nonbinary, or gender nonconforming feel more included?
Joaquin
Definitely. Having worked with the TGNC community, I find that binary trans communities often do not have resources to be more inclusive of each others’ identities and this can cause harm, and invisibilize the experiences of gender nonconforming community members.
Sofía
Yes, it does make more included.
Nicole
Definitely I think it makes people with different gender identities to feel more included, seen, respected, loved, and also open the space for people who is cisgender to be aware of other realities and expansive humanity.
Jupiter
Absolutely! As a trans Latina, it feels comforting to use gender-neutral Spanish language that honors my ethnic background whilst upholding my gender identity. It feels euphoric to bridge two experiences into one narrative.
Any other thoughts to share on this topic?
Joaquin
I am grateful to see the language barriers evolving to be more inclusive and culturally sensitive to TGNC people, I think this would allow for a lot of community healing and collaboration within the TGNC community.
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