Sarah Huckabee Sanders Bans Use of the Term Latinx in First Executive Order as Governer

Sarah Huckabee Sanders as previous White House Secretary. Photo Credits: Flickr

In Arkansas, newly elected governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who served as the spokesperson for former President Donald Trump, banned the use of the term Latinx in official executive orders on her first day as governor. Titled “EXECUTIVE ORDER TO RESPECT THE LATINO COMMUNITY BY ELIMINATING CULTURALLY INSENSITIVE WORDS FROM OFFICIAL USE IN GOVERNMENT,” the order gives all state offices, departments, and agencies 60 days to revise all existing written materials by replacing the term Latinx with respective Hispanic, Latino, Latina, etc., terms. Sanders and the state of Arkansas are the first in the United States to ban the use of the term Latinx, but more bans and outlaws of the terms may be coming.

In Connecticut, several Democratic lawmakers are working to ban the term Latinx on the terms that the phrase is offensive in its use. While Arkansas is the first state to ban the term, with Connecticut potentially following suit, globally, this would not be the first time the phrase was banned. In July 2022, Argentina and Spain had both released statements stating the ban of the use of Latinx and any other gender-neutral term. Since the creation of the term “Latinx”, internalized discussions within the Latin American communities have arisen about the phrases’ use, with overall mixed reactions about the term. For some within the Latino/a/x communities, the phrase Latino/Latina is already viewed as a neutral term, and the need for the phrase Latinx is viewed as, unnecessary, offensive, and redundant. For others, the phrase provides more inclusivity and acceptance for those who wish not to be categorized or referred to simply by their gender, especially in the LGBTQ community.