Hours Into Her Term, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Bans 'Latinx' From Government Documents

The new executive order restricts any future official Arkansas documents from using “Latinx” and calls on the government to replace the term with the words “Latino” and/or “Latina” in previous records. 

Sanders gave multiple justifications for the ban:

First, she cited a well-known Pew Research Center study that found only 3% of the Latino and Hispanic U.S. population use Latinx. The nation’s youngest governor’s executive order referred to Latinx as an example of “ethnically insensitive and pejorative language” that seeks to “remove gender from the Spanish language” and cited the Real Academia Española of Madrid, Spain, which has deemed the “x” suffix improper for the Spanish language.

Latinx became popular among activist circles, LGBTQ people of Latin American origins and various online communities. Proponents of the term argue that it is more inclusive than the gendered Latino/Latina terminology. However, critics of using Latinx say in addition to the word not being widely adopted, it is also an attempt to impose American standards on another language and a form of cultural erasure. 

Sanders appeals to such logic in her order. However, citing an institution based in Spain rather than Latin America supports a Eurocentric language interpretation. By contrast, some activists who have not adopted Latinx have suggested using “Latine” as a gender-neutral alternative that is more consistent with traditional Spanish grammar and pronunciation.

As noted, Arkansas’ first female governor issued seven executive orders on her first day in office. Several of them touched on various cultural issues, including a review of state educational policies to fight the “indoctrination” of students through critical race theory. Sanders also banned the popular TikTok social media app from government devices, citing concerns that Chinese operatives could access Americans’ information through the app.

Sanders previously worked as a press secretary for former President Donald Trump. But she may be seeking to raise her profile among other Republican governors of Southern states.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, in particular, has built his political brand by restricting discourse in the state, including bans on so-called critical race theory and censorship of LGBTQ content in schools, dubbed the “don’t say gay” law. DeSantis’ stances — making Florida the place “where woke goes to die” — has made him a frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Others, like Greg Abbott of Texas and Virginia’s Glenn Youngkin, have similarly engaged in highly provocative efforts to control or limit discussions of race and LGBTQ issues. In addition, anti-China rhetoric became a prominent feature of Republican discourse under former President Trump.

So even though there are debates within the relevant communities surrounding the term Latinx, Sanders’ ban reflects a conservative political agenda rather than simply an attempt at cultural sensitivity.