Could Opposition to Gender-Neutral Language Become a Wedge Issue?

2024/11/18 by Gary M. Reich, Kristopher J. Long · 1 voice
Social Sciences · #Electoral Systems and Political Participation #Gender Politics and Representation #Social and Intergroup Psychology

paper · pdf · doi:10.1017/s1049096524000465

openalex publication_date 2024/11/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28

Abstract

ABSTRACT In 2023, both Democratic and Republican elected officials supported banning official use of the gender-neutral term “Latinx.” Using a nationally representative survey sample, this study examines whether opposition to the gender-neutral term “Latinx” suggests a potential wedge issue that cuts across partisanship. We find that opposition to “Latinx” is significantly higher among Republican partisans, those who disapprove of Joe Biden as president, and those with “colder” feelings toward Democrats. Opposition to “Latinx” generally converges with factors that predict existing partisan divisions; where it diverges, it does not affect respondent evaluations of Biden or feelings about Democrats. Based on these findings, we conclude that gender-neutral language currently shows little potential as a wedge issue.

Discussions

• Now on FirstView! "We examined the politicization of attitudes regarding gender-inclusive language, focusing on the gender-neutral term “Latinx,” which has exposed a rift within the Democratic party [bsky, 10 points, 1 comments]

Related

• Do language models practice what they preach? Examining language ideologies about gendered language reform encoded in LLMs
• New label, different identity? Three experiments on the uniqueness ofLatinx
• Theoretical and empirical basis for gender-fair language use: The case of Spanish
• Quantifying Gender Bias Towards Politicians in Cross-Lingual Language Models
• Inclusion to exclude: how femonationalism impacts policy preferences