DAC Argentina Youths Use of Gender Neutral Terminology Discussion

1. What gender-neutral ending are youth using in Argentina?

2. What would be the gender-neutral form of the following words: los profesores and los alumnos?

3. Why do the Argentine youth think that using gender-neutral language is important? What difference would it make?

4. What type of resistance have the youth encountered from society? Is everyone in favor of gender-neutral endings?

5. Do you think that it should be an acceptable option to use gender neutral endings in our Spanish class? Why or why not?

REPLIES

Read your classmates replies. Pick TWO and reply to them. At this stage, feel free to consider your own personal responses to the ideas in the article: maybe you are confused by them or maybe you feel empowered by them.

VANNIE:

1)The youth in Argentina are replacing the masculine “o” or the feminine “a” with the gender neutral “e” in certain words.

2)Los profesores would become “Les profeses” and los alumnos would become “les alumnes.”

3)The Argentine youth think that using gender-neutral language is important because in Spanish, all nouns are assigned to a gender, and in today’s age, people are becoming more socially aware and accepting of non-binary identities. People who don’t identify as female or male wouldn’t fit in the rules of the language, and the Argentine youth seek to change such a “deeply gendered culture.” By doing so, people who are non-binary could feel more comfortable and less alienated from society.

4)While a lot of people have accepted and even used gender-neutral Spanish, some people in society, such as The Royal Spanish Academy, have ridiculed it for being “unnecessary and artificial.” Not everyone is in favor of gender-neutral endings because it may seem ridiculous, untraditional, or too difficult to use. On the other hand, its use has been spread to parents who teach it to their children and to schools who accept the use of gender-neutral Spanish.

5)I completely agree that students in our spanish class and in all classes should be able to use gender neutral endings if they choose. I don’t think that it should be a problem at all for anyone and personally, I don’t see how it would be bothersome or harmful. It only encourages people to feel more comfortable. The only problem I could foresee is confusion about endings since we are beginners at Spanish. 

natasa:

1. The gender neutral ending they’re using in Argentina is “E”

2. los profesores- les profesores. los alumnos- les alumnes

3. Why they think its important to use gender neutral language is because they want equality but not everyone would agree with the change.

4. No not everyone is in favor of gender neutral endings but it’s not in the Spanish language.

5. I do feel as it should be an acceptable option because everyone should feel comfortable speaking the Spanish language and if someone wants to be spoke with that way it is important to respect that decision.