In yet another perfect example of just how unpopular Western critical gender theorists’ insistence on rendering foreign languages gender neutral is with the very peoples they claim to be supporting, a tweet using the term ‘Flipinxx’ by the San Diego Comic-Con has drawn criticism from actual Filipinos, many of whom have since pushed back against the event’s clear virtue signaling.
As published to the event’s official Twitter account on July 21st alongside a photo of the panel’s hosts, the tweet in question exclaimed, “The Filipinx Voices in Pop Culture was a fun and educational all Filipinx panel discussing Filipinx influences behind your favorite media!”
“Filipinx/Filipinx-American influences can be found in every facet of pop culture,” reads a description of the panel featured in the convention’s schedule. “But have there been times when this culture has been pushed away from representation?”
“Does the general population know how many Filipinx people are behind their favorite media?” it continues. “Alix Catherine (content creator, The Welcome Party) is joined by Earl Baylon (voice actor, Tomb Raider series), Mitch Narito (actor, The Good Place), Andrea A. Walter (film director and cinematographer), Law Sharma (senior content producer, Cinemablend), and JPG (pop-culture consultant, InterMyth) for a fun and educational all-Filipinx panel.”
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However, in an outcome that should come as no surprise to anyone who has paid attention to how their Latin counterparts react to the use of ‘latinx’, rather than an outpouring of support for their attempt at superficial inclusion, San Diego Comic’s tweet was instead met with an outpouring of criticism from Filipinos.
“What the F?!” wrote a surprised @souled_out2095. “Filipinx? We NEVER agreed to be called that. Filipinos (it’s a mixed bag, but it applies to both male and female) is appropriate enough, why the hell would you call us Filipinx?!!”
@MUSExSB19 asked, “We don’t even have the letter X in our language, how are we supposed to spell ‘Filipinx’ in Tagalog, ‘Pilipineks’?”
“‘Filipino’ is already gender neutra,” the user explained. “We don’t assign genders to terms like Spanish. We don’t even have he/she terms in Tagalog. It’s a superfluous term.”
In a follow-up tweet, met with the correction that the modern Filipnio alphabet does feature the letter X, @MUSExSB19 further clarified, “True, which is why I said it’s not in the Tagalog language, instead of alphabet.”
“However, the letter X & other additions to the modern Tagalog alphabet are only used for foreign words with no direct Tagalog translation,” they added. “We don’t have any native Tagalog words using the letter X.”
Bringing to light that same fact, @RioXVII stated, “we don’t use Filipinx at all. this isn’t a thing. it’s always been gender neutral, which is why we use Kami = us, Tayo = we, Sila = they.”
“please stop trying to make it a thing,” they requested.
Finding herself confused, @itsabananana7 questioned, “WTF IS FILIPINX????”
“Stop making up terms,” she asserted. “The term “FILIPINOS” IS ALREADY gender neutral. Ask a Filipino first before labeling us with terms.”
“unfriendly reminder that filipinx isnt the inclusive term yall think it is,” wrote @cryptwilltweet. “stop gendering an already genderless aspect of our language”.
Writing in Tagalog, @eyonicedward criticized (via Google Translate), “How many more years will you use those words? We’re not a winx club, shame on you”.
As of writing, San Diego Comic-Con has not publicly responded to the overwhelmingly negative reception they received to their use of the gender critical term.
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