Folx is a gender-neutral way of writing or saying “folks”.
The word folks is already considered a gender-free expression however some in the community feel that it has gender connotations.
Folx is a relatively new term, with only a few instances of use on the internet, however, with the rise in popularity of other X terms, we may start to see more and more use of Folx. However its use is often derided, as demonstrated on Urban Dictionary, who writes,
A strange, unnecessary misspelling of “folks” popularized by people who think using a gender-neutral term for an already gender-neutral word is woke.
Marianne Juana, Urban Dictionary
Should I use folx instead of folks?
This is totally up to you. There’s no major call by any community for people to start using the x term over the normal spelling of folks. As it stands, some people and organisations are using the term, in the same way, they are using “womxn” however when they do it is usually followed by a big backlash on social media.
Other X Terms
You may have noticed X’s appearing in quite a few words, including Latinx and Womxn.
Writing in Latina Magazine, journalist Raquel Reichard said, “Latinx, pronounced ‘La-teen-ex,’ includes the numerous people of Latin American descent whose gender identities fluctuate along with different points of the spectrum, from agender or nonbinary to gender non-conforming genderqueer and genderfluid.”
As for Womxn?
Nita Harker, an assistant professor of sociology at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington USA and co-organizer of a “Womxn’s March” said, “I actually think the challenge — particularly that it is hard to pronounce in your mind as you read it, that it forces one to stop and think, that it is not just easy and nice and recognizable — is part of the point and the draw. To me, it represents the complexity of gender.”
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