A NOTE ON NOMENCLATURE
HISPANIC, LATINO, OR LATINX?
By Vanessa Maria Quirk
The words “Hispanic,” “Latino,” and “LatinX” are all words used to describe people with ties to nations in South and Central America (they describe ethnicity, but not race).
The term “Hispanic” is the oldest and most popular; it was adopted in the 1970s as a way of encompassing all groups arriving to the U.S. from Spanish-speaking nations. The word “Latino” was adopted by the government as a synonymous term in 1997. (Technically, however, the word ‘Latino’ has a slightly different meaning: because it describes people from “Latin America,” “Latino” extends to Brazilians, but not Spaniards. “Hispanic,” on the other hand, includes Spaniards, but not Brazilians.)
The most recent term, “LatinX,” was developed in the early 2000s. “LatinX” was particularly embraced by people in the LGBTQ+ community to describe people of Latin American descent in a way that subverts the gendered connotation of the word “Latino.”
Many people resist all of these labels, because they ignore their cultural and national specificities. According to a survey published by the Pew Hispanic Center in 2019, 47% percent of Hispanic adults prefer to identify themselves by country of origin. Of the 39% of people who do use one of these terms, 27 percent prefer the term Hispanic, 18 percent Latino, and only 3 percent LatinX. LatinX has proven particularly controversial: a Politico poll found that 40% of Hispanics are “bothered or offended” by the term.
So, what’s the “right” word? Unfortunately, none of these terms are perfect, and different people prefer different terms for different reasons. We here at Urbanist Media use all three, depending on the context and preferences of our Hispanic friends, colleagues, and guests. When in doubt, ask!
