The terms we use to describe the Latino community conjure up a complex discussion. Names for racial and ethnic communities may appear natural, but in reality they are constructed through a variety of social, cultural, historical, and political processes. Furthermore, this labeling process and its implications can be complicated.
The terms that have been used to refer to people of Latin American descent in the United States have changed over time, and they continue to evolve.
People living in the lands acquired by the United States following the Mexican–American War (1846–1848) became US citizens. Yet they did not necessarily view themselves as a unified group, especially because Mexico had only existed as a nation-state for a few decades. They were quickly labeled “Mexicans,” distinguishing them from White, Anglo-Americans, despite the fact that they were legally considered White people.
Variations of the term “Hispanic,” which refers to people from Spanish-speaking cultures, have been around for centuries. It reemerged in the United States at the intersection of sociocultural activism and bureaucratic expediency. Due to their categorization as White, Hispanic populations may have seemed to be part of the dominant population on paper. But they faced discrimination.
In response to these disparities, during the 1960s and 1970s, civil rights advocate groups like the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund (MALDEF) argued for the establishment of a categorical label that would help measure data exclusive to Mexican American and Puerto Rican populations. For these advocacy groups, measuring such data would help to direct resources to these communities. It would also limit the misrepresentative measurements of situating these different populations into one single White category. Out of these efforts came the designation “Hispanic,” introduced in 1970 on the US Census long form and added to the short form in 1980.
By and large, administering a more precise count of Latino people under the term “Hispanic” allowed policymakers to influence resource allocation in a much more accurate fashion.
The term “Hispanic,” though currently used by about half of the US Latino population, was not embraced by all. It notably excluded those from non-Spanish-speaking nations, such as Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana—all of which are near Spanish-speaking nations. Around the same time as “Hispanic,” the terms “Latino” and “Latina” reemerged to identify a host of different peoples that can trace some or all of their ancestry to Latin America. The term “Latino” was used to unite diverse peoples with shared experiences, increasing their political power to challenge discrimination. Though the term was used by some people to build coalitions, not everyone wants to be grouped together. Furthermore, younger activists often developed their own identity labels, rejecting associations with European identities they viewed as oppressors.
A growing cultural movement questioning the significance of such terms has added the new iterations “Latinx” and “Latiné.” As both Latina and Latino are gendered along heteronormative lines—Latinos for males and Latinas for females—Latinx and Latiné remove this gendered linguistic construction and replace it with a gender-neutral or nonbinary alternative. In this instance, the use of Latinx and Latiné is considered an example of resistance to the sociocultural constructions that foster hypermasculinity and preserve colonial traditions. Many Latino people do not embrace the term “Latinx,” however. Some argue that the word does not fit with Spanish linguistic construction and that it has been imposed by US culture.
There have been several more political terms that have helped to define entire social movements. The use of “Chicano,” for instance, encompassed the struggle for mostly US-born generations of Mexican descent, referred to as the Chicano Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Or the Puertoriqueño anti-imperialist movements, which evoke the term “Boricua” in relation to Puerto Rico’s Indigenous roots. Terms such as these, created within cultural groups and social movements, invoke a broader sense of autonomy and self-determination.
The complexity of these terms is an indication of their ever-developing social, cultural, historical, and political patterns. Like the human experience itself, the linguistic terms we used to describe ourselves evolve into diverse formations that begin to take on a real history of their own. Currently, the majority of Latino people in the United States self-identify using national origins.
Latino identity is complex. Though people of Latin American descent may share geographical proximity, cultural characteristics such as language or religious practices, and experiences with oppression and exclusion in the United States, they are also extremely diverse. They come from many different national origins, migration experiences, and class backgrounds. They represent different age groups, gender identities, sexual orientations, and immigrant statuses. Learning about Latino histories and perspectives helps us to better understand both the commonalities and variabilities that exist within the Latino community. As a group that represents nearly one-fifth of the US population and growing, Latino people have shaped and continue to shape US history and culture. Examining Latino identities, experiences, and perspectives allows us to better understand the identity of the United States itself.
As an editorial team, we aim to use inclusive language and to be respectful of the ways that people self-identify. Many terms have been used to collectively identify and describe the peoples whose heritage lies south of the United States: Latino, Latina, Latin@, Latiné, Latinx, Hispanic, and so on. In this publication, we use the term “Latino” generally to refer to those whose ethnic heritages are linked to Latin America, including non-Hispanic countries such as Brazil and Haiti. We use “Latina” when specifically referring to women of Latin American descent, and we use “Latinx” when it is how someone self-identifies or if it is part of a proper noun. Though the latter term is increasing in popular awareness, just 4 percent of US Latino adults (1.9 million people) said they used “Latinx” to describe themselves.
We treat the term “Latino” as a panethnic identity, which encompasses people of many different national origins and racialized identities. The US Census Bureau, following guidelines from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), usually treats Hispanic/Latino identity as an ethnicity, though some argue it should be considered a racial group. We try to refer to specific national origin groups—for instance, Mexican American or Dominican American—when the information is relevant and available, which reflects how most Latino people in the United States currently identify themselves. Our usage generally reflects popular usage and the current recommendations of style guides such as the Associated Press Stylebook and the Chicago Manual of Style. This may change in the future.
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