Hispanic or Latino? Latin@ or Latinx? - Your Questions Answered

This Latinx Heritage Month, many of us might be thinking about the many terms we've heard used to describe the community being celebrated this time of year. Perhaps you've wondered, but haven't had someone to ask: Why do some people use Hispanic? Latino? What about Latinx? Does it matter?

As a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner who identifies as Afrolatinx, I've spent many a September/October answering these questions. Here are my answers to some of the questions I've heard most frequently about this topic:

What's the difference between Hispanic and Latino?

Perhaps you've heard the words Hispanic and Latino used interchangeably, but they don’t have the same meaning. While many people within the community may identify as both Hispanic and Latino, many don't. Here are two reasons why:

• Reason #1: Hispanic is a term used to describe people of Spanish ancestry and Latino is a term used to describe people from Latin America.

While some people from Latin America are able to trace their ancestry to Spain (i.e. people from Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, etc.), many others cannot (i.e. people from Brazil, Haiti, Guyana, etc.) Similarly, while many people with Spanish ancestry are also from Latin America, many others are not (i.e. people from the Philippines, Spain, etc.)

• Reason #2: While many people within the community happily identify as "Hispanic," many others do not appreciate the deep association the word has with Spanish colonialism, which involved oft-unspoken terrors including genocide, abuse, exploitation, and violence against indigenous communities.

For these reasons, when speaking generally about people from Latin American countries, especially in an American context or with a predominantly American audience, consider using the term Latino (or better yet, Latinx - see my answer to "What term should I use?" below). Latino/Latinx is more specifically about those whose families are from the geographic region and it is less likely to offend people within the community who would rather not indirectly celebrate or endorse colonialism.

Is Hispanic/Latino a race?

No. Hispanic/Latino is not a racial categorization. As described by the United States Census Bureau, Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity.

In fact, the community is comprised of people from all racial backgrounds. There are white, Black, indigenous, and Asian people who identify as Hispanic or Latinx. The community’s racial, historical, experiential, and geographic diversity reaffirms the need to remember that it is not a monolith.

Why have I seen people use an "@" sign or an "x" at the end of Latino?

To understand where the terms "Latin@" and "Latinx" emerged, one must first consider the Spanish language. Like a handful of other languages including French, German, and Arabic, Spanish is a language in which gender takes center stage.

In Spanish, words for people, objects, and places are attributed either feminine or masculine properties, described in either feminine or masculine terms. A table is grammatically feminine (la mesa). A bridge is grammatically masculine (el puente).

Plural nouns in Spanish are typically masculine, regardless of the gender composition of the group. This is why the Spanish word "Latino" is masculine. Unfortunately, this means that when used to describe the community, "Latino" centers the male gender despite it being a description of an entire population, a population which, to be clear, includes people who do and do not identify as male.

To be more inclusive of those who may identify as female, people began ending the word "Latino" with an "@" sign, visually representing both an "a" for "Latina" (feminine) and an "o" for "Latino" (masculine). However, as well-intentioned as this change was, it reinforced a gender binary, excluding those who don't identify with either gender and keeping gender in the conversation when it didn't need to be.

With this in mind, some people began to remove gender from the word altogether by using the gender-neutral word, "Latinx." Since it entered the common vernacular around 2014, "Latinx" has become the descriptor many people use most regularly.

While "Latinx" is the term my colleagues and I use and encourage, it's important to acknowledge that it is a word created largely within the construct of the English language. In fact, many Spanish speakers find it difficult to pronounce and even more difficult to emulate in other words that may benefit from gender neutrality. This is why many people within the Latinx community, especially those who speak Spanish, use the similarly gender neutral, "Latine". They feel it is more deeply reflective of the community because it’s more conducive to the language the community speaks most prominently.

What term should I use? 

The answer to this question depends on both who you're referring to and who you’re speaking to.

Individuals of Latin American decent and/or of Spanish ancestry may prefer or accept one, some, none, or all of the following descriptors: Hispanic, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Latine. In fact, many tend to identify most prominently with their specific country of origin (i.e. Mexican/Chicano, Venezuelan, Dominican, etc.) or with their indigenous origins (i.e. Miskitu, Taino, Garifuna, etc.), For these reasons, when describing a person, it is important to understand and use the term(s) that individual prefers; how a person identifies and how they describe this dimension of their identity is a personal decision that should be honored and respected.

However, when desiring to be inclusive of all people of Spanish ancestry, you can consider using both “Hispanic” and “Latinx” together, i.e. “the Hispanic/Latinx community.” This ensures you are broadly addressing all people with such heritage regardless of their country of origin. It also allows those who strongly prefer “Latinx” to feel included and respected. When describing a group of Latin American descent, we currently recommend using the term "Latinx" if speaking to a predominantly English-speaking audience and "Latine" when speaking to a Spanish-speaking audience. These terms are inclusive of people of all genders and deemphasize Spanish colonialism.

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There's no doubt many terms have been used to describe Latinx people over the decades, but social terms and categorizations across a variety of identity dimensions have evolved and will continue to shift and change. What matters most is your dedication to learning about and respecting the term that is most inclusive and respectful of the preferences of that group. Taking the time to explore these questions was a great first step.