Awareness of ‘Latinx’ increases among US Latinos, and ‘Latine’ emerges as an alternative – The Mercury News

By FERNANDA FIGUEROA Associated Press

“Latino” and “Hispanic” have long been the most prominent terms used to describe people in the U.S. with roots in Latin America and Spain. But over the last several years, “Latinx” has become a de-facto gender neutral alternative to Latino and Hispanic, according to a new study by race and ethnicity researchers.

Despite the increased awareness of the term among Latinos — 47% have heard of it — only 4% or 1.9 million people use “Latinx” to describe themselves, an increase of 1 percent since 2019, according to the study by the Pew Research Center.

“’Latinx’ is more broadly known among U.S. Latinos today, but still few embrace it,” said Mark Lopez, Pew’s director of race and ethnicity research.

Of the Latinos who have heard the term, 36% view the usage of the term as a bad thing instead of a good thing, according to the study.

And with opinions mixed, about “Latinx,” a new term has emerged: “Latine” (pronounce LA TEE NEH). That term has gained popularity among people from Latin American countries and Spanish speakers who have pushed for the term to be used instead of “Latinx,” because in Spanish “e” can be used to better note gender neutrality, said Josh Guzmán, an associate professor of gender studies at the University of California at Los Angeles.

In the U.S., “Latinx” has more popularity than “Latine.” Only 18% of Hispanics have heard of the latter, according to the Pew study. Yet 75% of U.S. Latinos surveyed think the terms should not be used to describe the population, and 81% largely prefer “Hispanic” and “Latino.”

Guzmán said it is still important to respect those who do use either term.

“There is already so much difference within Latin communities that academics started debating whether there ever is going to be a term that will be adequate enough to cover all the different components to this identity,” Guzmán said.

Jasmine Odalys, host of the podcast “Hella Latin@,” said the term “Latinx “feels either more corporate, more politically correct and very American.”

“I think it came from a community that wanted to feel acknowledged and seen,” Odalys said. “It turned, I think, into corporations maybe adopting it and making it so that it’s like a blanket term for our community. I think we’re almost like perpetuating the problem when we have one kind of quote-unquote inclusive term but then it’s not inclusive of everyone’s experiences.”

“Hispanic” was coined by the federal government for people descended from Spanish-speaking cultures. But for some it has a connotation of political conservatism and emphasizes a connection to Spain and its colonial past. It sometimes gets mistakenly interchanged with “Latino” or “Latinx.”