I have a question, and I hope it isn't insensitive.

[jonhammstein]

If it is, I apologize. I am white. I am male. I am ignorant.

Is there a significant difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino? Will someone who identifies as Hispanic be offended if you refer to him as Latino, and vice versa?

I have always wondered this.

[B E C K]

Think of it this way:

HiSPANIc ---> descending from Spain, of a place of SPANIsh-speaking origin
LATINo    ---> from LATIN America, which is considered the top border of Mexico and all the way down the pants of the Americas**

Mexican ---> from a Spanish-speaking country so Hispanic; from Latin America so Latino.
Spaniard ---> from a Spanish-speaking country so Hispanic; from Europe so not Latino.
Brazilian ---> from a Portuguese-speaking country so not Hispanic; from Latin America so Latino.

Bonus round: There is no Hispanic culture. There is no Hispanic accent. There is no Latino culture. There is no Latino accent. Whenever the words "Hispanic/Latino" are used to describe something like an accent or a culture, there's always a culture automatically assumed (Mexican where I live) or it's used as a catch-all when many actually apply e.g. a Latin festival where many Latin cultures are celebrated together.

If you need to describe such a thing as a "Hispanic culture" or "Latino accent," you should default to the county instead: Cuban culture, Mexican accent (even though there are many accents, it's still nicer than saying "Latino accent"). In fact, if you ever see butthurt from someone because they were called "Hispanic" or "Latin," 9 times out of 10 it's because you didn't default to the country by just calling them Mexican or whatever their country of origin is.


**although some people dislike the word Latin because of its origins and we get shirts like this.

[B E C K]

Oh, that being said, do NOT default to a country with people who are firmly American like me because America IS our country. If you meet someone who seems like they could be Hispanic or Latino and they're speaking English without an accent, just roll the dice and refer to them as Hispanic or Latino.  That's where the labels really come in, I suppose. If you call me Hispanic or Latina or whatever, it's a thousand times better than referring to me as Mexican: a citizen of a country I have no allegiance to or have ever visited.


Faye-Faye may come in and reply something different, but remember there's always a context to these things so I'm commenting as an multi-generation American of Mexican origin.

[B E C K]

Will someone who identifies as Hispanic be offended if you refer to him as Latino, and vice versa?

Some may but fuck those people, you don't need to get worried about folks like that. Besides, I don't think your chances are very high of meeting someone from Spain and calling them Latino or meeting someone from Brazil and calling them Hispanic. But Cubans tho'... just play it safe and call them Cubans, okay?

[Faye Valentine]

Spaniards are racist as fuck tho. Even tho WE (latins and our gold$) saved their stupid asses more than once. They can fuck right off with their Daffy-Duck-like-accent.


Little bit of trivia: If youre Peruvian, you can automatically get the Spanish citizenship if you live there for more than 2 years. And btw many years ago you were able to get it automatically when you were born (in Peru).

[jonhammstein]

Holy crap, that's an exhaustive response. Thank you!

We have some folks from Chile up here, in the past I've heard of them getting combative when incorrectly identified as Mexican.

[Faye Valentine]

Holy crap, that's an exhaustive response. Thank you!

We have some folks from Chile up here, in the past I've heard of them getting combative when incorrectly identified as Mexican.

South Americans have rivalries between each other, same with Europeans, etc. If you call a Peruvian Chilean (and viceversa) you might have as well spat in their face lol. Two things are sure: Nobody hates Brazilians and 2) Everybody hates Argentinians (actually Chileans are getting as bad as Argentinians, cause they erroneously think they are the shit- maybe that's why that person got insulted when identified as Mexican).

I'm aaaaaalways confused for a Brazilian. Like I said, anything better than Chilean

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

While we're on the subject I'll have all of you know that I'm of Scotch/Irish ancestry. Don't confuse me for one of those Norman or Saxon dogs, or some Continental, especially! Those guys are pure trash.

[B E C K]

Holy crap, that's an exhaustive response. Thank you!

We have some folks from Chile up here, in the past I've heard of them getting combative when incorrectly identified as Mexican.

Yeah, people who aren't Mexican will get super salty when called Mexican. Even when fellow Hispanics like me so much as ask where they come from. Probably even saltier than they would be if you asked them. Like it's expected from you but I'm Hispanic so I'm supposed to recognize or otherwise Sherlock what country they're from or something.

[jonhammstein]

I almost get the feeling that a lot of South American countries actually look down on Mexico, like, "How dare you associate me with those people?!"

Kind of reminds me of how Japan/China/Korea are all super racist against one another.

[B E C K]

Yeah, they're pretty much each a different Mean Girls character.

[Faye Valentine]

I almost get the feeling that a lot of South American countries actually look down on Mexico, like, "How dare you associate me with those people?!"

No way! We don't care. Our hatred is reserved for our south American neighbours, Central America (and Brasil) don't count lol

[jonhammstein]

So... case in point here... those people I said were from Chile? They're actually from Argentina. God damn it.

[Faye Valentine]

So... case in point here... those people I said were from Chile? They're actually from Argentina. God damn it.

Oh shit. They probably hate your ass now. I know I would.

[B E C K]

So... case in point here... those people I said were from Chile? They're actually from Argentina. God damn it.

  That's too good!

[Rama]

You must refer to me, however, as Scot-Irish American....or I'll get pissed and throw a bar stool through your window!!!!!

 And Blazing Saddles summed up just how much the Irish were loved in this country.

"Olson Johnson: All right... we'll give some land to the niggers and the chinks. But we don't want the Irish!"

[B E C K]

Rezzing this topic just because I'm bored... No me gusta Latinx and I'm not the only one.

"About One-in-Four U.S. Hispanics Have Heard of Latinx, but Just 3% Use It"

Hispanics who identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party are more likely to have heard of Latinx than those who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party (29% vs. 16%).

Awareness of the term Latinx does not necessarily translate into use. Across many demographic subgroups, the share of Hispanics who say they use Latinx to describe their own identity is significantly lower than the share who say they have heard it. Use is among the highest for Hispanic women ages 18 to 29 – 14% say they use it, a considerably higher share than the 1% of Hispanic men in the same age group who say they use it.

"Many Latinos say 'Latinx' offends or bothers them. Here's why."

The first time I heard that word, in the mid-2000s, I was teaching at a university in New York. I wasn’t quite sure I understood and laughed, thinking it was a joke. A colleague far more immersed in Latino issues than I was had used it offhandedly when we were chatting, and I had to ask him to explain it after I did a double take.

It soon became clear it was no joke. Latinx was becoming an official term on elite college campuses, popular among academics, progressives, young activists and LGBTQ groups who wanted gender-neutral terminology. (In Spanish words ending in “O” are masculine and those ending in “a” are feminine. When referring to a mixed-gender group, the plural word ends in the masculine “O,” so substituting that letter for “X” avoids preferencing the men.)

When I heard it, my first thought was that it wasn’t Spanish — but that it was pretentious. Many Latinos like myself see the ‘X’ as odd and off-putting because it doesn’t follow the traditional structure of Spanish, making it awkward and difficult to pronounce because in Spanish few words end with two consonants.

"Why the Term ‘Latinx’ Hasn’t Taken Off Among Latins — And Likely Never Will"

“Latinx sounds ugly,” one 22-year old, bilingual, bisexual singer told me. “It’s not like they/them, which is self-explanatory. How do you use the pronoun with the X? There would have to be a reform in the way the language is used around the world. It’s too much.”

Plus, in many countries, including Mexico and Colombia, “X” (pronounced e-kees in Spanish) is also akin to saying John Doe; a non entity, or someone so bland that he or she is not worth remarking about. “People constantly ask me, ‘Why should I be an X, a no one?’ They take it personally,” one journalist told me.

[jonhammstein]

Okay, so it IS Latinecks and NOT Latinks.

Good, good. I'm learning.

[B E C K]

Latin-ehk-kees. And if there's two of them, Latin-dos-ehk-kees.

[Rodent of Unusual Size]

The whole labeling thing is just out of control at this point. If anyone expects me to figure out by intuition or osmosis or whatever what country they're from, what dialect they speak, what pronouns they prefer, what hole they like tickled, what shade they are, or what stage of transitioning they are...I've already taken my flag down. I'll just call them by the name they introduce themselves with and endeavor not to address people groups by their ethnicity/nationality/race/gender/various preferences. Isn't that better, anyway?

Perhaps it's a form of white privilege that people don't give a flip about me or my origins. As a person of non-color I presume that folks consider me to be a hell spawn, anyway. That may just be settling into prejudice, but it does make things a hell of a lot simpler when you just don't give a damn about that stuff.