Hispanic and Latinx are NOT the same thing.
Spanish and Latinx are NOT the same thing.
Chicanx and Latinx are NOT the same thing.
Spanish and Latinx are NOT the same thing.
Chicanx and Latinx are NOT the same thing.
Hispanic means Spanish-speaking. Latinx and Chicanx people may not be Hispanic. Hispanic people may not be Latinx or Chicanx. it’s an outdated crap term that the U.S. government literally made up for the 1970 census because they needed a way to lump us altogether.
There are areas of the country where this term is more prevalent, even among our own people, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a problem.
Spanish is what you call the people from the country of Spain. That country is the colonizing country of most Latin American countries. Ya’know, the people that stole from, raped, and murdered us by the tens of millions. That shit is offensive. Don’t call us that.
Chicanx specifically refers to people of Mexican dissent born in the U.S. (not usually used by people born in Mexico) and is not a catchall phrase for anyone that identifies as Latinx. Like hispanic and Latinx, not everyone uses this so maybe ask first.
Side note, Mexicans are wonderful AND we are not all Mexican so you can’t just refer to all of us as Mexican. We come from lots of countries!
Some of this is debated, even heatedly, within our own community. When your identities and lives have been dictated by outsiders for so long, you are not all going to land in the same place at the same time once you finally have the freedom of self determination.
Nothing I’ve written here is an excuse for anyone to tell someone who they are and what they should call themselves.
Extra credit: Latinx is the most modern phrase (right now but not always bc language is not static) but not everyone prefers it & it is problematic in its own way. Like Hispanic, it is a phrase that dominant culture placed upon our people rather than one we adopted for ourselves.
It is helpful when trying to foster solidarity or refer to a pan-Latin American identity but most of us would probably prefer you referred to us by our country of origin. Or maybe just use our name and try to pronounce it correctly.
Extra extra credit: Latinx is a gender-inclusive alternative to Latino/Latina. Less commonly, you may see Latine or Latin@ used for a similar purpose. Latinx is not something forced upon us by white people & academics. Its roots can be traced to Latinx queer/activist communities.
Perpetuating this narrative is an erasure of their work and is anti-LGBTQ+. Also, even if the incorrect accusation that it is a western bastardization of Spanish was right, who cares? That’s the colonizer’s language anyway.
P.S. If you’re not a part of these communities, this is not for you to weigh in on or offer opinions about. Read it and learn it and that’s it.
Next time we’ll talk abt how none of these phrases refer to race & none of them mean ‘Brown’. We come in all shades.
Discussion pts: Mi gente, check your anti-blackness-erasing our indigeneity helps nothing & no one except whiteness-some of us are white (that’s called privilege)
Discussion pts: Mi gente, check your anti-blackness-erasing our indigeneity helps nothing & no one except whiteness-some of us are white (that’s called privilege)
Descent* darn voice command
