SocraticGadfly: We're Hispanics, not Latinos and REALLY not LatinX

December 08, 2021

We're Hispanics, not Latinos and REALLY not LatinX

That's the message from new polling sponsored by Politico. Hispanics nationwide almost totally reject the neoblather "Latinx." Not only that, a large majority reject "Latino" / "Latina." For what? I just said for what: "Hispanic." While there are some differences, the preference for "Hispanic" largely transcends age, country of origin, and political alignment. 40 percent say "LatinX" bothers them; 20 percent A LOT. And, 30 percent say their support for a politico using "LatinX" would decrease; that includes 24 percent of Dems and 30 percent of "independents."

Per another Politico piece, if Dems have any brains, they'll see "LatinX" and the academic activists pushing it as "wrongfully woke." That will include noting that the younger generation dislikes it just about as much as oldsters. And yes, it's far from the only reason that Republicans have started getting more Hispanic votes again, but it's one that Dems should indeed listen to.

It is interesting to see 9 percent of US-born Hispanics plump for "something else." Would that be "Chicano" or similar, "Mexican-American" or similar, or not being labeled? Growing up in New Mexico, I know many older, American-born Hispanics preferred "Mexican-American" way back when; the more conservative ones vociferously rejected "Chicano." I can tell you that, even today, "Hispanic" is bigly preferred to "Latino."

That said, if you have to do something? Yes, these words have either masculine or feminine gender in Spanish, but words with an "-e" ending sound neutral. Like "Grande," the adjective in "Rio Grande." And, that is "-es" in the plural, again, more neutral-sounding but wholly pronounceable.

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