Raises Hand - I Have a Question

[NitaX]

So, I'm on the Obama Store page looking at car magnets and I see Latinos for Obama and Hispanics for Obama. Can someone explain the difference to me?

ETA: I like my new laptop, but hate the keyboard design. As if my spelling wasn't bad enough, throw in oddly spaced keys. Agh.

[pixy0stix]

Latino generally refers to countries (or cultures) that were once under Roman rule. This includes Italy, France, Spain, etc. Brazilians are considered to be Latino, but are not considered to be Hispanic.

Hispanic describes cultures or countries that were once under Spanish rule (Mexico, Central America, and most South America where Spanish is the primary language).

womeninbusiness.about.com/od/businessetiquette/a/pc-hispanic.htm

[NitaX]

Aug 7, 2012 22:44:50 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Latino generally refers to countries (or cultures) that were once under Roman rule. This includes Italy, France, Spain, etc. Brazilians are considered to be Latino, but are not considered to be Hispanic.

Hispanic describes cultures or countries that were once under Spanish rule (Mexico, Central America, and most South America where Spanish is the primary language).

womeninbusiness.about.com/od/businessetiquette/a/pc-hispanic.htm

So, they wouldn't use these terms interchangeably like I would for Black and African American. Would someone take offense if I said Hispanic but they were actually Latino?

[pixy0stix]

Aug 7, 2012 22:46:56 GMT -5 NitaX said:

So, they wouldn't use these terms interchangeably like I would for Black and African American. Would someone take offense if I said Hispanic but they were actually Latino?

I hesitate to speak for everyone because it's a touchy subject.

My sisters' family identifies as Hispanic or Mexican, but never Latino. My friends' family growing up identified as Mexican and never Hispanic/Latino.

Other people I know identify interchangeably.

The one hard and fast rule I know is never call someone Mexican unless you know for damn sure their family is from Mexico.

[NitaX]

LOL. I did know about not calling people Mexican unless you were certain of that. LOL

Thanks Pixy. I asked my H this because one of his friends is Hispanic, but he said his friend gave him a long complicated lesson and he forgot all the details.

[msmerymac]

Aug 7, 2012 22:46:56 GMT -5 NitaX said:

Aug 7, 2012 22:44:50 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Latino generally refers to countries (or cultures) that were once under Roman rule. This includes Italy, France, Spain, etc. Brazilians are considered to be Latino, but are not considered to be Hispanic.

Hispanic describes cultures or countries that were once under Spanish rule (Mexico, Central America, and most South America where Spanish is the primary language).

womeninbusiness.about.com/od/businessetiquette/a/pc-hispanic.htm

So, they wouldn't use these terms interchangeably like I would for Black and African American. Would someone take offense if I said Hispanic but they were actually Latino?

Many people can be considered both. If you are from central or South America and from a country that was once under Spanish rule, you are probably both Latino and Hispanic. But most people identify with one.

I do think that Hispanic is used more often on the east coast and Latino tends to be used in California, IME. So you're more likely to find a Hispanic Student Association, for example, in New England than you would be in SoCal.

I know some people who vastly prefer one over the other, but they're also usually the kind of people who will let you know that. Everyone identifies as something, I guess, but using the "wrong" one isn't terribly offensive. IMO.

[msmerymac]

Oh, re: Mexican. In the 60s and 70s, it was popular to identify as Chicano, and there are even colleges with Chicano studies programs. Now? I don't know anyone who identifies as Chicano, primarily. They will tell you they are Mexican, but identify mainly as Latino, possibly Hispanic.

So I also think identifiers go in cycles. (Obviously - think of the identifiers applied to the Black community over the last century.)

[summer]

In college in the midwest in the 90's, everyone called themselves Latino. Hispanic was like using "colored" or "negro" - it was an oppressive, WP word that only Uncle Toms (Tio Tomas?) used for themselves.

Apparently things have changed. I'm glad you posted this so I don't look stupid.

[Deleted]

Well you learn something new every day.

Thanks, Pixy.

[expatpumpkin]

Aug 7, 2012 22:58:26 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Oh, re: Mexican. In the 60s and 70s, it was popular to identify as Chicano, and there are even colleges with Chicano studies programs. Now? I don't know anyone who identifies as Chicano, primarily. They will tell you they are Mexican, but identify mainly as Latino, possibly Hispanic.

So I also think identifiers go in cycles. (Obviously - think of the identifiers applied to the Black community over the last century.)

I think Chicano refers specifically to Mexican-Americans living in the US. Not all Mexicans.

I know that my husband doesn't identify as Chicano or Mexican-American - he's 100% Mexican born and raised. He's fine with being called Latino or Hispanic, however.

In my experience, Mexican culture and Mexican-American/Chicano culture are quite different.

[IIOY]

Hmmm. I may have to stop thinking of my FIL as a raging bigot on this particular topic since he always uses the terms interchangeably. My husband has jumped all over him based upon the difference that pixy described.

Fortunately, my FIL is bigoted in so many other delightful ways, so we can still enjoy our Sunday night dinner conversations, which are a hot mess of ignorance, fogeyisms, and general hatefulness.

[EloiseWeenie]

Aug 8, 2012 5:36:26 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Hmmm. I may have to stop thinking of my FIL as a raging bigot on this particular topic since he always uses the terms interchangeably. My husband has jumped all over him based upon the difference that pixy described.

Fortunately, my FIL is bigoted in so many other delightful ways, so we can still enjoy our Sunday night dinner conversations, which are a hot mess of ignorance, fogeyisms, and general hatefulness.

Do we have the same FIL?

[IIOY]

Aug 8, 2012 7:05:17 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

Aug 8, 2012 5:36:26 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Hmmm. I may have to stop thinking of my FIL as a raging bigot on this particular topic since he always uses the terms interchangeably. My husband has jumped all over him based upon the difference that pixy described.

Fortunately, my FIL is bigoted in so many other delightful ways, so we can still enjoy our Sunday night dinner conversations, which are a hot mess of ignorance, fogeyisms, and general hatefulness.

Do we have the same FIL?

My husband flat out called my FIL a racist this past Sunday and he denied it as though he'd been accused of killing puppies. I nearly shit myself. I would have a modicum of respect for the man if he at least owned his bigotry instead of couching it in supposed facts.

[blacksred]

Aug 7, 2012 22:50:53 GMT -5 pixy0stix said:

Aug 7, 2012 22:46:56 GMT -5 NitaX said:

So, they wouldn't use these terms interchangeably like I would for Black and African American. Would someone take offense if I said Hispanic but they were actually Latino?

I hesitate to speak for everyone because it's a touchy subject.

My sisters' family identifies as Hispanic or Mexican, but never Latino. My friends' family growing up identified as Mexican and never Hispanic/Latino.

Other people I know identify interchangeably.

The one hard and fast rule I know is never call someone Mexican unless you know for damn sure their family is from Mexico.

Or assume Dominican and they are Phillipino!!! :-| -- Thank God I found that out through conversation and NOT an error.

[ringstrue]

I've always heard them used interchangeably. Save for things like music - Its always been reffered to as Latino or Latin, even if the musican/singer is Mexican, for instance. But I think i agree with Pixy that if someone was from Europe I'd used Latino over Hispanic - or maybe I'd just say "they are from Spain".

The origins of both words are pretty much the same.

Ah, wikipedia tells me that Latino is a broad term for any Latin American and Hispanic is just for Spanish-speaking Latin Americans.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latino_(demonym)

[munkii]

You've already received a number of answers, but I'll add mine since I'm Mexican-American and have gone back and forth on this.

Latino is actually an umbrella term referring to people from Latin America or of Latin American ethnicity. Hispanic is a political term that was born of the Nixon administration to classify people from Spanish speaking countries and their children.

When I was growing up, I always detested the term Hispanic because it felt like a label of ownership placed on me rather than given to me--it was a permanent label of Spain's dominance over Latin American language and culture. Does that make sense?

Today, while I still call myself either Mexican-American, Mexican, or Latina, I accept Hispanic if someone calls me that or if that is the only option because I am aware that if the Spanish had not conquered my ancestral land, I would not be here today. It still feels dirty typing that out, though.

[EloiseWeenie]

Aug 8, 2012 7:09:22 GMT -5 IIOY said:

Aug 8, 2012 7:05:17 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

Do we have the same FIL?

My husband flat out called my FIL a racist this past Sunday and he denied it as though he'd been accused of killing puppies. I nearly shit myself. I would have a modicum of respect for the man if he at least owned his bigotry instead of couching it in supposed facts.

My FIL uses the n-word, then immediately follows it with "but I'm not racist at all" I totally flipped out on him when he used the n-word in front of my son. I was beyond pissed. Somehow my husband is never around when he says stuff like this :@

[IIOY]

You're right, Eloise. We have the same FIL.

[EloiseWeenie]

Glad I'm not alone

[sweetday]

I'm a Latina but the term Hispanic doesnt bother me.

[msmerymac]

Aug 8, 2012 5:24:05 GMT -5 expatpumpkin said:

Aug 7, 2012 22:58:26 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

Oh, re: Mexican. In the 60s and 70s, it was popular to identify as Chicano, and there are even colleges with Chicano studies programs. Now? I don't know anyone who identifies as Chicano, primarily. They will tell you they are Mexican, but identify mainly as Latino, possibly Hispanic.

So I also think identifiers go in cycles. (Obviously - think of the identifiers applied to the Black community over the last century.)

I think Chicano refers specifically to Mexican-Americans living in the US. Not all Mexicans.

I know that my husband doesn't identify as Chicano or Mexican-American - he's 100% Mexican born and raised. He's fine with being called Latino or Hispanic, however.

In my experience, Mexican culture and Mexican-American/Chicano culture are quite different.

Oh yeah, sorry to not clarify. I was thinking of Mexican Americans, and specifically the Chicano movement in California. My graduate school (in CA) has a Chicano studies program to this day, which grew out of the civil rights movement (just like women's studies or African studies programs did). But it does refer specifically to American children of Mexican parents.

[AJL]

I just stick with this one:


I think it covers all of us Latinos y Hispanos.

[AJL]

Aug 8, 2012 5:09:11 GMT -5 summer said:

In college in the midwest in the 90's, everyone called themselves Latino. Hispanic was like using "colored" or "negro" - it was an oppressive, WP word that only Uncle Toms (Tio Tomas?) used for themselves.

Apparently things have changed. I'm glad you posted this so I don't look stupid.

:-|

Whoa. I have never heard of this explanation. I've been called a lot of offensive words because of my ethnic background, but Hispanic wasn't something I would put in that category.