1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,840 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of iHeart Radio. Hey brain Stuff, 2 00:00:06,880 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: Lauren bold Bomb here here. In the United States, Hispanic 3 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:14,920 Speaker 1: Heritage Month runs from September fifteen through October. It's a 4 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:18,160 Speaker 1: time to honor and celebrate all of the amazing contributions 5 00:00:18,160 --> 00:00:22,200 Speaker 1: of Hispanic Americans to our country and culture. But it's 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: also a time when some people in the media stumble 7 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:28,600 Speaker 1: over the differences between the terms Hispanic, Latino, and newer 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:32,800 Speaker 1: gender neutral terms like latin X sometimes pronounced latin X. 9 00:00:33,680 --> 00:00:37,200 Speaker 1: The confusion is real because the dictionary definitions of Hispanic 10 00:00:37,280 --> 00:00:40,080 Speaker 1: and Latino don't always jibe with the way that the 11 00:00:40,159 --> 00:00:44,480 Speaker 1: terms are understood and used in the real world. Let's 12 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: start with the main difference between the official definitions of 13 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:52,159 Speaker 1: Hispanic and Latino. The term Hispanic was traditionally used by 14 00:00:52,200 --> 00:00:54,640 Speaker 1: the U s. Census Bureau to cover anyone from his 15 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:58,840 Speaker 1: Spanish speaking country or their descendants. By that definition, you'd 16 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: be considered Hispanic if you or your ancestors are from 17 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,880 Speaker 1: one of more than twenty primarily Spanish speaking countries around 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 1: the world. That list includes Spain and countries in Latin America, 19 00:01:10,400 --> 00:01:13,800 Speaker 1: which consists of South and Central America, plus some islands 20 00:01:13,800 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 1: in the Caribbean. The term Latino, on the other hand, 21 00:01:17,880 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: traditionally referred to people from Latin America, which includes people 22 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:28,319 Speaker 1: from non primarily Spanish speaking countries. So by these definitions, 23 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,920 Speaker 1: someone from Brazil whose main language is Portuguese or from 24 00:01:31,959 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: Surinam whose main language is Dutch would be considered Latino, 25 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:41,679 Speaker 1: but not Hispanic. However, both of those terms are loaded 26 00:01:41,720 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 1: with their own history and politics. The U S Census 27 00:01:45,240 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 1: officially began using the word Hispanic in nineteen eighty as 28 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: an umbrella term for Americans with origins in Spanish speaking countries, 29 00:01:52,640 --> 00:01:56,880 Speaker 1: but not everybody was comfortable with that term. We spoke 30 00:01:56,880 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: with Rolando Romero, who's the chair of the Department of 31 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: Latino a slash Latino Studies at the University of Illinois 32 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:06,680 Speaker 1: at Urbana Champaigne. Romero was born in Mexico and immigrated 33 00:02:06,680 --> 00:02:09,399 Speaker 1: to the United States at thirteen years old. For him 34 00:02:09,440 --> 00:02:12,480 Speaker 1: and many others, the word Hispanic is too tied to 35 00:02:12,560 --> 00:02:16,200 Speaker 1: Spain and doesn't reflect the lived experience of so called 36 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:19,320 Speaker 1: Hispanic communities in America, many of which have ties to 37 00:02:19,400 --> 00:02:25,360 Speaker 1: Latin America rather than Spain. Romero prefers Latino, but believes 38 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,120 Speaker 1: it should only be used to describe Latin Americans in 39 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,520 Speaker 1: the United States, not people living in Latin American countries, 40 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: and even then, he thinks that the word Latino falls 41 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,480 Speaker 1: short of describing most applicable people's self identity. He says 42 00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,240 Speaker 1: that if you ask a Latin American person about their background, 43 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:46,880 Speaker 1: most won't say I'm Latino. They'll say I'm Mexican American, 44 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 1: I'm Puerto Rican, I'm Cuban. Romero said, if you go 45 00:02:50,960 --> 00:02:54,240 Speaker 1: to the Rogers Park neighborhood in Chicago, you'll see Cuban food, 46 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: you'll see Colombian food, you'll see Salveldoran food, but you'll 47 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:01,320 Speaker 1: never see Latino food. Latino has become the umbrella term 48 00:03:01,360 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: in the United States to refer to all those groups, 49 00:03:03,720 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: but it's hardly ever used in real life, and Romero's 50 00:03:08,400 --> 00:03:11,799 Speaker 1: impression is backed by survey data from the Pew Research Center, 51 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,760 Speaker 1: which found in the half of all Hispanic and Latino 52 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:20,040 Speaker 1: Americans had no particular preference for either term. When asked 53 00:03:20,080 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: how they would describe themselves, said that they would use 54 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:28,480 Speaker 1: an origin term like Mexican or Dominican, simply said American, 55 00:03:28,840 --> 00:03:32,560 Speaker 1: and only used an umbrella term like Hispanic or Latino. 56 00:03:34,160 --> 00:03:37,960 Speaker 1: When describing himself, Romero uses Chicano, which is a term 57 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:40,760 Speaker 1: for Mexican Americans that arose during the Civil Rights Movement 58 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:43,960 Speaker 1: and still carries a note of pride and political defiance. 59 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:48,960 Speaker 1: We also spoke with historian Paul Ortiz, professor at the 60 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: University of Florida. He explained, back in the day, in 61 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:56,240 Speaker 1: the fifties or earlier, generally the term Chicano was actually 62 00:03:56,280 --> 00:03:58,480 Speaker 1: a term of derision. If you walked up to me 63 00:03:58,520 --> 00:04:00,520 Speaker 1: and called me that term, there could be in trouble. 64 00:04:01,280 --> 00:04:03,520 Speaker 1: It becomes a term of pride with the rise of 65 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:06,720 Speaker 1: the farm workers movement, the Mexican student movement in California 66 00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: and Washington, and so people began using that term Takano 67 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,119 Speaker 1: as a term of pride, as a term of self respect. 68 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:17,080 Speaker 1: Ortiz was born in nineteen sixty four and raised in 69 00:04:17,160 --> 00:04:21,080 Speaker 1: California and Washington State. He said, where I grew up, 70 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:25,279 Speaker 1: Hispanic was not very popular. My elders would say Hispanic 71 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:27,760 Speaker 1: is something that the government tries to call us. That's 72 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,560 Speaker 1: not who we are. It's a census term. It's an 73 00:04:30,560 --> 00:04:33,240 Speaker 1: official term that the government has for people like us. 74 00:04:34,279 --> 00:04:36,960 Speaker 1: But he also said that those attitudes vary in different 75 00:04:36,960 --> 00:04:41,159 Speaker 1: communities around the country, and here is where I must 76 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:43,839 Speaker 1: impress upon you that if there's any question at all 77 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: in your mind, it's always best to ask an individual 78 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:51,320 Speaker 1: how they would prefer to be identified. This is also 79 00:04:51,440 --> 00:04:54,120 Speaker 1: where the term latin X or latin X comes in. 80 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:56,760 Speaker 1: This term was born of the l g B t 81 00:04:56,920 --> 00:04:59,760 Speaker 1: Q plus movement and of a desire to create a 82 00:04:59,800 --> 00:05:03,640 Speaker 1: more inclusive term outside of the gender binary Latino being 83 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:09,560 Speaker 1: masculine or Latina being feminine. Romero worries that it's impossible 84 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:12,440 Speaker 1: to read the Spanish language of gendered words, though, and 85 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:17,920 Speaker 1: that latin X is confusing two native Spanish speakers. However, 86 00:05:18,200 --> 00:05:22,680 Speaker 1: Maria are Charonne del Rio, counseling professor at Brooklyn College, disagrees, 87 00:05:23,240 --> 00:05:25,320 Speaker 1: seeing the new word as a way of reaching out 88 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: to people who haven't always been embraced by Latin American 89 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:32,920 Speaker 1: immigrant communities. She told NBC News. By using latin X, 90 00:05:33,120 --> 00:05:36,039 Speaker 1: nobody is telling you how to identify. It's up to 91 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: you if you want to be latin X, Latino or 92 00:05:38,720 --> 00:05:42,120 Speaker 1: something else. It's really a way to be inclusive for 93 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: people who are traditionally marginalized. That millisecond of politeness and 94 00:05:46,360 --> 00:05:49,919 Speaker 1: recognition towards someone who is gender queer, tells them that 95 00:05:50,000 --> 00:05:54,440 Speaker 1: you see them, that you're an ally. Ortiz published a 96 00:05:54,480 --> 00:05:57,560 Speaker 1: book called An African American and Latin X History of 97 00:05:57,600 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: the United States. In he said, the title was really 98 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: picked by my students. At one point, I was going 99 00:06:04,680 --> 00:06:07,200 Speaker 1: to use the term Latina, but they said, you know, 100 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:10,560 Speaker 1: professor Ortiz, we would really prefer you use the term 101 00:06:10,680 --> 00:06:14,279 Speaker 1: latin X. We know among your generation it's still not 102 00:06:14,360 --> 00:06:17,800 Speaker 1: too popular, but the world is changing. The cool thing 103 00:06:17,880 --> 00:06:20,000 Speaker 1: is they're not using the term as just a term 104 00:06:20,080 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: of self definition. They're using the term to try to 105 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:28,520 Speaker 1: create bridges of understanding between say Mexican students, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Haitians. 106 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:33,400 Speaker 1: It's kind of a bridge building term. Indeed, some people 107 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:35,799 Speaker 1: seem to be using the term latin X to refer 108 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,200 Speaker 1: to both Hispanic and Latin American people. The word latine 109 00:06:40,400 --> 00:06:42,880 Speaker 1: has also been put forth as a gender neutral term 110 00:06:42,920 --> 00:06:47,360 Speaker 1: that's a little easier to pronounce. Language is fluid, and 111 00:06:47,480 --> 00:06:50,920 Speaker 1: according to an August twenty survey by the Pew Research Center, 112 00:06:51,200 --> 00:06:53,520 Speaker 1: the term latin X has a long way before it 113 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:56,799 Speaker 1: catches on. The survey found that only about a quarter 114 00:06:56,880 --> 00:06:59,600 Speaker 1: of Hispanic Americans have even heard of the term Latin X, 115 00:07:00,040 --> 00:07:02,760 Speaker 1: and only about three percent use it, with those who 116 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:05,280 Speaker 1: are using the term tending to be younger, born in 117 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:13,920 Speaker 1: the United States and predominantly English speaking. Today's episode was 118 00:07:13,960 --> 00:07:16,280 Speaker 1: written by Dave Rus and John Donovan and produced by 119 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other 120 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: curious topics, visit how stuff works dot com. Grain Stuff 121 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:23,960 Speaker 1: is production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts for 122 00:07:24,000 --> 00:07:26,760 Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, 123 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:28,520 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.