Refering to Latinos in the United States can be difficult.

Difference between Hispanic and Latinos. 

Hispanic is a term used in the United States to refer to people who are from Spanish-speaking countries or Latin American decent.

Latinos are people from Latin America which includes Central and South America.

The key difference here is that "Hispanic" is a word imposed by the United States to categorize a group of Spanish-speaking individuals. Spaniards could classify as "Hispanics" if they live in the states but would not be be considered Latinos because they are not a part of Latin America but instead are a part of Europe.

Furthermore, not all Latinos speak Spanish. Brazilians are considered Latinos but they speak Portages.

From Latino, Latin@, to now Latinx.

Trends and ways to refer to Latinos has modified in different ways. Latinos to Latin@ mean the same thing except the at sign visually makes it so that Latino/Latina are used at once. The purpose of having both at the same time is so that neither gender is superior. However,  one can only pronounce one, either Latino or Latina when speaking.

Latinx, pronounced "la-teen-ex" brings a perspective. The word which ends in an "x" tries to be more inclusive and more gender neutral.

According to the website This is Not Latinx, "Latin@ is only the 'o' and the 'a', which is only masculinity and femininity, while Latinx includes people who don't identify within the gender binary and/or those who use gender neutral pronouns."

University of Maryland student Theresa Wambach also defines Latinx as an inclusive term for people from Latin American countries.



Theresa thinks that using the word Latinx is great idea. She says that it also allows people to reclaim their identity and share their history.

How Latinx is used



Individuals who are gender non-conforming are those who don't know where they stand. They don't identify as male or female.


Controversy over "Latinx"

Theresa is a student who would be open to using the term "Latinx," but there are some individuals who would prefer not to use the term.

Yvette Lerma is the Coordinator for Latin@ Student Involvement and Advocacy at the University of Maryland. Lerma says that there are some people or students who would be against the term "Latinx" because they don't want to feel different.



Lerma is lesbian and is married to her wife. However, Lerma does not use the word "Latinx" outside of her job environment. One of the reasons is because her family does not identify as Latino or Hispanic. They identify as Chicano.

Chicano are people born in the United States of Mexican origin.

The Free Dictionary defines Chicano as, "... a term of pride for many Mexican Americans, it remains a word with strong political associations stemming from the Chicano literary and civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. Since these politics are not necessarily espoused by all Mexican Americans, and since usage and acceptance of this word can vary from one region to another, an outsider who is unfamiliar with his or her audience would do well to use Mexican America instead."

Lerma refrains from using the word "Latinx" at home or around her family, because she avoids talking about sexual orientations around her family.

Lerma says her mother does not accept her sexual orientation and in order to get along with her, she doesn't talk about it. Her father, grandparents and others do accept her sexual orientation but she rather not touch the subject.

The perspective of the "x" in Latinx

Rafael Padilla is against the usage of Latinx. He says that the "x" makes it unofficial.

Hispanic, Latinos, Latinx and Chicano all have different meanings.

These terms are different but allow a person to identify themselves as they see fits best. Not everyone, especially not every Latino is in agreement with one specific term.

Oliver Contreras is the Assistant Photo Editor at The Washington Post, he moved from Chile to the United States five years ago. Oliver says he didn't become Latino until he moved to the states.

"I became Latino in the USA. After that I was only one more Chilean guy. We don't feel Latinos unfortunately, I think geographically Chile is a little isolated... So, now as a Latino, I represent more people here rather than Chileans so, I have to be responsible for that and so something about it." 

When it comes to his job as a photographer, Oliver feels that he is responsible for representing the Latino community through his job. His perception and identity changed based on his living situation from Chile to the United States.

Change of place is what causes the different terms used to refer to Latinos. The United States uses Hispanics but not all want to be identified with a term imposed by the United States which refers to people who are from Latin American countries and who also speak Spanish. Not all Hispanics speak Spanish.

Chicano should also be used with people who identify with it. Not all Mexican Americans identify as Chicano. Often, people who do identify with Chicano find it offensive to be identified as Latino or Hispanic based off of the political disputes of 1960s and 1970s.

Identity allows individuals to present themselves in a way that allows others to see what they are made of and where they come from.