From Hispanic, to Latino, to Latinx: How the political roots of labels shape perceptions and resources for Latin-American descendants

Abstract: Small minority groups often unite under broad pan-ethnic labels to strengthen their collective voice and procure resources for their group. In the late 1960s, Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Latin American descendants (LADs) in the United States initially unified under the identity of “Spanish-Speakers” before later adopting broader pan-ethnic labels such as Hispanic, Latino, and Latinx. We argue that each of these labels emerged within distinct political and ideological contexts, and as a result, these terms became imbued with political connotations from the moment they entered common usage. Utilizing survey, natural language processing (NLP), and experimental methods, we demonstrate that people associate the term Hispanic with conservatism, Latino with a center-left orientation, and Latinx with liberalism. This occurs even though most individuals, regardless of political ideology, prefer to use the term Hispanic. Notably, when organizations use these labels in their names (e.g., Hispanic Advocacy Group, Latinx Union), observers and potential donors make assumptions about the organizations’ ideological platform and goals. Further, as donors look for ideological alignment in their charitable giving, these assumptions influence donor decisions, shaping both the organizations they choose to donate to and how much they contribute.

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