# What's more respectful-- Latino or Hispanic? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 13, 2007, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815 "2007-01-13T06:55:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![CBEscapee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b19c9b/32.png) [@CBEscapee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CBEscapee)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/41 "2016-03-02T00:06:40Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > I know a lot of “Hispanic” families and they’d probably look at you funny if you called them anything other than “Mexican.” Mexican here. Once on a visit to the USA, an American woman asked my wife (in Spanish) if she was a “latina”. My wife repled, “soy mexicana, la tina está en el baño.” ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/42 "2016-03-02T00:12:36Z")
“Hermano” o “Hermana.” ---
**Author:** ![nicky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f0a364/32.png) [@nicky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nicky)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/43 "2016-03-02T00:26:16Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Hispanic/Latino is a cultural identifier, not a racial one. That’s why the US Census asks what race you are and then asks if you are Hispanic too. its an american cultural construct which a european would not idenrify with. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/44 "2016-03-02T01:11:02Z")
> [@HoneyBadgerDC](#): > > I find it odd that hispanics from across the border seldom identify as Native Americans. I have no idea why you would think this. Over 20% of Mexico’s population self-identifies as indigenous. (However, those whose Spanish is poor may be less inclined to emigrate to the US, and those who are more acculturated will probably just identify as Mexican when in the US.) ---
**Author:** ![Chingon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chingon/32/17645_2.png) [@Chingon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chingon)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/45 "2016-03-02T01:11:27Z")
I have a chicano father and a borricua mother. Latino or Hispanic are fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/46 "2016-03-02T02:01:13Z")
Call me Don Diego. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/47 "2016-03-02T02:12:06Z")
Northern Californian. I say Latino. Doesn’t seem right to leave the Brazilians out. My (Latino) East Coast husband uses “Spanish people.” It makes absolutely no sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/48 "2016-03-02T02:24:17Z")
As mentioned earlier, Hispanic is generally used in New Mexico. I grew up in New Mexico, I’m back to living in New Mexico, and if anyone has a problem with my using Hispanic they’ve apparently got bigger problems. New Mexico is a weird state due to the nearly-constant Spanish (and Mexican presence) for over 400 years. Every time someone tries to make a generalization, especially based on Texas and/or California, it’s almost always wrong for New Mexico. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/49 "2016-03-02T03:03:45Z")
I am from Peruvian parents. I am Latina. I’ve never referred to myself as Hispanic, though if someone did I wouldn’t take it offensively at all. ---
**Author:** ![the\_diego](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7bcc69/32.png) [@the\_diego](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/the_diego)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/50 "2016-03-02T03:28:16Z")
A tip from a borderline racist: quit labeling people like the stupid fuck you are, and go back to calling someone Mr/Miss Cruz from Lima, Peru. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/51 "2016-03-02T08:34:39Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > Call me Don Diego. _¿de día, o de noche?_ [Don Diego de día](http://fichas.infojardin.com/trepadoras/ipomoea-purpurea-ipomea-don-diego-de-dia-campanillas.htm) [Don Diego de noche](http://fichas.infojardin.com/perennes-anuales/mirabilis-jalapa-dondiego-de-noche-galan-noche.htm) > [@nicky](#): > > its an american cultural construct which a european would not idenrify with. Eh, my government has decided that we can’t refer to La Hispanidad as La Hispanidad any more because we’re supposed to feel White Man’s Guilt, but my fore-uncles did their looting in Flanders… I will refer to it the same way most of us do. I’m reasonably sure it ain’t the yanks who came up with that concept, part of the reason they have problems with it is precisely that they did not (dealing with imported concepts is always more difficult than dealing with native ones). ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/52 "2016-03-02T12:55:15Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > A tip from a borderline racist: quit labeling people like the stupid fuck you are, and go back to calling someone Mr/Miss Cruz from Lima, Peru. Don’t use personal insults outside of the Pit. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/53 "2016-03-02T13:56:10Z")
> [@nicky](#): > > its an american cultural construct which a european would not idenrify with. Well, yes. And? Nearly all racial, ethnic and cultural groups are largely arbitrary cultural constructs. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/54 "2016-03-02T14:11:40Z")
Thing is, it’s not an American construct, either in reference to America-the-country or to America-the-continent(s). It’s a Hispanic construct. We all celebrate October 12 because it is the day that created la hispanidad, the day when our way of life jumped from the Península to cover what would eventually be [300 millones](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_millones)\* (and now, many more). And Spaniards generally do identify with it; those who don’t are confusing multiple concepts, IME (or begin by not considering themselves Spaniards). - Sorry, I don’t expect to be able to find any information in English about old Spanish-language TV programs. ---
**Author:** ![KarlGrenze](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/dbc845/32.png) [@KarlGrenze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGrenze)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/55 "2016-03-02T14:14:54Z")
I prefer Latino (or in my case Latina), if the whole terms _latinoamericano_ and _Latinoamérica_ were good for [Hostos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugenio_Mar%C3%ADa_de_Hostos), they’re good for me. Chicana/o reminds me of Mexican-Americans and California. I don’t think it would be a respectful way to call someone who is of Dominican descent in Harlem, even if they are a community activitist. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/56 "2016-03-02T14:59:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > Thing is, it’s not an American construct, either in reference to America-the-country or to America-the-continent(s). It’s a Hispanic construct. We all celebrate October 12 because it is the day that created la hispanidad, the day when our way of life jumped from the Península to cover what would eventually be [300 millones](https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/300_millones)\* (and now, many more). And Spaniards generally do identify with it; those who don’t are confusing multiple concepts, IME (or begin by not considering themselves Spaniards). > > - Sorry, I don’t expect to be able to find any information in English about old Spanish-language TV programs. I can’t say I fully understand your post, but if I do, then I would say there are two separate constructs that have little, if anything, to do with each other. “Hispanic” in the US isn’t about Spain, but about a minority group living in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/57 "2016-03-02T15:37:30Z")
> [@Peremensoe](#): > > By your lights. For many Americans, the former precludes the latter. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time staring at FDA guidance docs but definitely not for this american. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/58 "2016-03-02T15:39:24Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > We all celebrate October 12 because it is the day that created la hispanidad… October 12 is a holiday in Spain? ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/59 "2016-03-02T15:40:45Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > I can’t say I fully understand your post, but if I do, then I would say there are two separate constructs that have little, if anything, to do with each other. “Hispanic” in the US isn’t about Spain, but about a minority group living in the US. For Hispanics outside the US it’s about speaking Spanish OR about speaking Spanish-or-Portuguese (the term _hispanidad_ refers to Hispania, the Iberian Peninsula, not to Spain, but the term hispano can be constructed as being derived from _hispanidad_ or a shortening of _hispanohablante_, Spanish-speaker), and for the US it’s not about “a minority group living in the US”, since you apply it also to people living outside the US. ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815/60 "2016-03-02T16:41:19Z")
> [@the\_diego](#): > > go back to calling someone Mr/Miss Cruz from Lima, Peru. I thought he was from Canada. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-more-respectful-latino-or-hispanic/387815.md?page=4)