The use of non-binary terms, such as Latinx or “Latine,” are more familiar to Latino populations, but only 4% use them, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center.
“After years of public use by celebrities, leaders, media outlets, academics, and others, awareness of Latinx has grown among U.S. Latinos,” the report states.
That is, half (47%) say they have heard of Latinx, compared to 23% who said the same in 2019.
“While awareness of the term has increased, the proportion of those who use Latinx to describe themselves has not statistically changed: 4% of Latinx adults say they have used Latinx to describe themselves, little changed from the 3% who said the same in 2019,” the report states.
For the Latino population there is nothing positive in the use of the term.
“Hispanics are more likely to view the increased use of the term Latinx as a bad thing rather than a positive thing,” the study found. “About a third (36%) of those who have heard the term say it’s bad that people are using it more often, while 12% say it’s a good thing.”
38% of Latinos believe that the growing use of the term is “neither good nor bad,” while 14% say they are not sure about it.
79% said they have not heard another person use the term to refer to Latinos or Hispanics.
Who uses the term Latinx?
Defenders of the term Latinx indicate that it is neutral when referring to populations, that is, without defining male or female.
“No major Latino demographic subgroup is close to having a majority who say they have used the word Latinx to describe themselves,” the report states.
Pew reveals that of those who use the term, 13% are lesbian, gay or bisexual to describe themselves, but 67% of this population is familiar with the term.
Meanwhile, 9% of Afro-Latinos say they use the word Latinx.
The increase in awareness of the term is seen in certain subgroups, according to the Pew report.
“College graduates (74%), lesbian, gay or bisexual adults (67%) and adults ages 18 to 29 (60%) are more likely than Latinos overall (47%) to say they have heard the term,” it states.
The analysis even differentiates between Democrats and Republicans, to understand the evolution.
“About half of Latinos have heard of Latinx, regardless of political affiliation. In contrast, in 2019, Democrats were nearly twice as likely as Republicans to say they had heard of Latinx,” it states.
Young people are more familiar with the term
60% of Latinos between 18 and 29 years old acknowledged having heard of the term Latinx, compared to 47% among people between 30 and 49 years old and 34% among those over 65 years old.
Knowledge of the term also depends on whether or not the person is an immigrant, as those born in the US (62%) say they know the term versus 31% of immigrants.
Language is another reason, as 62% of English-speaking adults acknowledge the use of the term versus 55% of bilinguals, but only 17% of Spanish speakers say the same.
Education is also a factor, as 74% of Latinos with a bachelor’s degree or graduate education are familiar with the term Latinx, compared to 31% of those with only a high school degree.