“Latino” or “Hispanic”? The Sociodemographic Correlates of Panethnic Label Preferences among US Latinos/Hispanics

• In Event: 1255 - Section on Latina/o Sociology Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 4. Identity Formation and Experiences

Abstract

Despite possessing different origins, the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are often used interchangeably to describe people with Latin American ancestry residing in the United States. However, public opinion polls consistently find that nearly half of US Latinos/Hispanics express a clear preference for one of these terms over the other. As such, what factors help explain Latinos’/Hispanics’ panethnic label preferences? We address this question by drawing on the Pew Research Center’s 2013 National Survey of Latinos, which is a nationally representative sample of 5,103 self-identifying Latinos/Hispanics. Overall, we find that men, college graduates, non-Mexicans (with the exception of Dominicans), and first- and second-generation immigrants (compared to third-generation immigrants or greater) are more likely to prefer the term “Latino” relative to “Hispanic.” Interestingly, we find that citizenship, age, language use, political affiliation, and one’s perception of the impact of undocumented immigration on Latinos/Hispanics do not help explain preference for one term over the other. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity literature. We also offer insights on how community organizers and policymakers might leverage these findings to improve their outreach efforts directed at Latinos/Hispanics for the purposes of collective action and political mobilization.

Authors

• Daniel E. Martinez, University of Arizona

• Kelsey E Gonzalez, The University of Arizona