do you think calling hispanics "latinos" is incorrect?

Question

i personally think theres nothing wrong with it - a majority of hispanics call themselves latinos (from what ive seen/know) and i dont think the "white man" can tell them that what they call themselves in politically incorrect. (in response to something i read not just toward whhites but thats where ive heard most of this)

Answer 1

It actually isn't incorrect. If you look in a dictionary the definitions of hispanics and latinos mean the same. I'm a hispanic and I had the same question and I looked it up in the dictionary.

Answer 2

Supposedly, "hispanic" can only be properly applied in a cultural context, whereas "latino" has broader linguistic and anthropological implications (It is very fuzzy and I have heard many views saying many different things) Personally, I think both terms are defunct but necessary. If your from Spain, some would have you labeled "Hispanic" for you are Spainish-speaking, wheras if you were from Brazil and happened to be mestizo / multatto and have that "hispanic look" (if there exists such a silly non-anthropological phrase!) some would say you are not hispanic (but rather, latino) Its very confusing and even the authorities (anthro journals, etc.) on the subject cannot reach concensus.

Answer 3

None of the 2 words is bad. Simply use them the right way. Hispanic is someone that has Spanish as the native language. Latino (In the USA) is someone that was born in Latin America. What really makes me angry is using the 2 words as if they're races. There are lost of "white men" in Latin America.

Answer 4

Well there's nothing wrong in calling us Hispanics "Latinos", in the end if someone gets offended by this they are just ignorant. Spanish is a Latin tongue (derived from Latin).
Maybe it depends on the tone, you can make something that's not bad sound like an insult.

Answer 5

You know, Occam's Razor? it states that the simplest solution often is the best one. And in this case, we call white's white because they have a lighter skin color than the "blacks" that have a darker skin color. Another word for white is also Caucasian, if I spelled that right ^^ Well it doesn't strike me that black people now is politically incorrect. Not to long ago,(well ok its a long time ago) people used to say n e g r 0 or the now aggresive "N 1 g g e r". The poltical correct is suppose to be Afro-American. But then.. what are africans that live in say.... Germany? Afro-Germans?

Answer 6

Well, a close friend of mine - who is white - used to date Latino men exclusively (she was just really attracted to them). I've actually never heard her use the word hispanic to refer to them. She always calls them Latinos.

Answer 7

Call them whatever you want as long as it's not derrogitory... ie Mexicans, Latinos, Hispanics. Quit worrying about pissing everyone off. How come the "white man" is the only one who is expected to be sensitive to other races? In my opinion there is too much sensitivity in america.

Answer 8

Hispanic means "Spanish speaking" and Latino means "from Latin America" so the 2 terms are not necessarily interchangeable. Someone who is hispanic isn´t necessarily from Latin America and someone who is Latin American doesn´t necessarily speak Spanish (ie Brazilians, French Guianans).

The terms "hispanic" and "latino" aren´t racial terms because they don´t refer to skin color.

Answer 9

"Latino" is a misnomer, as not all Latin peoples are represented (French & Italians espec.). If you really want to get into something incorrect, calling all "white" people "Anglo" is a good way to tick off the Irish and other, non-English, European groups.

Answer 10

It depends on who is using the term - if it's meant in a friendly or degrading way.

I have noticed that people of this background refer to themselves as "latino" and people of ango backgrounds are more likely to refer to them as "hispanic".