Identity: When Being “Hispanic” Doesn’t Tell Everything About Who You Are
by Samantha Jiménez
“All generalizations are dangerous, even this one.”
― Alexandre Dumas-fils
When I moved to the United States five years ago, I rarely identified myself as Hispanic on first impulse when asked about my roots. And when anyone asked about my origins when traveling abroad, my answer was and has always been: Mexican. It was only when I arrived to the United States that I was informed that I belonged to this growing and generic mass of people and as such I should identify myself as Hispanic or Latino. Now, don’t get me wrong. Every Latin American country is proud to have a common ground based in language and history. Spanish is part of the very basic DNA in Hispanic cultures. It was not being categorized as Hispanic what felt a bit awkward to me. It was that by doing so, my identity as Mexican —with all its traits and nuances— faded.
Recently, a Pew nationwide survey found out that in the United States, Hispanic identity continues to be most rooted in family country of origin while the terms Latino and Hispanic are not as top of mind. Well, I could have told you so without a survey. Let’s think for a moment in Europe. If you ask people from Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany about their origins it’s very likely that the answer will not be “European” but rather Belgian, Dutch, and German. Identity by country of origin is strongly embedded in each of us. More than any other classification, like language.
What comes as unexpected to me is that people here in the U.S. are surprised about Hispanics not feeling comfortable defining themselves as part of a generic “Latino Mass” conformed of people from all Latin American countries without distinction.
It has been decades since the United States government has used the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” to categorize people who trace their roots to Spanish-speaking countries. In its classification system, the federal government recognizes just one ethnic group, Hispanic/Latino, which it defines as follows: “A person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.” So I can see where this generalization came from. Yet it’s not making people from Hispanic descent feel very comfortable.
Here are some interesting finds of the Pew Hispanic Center survey:
- 24% of Hispanic adults 18+ say they most often identify themselves by “Hispanic” or “Latino”
- 51% say they identify themselves most often by their family’s country or place of origin—using such terms as Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Salvadoran or Dominican
- 75% describe themselves by their cultural roots (country of origin or Hispanic/Latino)
- Only 21% say they use the term “American” most often to describe themselves
So yes, Latinos in the U.S. have many different cultures rather than a collective culture. We all come from different countries, each of which has its very own distinctive values, traits, and richness.
Now, let’s talk about our strong shared connection to the Spanish language:
- 82% of Latino adults say they speak Spanish
- 95% say it is important for future generations to continue to doing so
- 51% say they have no preference between the terms “Latino” or “Hispanic”
- From the remaining 49%, 33% say they prefer Hispanic and 14% say they prefer Latino
I’m aware that maybe this topic is more relevant to me given that I am an immigrant living in the United States and my ethnicity and origin has been defined in a certain way before I came to this country. The survey also showed that millennials are more relaxed in terms of identifying themselves according to family’s country of origin:
- Among first-generation (or immigrant) Hispanics, 62% say they most often use their family’s country of origin to describe themselves
- Among second-generation Hispanics, the share using their family’s country of origin falls to 43%
- And among third-generation Hispanics, the share falls to just 28%—less than half that seen among immigrant Hispanics
The survey also found out that Hispanics are divided about the degree to which they feel a common identity with other Americans.
- 47% say they think of themselves as “a typical American”
- 53% say they think of themselves as “very different” from a typical American
These responses vary sharply by immigrant status. Among foreign-born Hispanics:
- 34% think of themselves as a typical American
- 66% among the younger native born think of themselves as a typical American
At more than 50 million strong, Hispanics make up 16% of the U.S. population. Therefore, it is not surprising that singular labels for race and ethnicity are not universally embraced by this diverse demographic. Cultural nuances should be considered when reaching Spanish-speaking or Spanish-preferred audiences. With more insights into the Spanish-speaking U.S. Latino demographic, marketers can craft more meaningful and measurable campaigns and content.
Next time you think about the Hispanic demographic, know that we all come from different backgrounds, even if Spanish unites us. Don’t be scared and please do take a plunge in finding out about cultural nuances between Latin American cultures. You will learn a lot and perhaps you’ll also get invited to try new wonderful things from tamales and arepas to aguardiente and mate.
Sources: Pew Hispanic Center, tr3s 2011 Hispanic Millennial Study, Maximo Report 2012 by Motivo Insights and NGLC.