Harvard-Georgetown report finds Latino-Americans ‘less likely’ to back politicians who call them ‘Latinx’
The two researchers see ‘Latinx’ as more ‘inclusive’ because of its gender-neutral nature, though most Latino-Americans do not like the term or are neutral to it.
The study also found that “Latinos who oppose ‘Latinx’ are less likely to support politicians who used or are associated with ‘Latinx.’”
Two professors from Harvard and Georgetown Universities have published a new report finding that “Latinos are less likely to support politicians who use ‘Latinx’” to refer to Latino-Americans.
The report, “The X Factor: How Group Labels Shape Politics,” was published on Monday by professors Amanda Sahar d’Urso of Georgetown and Marcel F. Roman of Harvard.
The term “Latinx,” which is used as a gender-neutral alternative to “Latino” and “Latina,” has been broadly criticized by the very groups it is applied to. An Aug. 4, 2021 report from Gallup also found that only four percent of Hispanic Americans prefer the term “Latinx.” In contrast, 23 percent prefer to be called “Hispanic,” 15 percent want to be called “Latino,” and 57 percent said it “does not matter.”
Multiple politicians have used the term “Latinx” in recent years, such as Vice President Kamala Harris, who used the term in her book “The Truths We Hold,” And President Joe Biden, who said in 2021 that “[i]t’s awful hard as well to get Latinx vaccinated.”
Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) attacked Democrats in 2022 who refuse to use the term “Latinx,” saying: “[A]nother person’s identity is not about your re-election prospects,” and claiming: “Gender is fluid, language is fluid. [You] don’t have to make drama over it.”
The “X Factor” report found that “Latinos are less likely to support politicians who use ‘Latinx,’” “Latinos who oppose ‘Latinx’ are less likely to support politicians who used or are associated with ‘Latinx,’” and “Latinos in areas where ‘Latinx’ is more salient are more likely to switch their vote toward Trump between 2016-2020.”
The two researchers claimed that “these statistical patterns are driven by Republican, conservative, and anti-LGBTQ+ Latinos,” whom they claimed may be “expect[ed] to be predisposed against the inclusion of queer and gender minority Latinxs.”
The report claims that the evidence “is consistent with a nascent literature suggesting negative predispositions toward LGBTQ+ people may motivate non-whites to adopt increasingly conservative political stances,” despite what the researchers allege is their “marginalized position on the ethno-racial hierarchy.”
The professors say they created a new “Identity-Expansion-Backlash Theory” to explain how “the use of more inclusive group labels [Like ‘Latinx’] by politicians may generate political backlash from relevant group members.” They assert “Latinx” is more “inclusive” because it includes “queer people and gender minorities” due to its gender neutrality.
Many colleges and universities have offered or are currently offering initiatives using the term “Latinx.”
[RELATED: UCLA hosting special LGBTQ, ‘Latinx,’ ‘Asian Pacific Islander’ graduations]
The University of Rochester is planning to offer a “Latin American, Caribbean, & Latinx Studies (LACX)” major.
Manhattanville University hosted a speaker funded by on Oct. 21 to discuss “Amplifying the Latinx Experience in Curricula, Conversation, and Community.”
Campus Reform has reached out to Professors Roman and d’Urso and to Harvard and Georgetown Universities for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
