Thread: Please Define: Latino/a Hispanic Chicano/a

I could use some education on the proper use of the terms Latino/Latina, Hispanic, and Chicano/Chicana.

I know that words ending in "a" are generally "feminine" and words ending in "o" are generally "masculine".

What I don't know is: who is what? Who is a Chicano? Who is an Hispanic? and Who is a Latino?

I think I have been using these terms interchangeably and I guess that is incorrect.

I'm not interested in political correctness, but I would like to use these terms appropriately so that any debating I do will be more accurate.

I'm trying to get educated and I strive for ACCURACY, so your help is appreciated.

GHU,

Here is a pretty good site.

http://www.azteca.net/aztec/chicano.html

I think all sodas are Cokes.

Dixie

Oh, Thank you Dixie. I'll go there and see what it says.

Might be that all the latin people i ever meet that were from somewhere besides Mexico hated being called a mexican.It a big insult to them

OMG, I went to the link suggested and became even more confused. lol
I have no idea how to determine who came from where. Surely there is a single term that encompasses all people from South of the Border?! Well, I can think of one, but I'm quite sure I couldn't use that one. lol

Both “latino” and “hispanic” are made up terms. There is no such thing as a “latino” or “hispanic” race. These are contrived and used solely for census purposes.

There is no country called “latinolandia” nor is there a “hispanolandia”.
There is a Hispaniola which is an island in the Caribbean. Half of which is the Dominican Republic and the other half is Haiti.

When I hear someone use this term I always ask "where are you from?". Since it doesn’t mean anything.

I think it was made up by “la raza” for some reason.

This term is mostly used in the United States.

I would rather hear where they were born or where their ancestors came from than hear "Latino"

mavi thanks for the info. I guess I'm trying to lump them all together for the sake of discussion or debate. Apparently they don't like that.

I was downtown several hours ago and asked if the person in front of me in the line at the gas station was an Hispanic. I received a very sharp reply "NO, I'M A CHICANO." Not knowing what I had said that upset him so much, I asked no further questions. In contrast, if someone asked if I were a Scot or a German, I would have said "No, I'm an AMERICAN." Which I think illustrates the major differences between many of them and most of us.

I was born in Cuba and am an American by the Grace of God.

I do take offense when people want to lump everyone together.

If your ancestors were English and I called you a German you may not like it. Not because there is anything necessarily wrong with Germans, just that you are not one of them.

I would never disrespect this Country nor its Founding Fathers by burning an American flag nor would I do anything to favor another Country over the USA.

I grew up here, my children were born here, and this is the Country to whom I owe my loyalty. I do care what happens in Cuba and would like the Communists out...but this is where my life is.

Do you refer to yourself as a Cuban-American? Because I don't ever refer to myself as a German-American. I see no point in doing so. I figure "American" is enough explanation. But, to each his own.

http://www.answers.com/main/ntquery?s=w ... ano&gwp=13