Latine Studies Subject Guide

Latino, Latina, Latin@

Commonly used adjectives in books, book chapters, articles, and mass media that allow gender binaries of masculine (o), feminine (a) and masculine/feminine (@). Latino as an adjective reflects the acceptance of the -o ending in Spanish to describe a group of people that includes men; men and women; or as a default when gender is not specified. Latin@ is used to encompass masculine and feminine.

Latinx, Latine 

Latinx and Latine originated as categories by and for transgender and gender-diverse individuals. They have come into wider use as a form of rejecting masculine/feminine gender binaries when labeling a group that encompasses diverse gender identities. Latine is a more recent development than Latinx that reflects a preference to use the "e" rather than the "x" because it is easier to pronounce in speech. Both tend to be used in progressive and activist-leaning publications, whether academic or popular/ mass media. At present, you are more likely to find Latinx in academic publications and databases than Latine.

Hispanic

Term used by the U.S. Government to collect census data, thus a common keyword in demography, politics and media. It is also a term that many use to self-identify, along with the Spanish hispana/o.

Hispanic Americans

Key term to use when looking for books, since this continues to be the standard Library of Congress subject heading used to catalog books about Latines in the United States. 

Chicano, Chicana,  Chicanx, Chicane

Refers to Mexican-Americans, particularly in relation to activist movements of the 20th century

Mexican-American, Mexican Americans

Cuban-American, Cuban-Americans

Venezuelan-American, Venezuelan-Americans

etc.

Hyphenated nationalities are commonly used across publications and in Library of Congress subject headings.

Puerto Rican, Puerto Ricans

Commonly used across publications, including Library of Congress subject headings. Also try boricua, which may appear in titles and texts, but not subject headings.

Cubans --- United States

Mexicans --- United States

Venezuelans --- United States

Colombians --- United States

etc.

Try subject searches for nationality AND United States when looking for academic resources.

Afro-Latino, Afro-Latina, Afro-Latinx, Afro-Latine

Terms used to describe people of both African and Latin American descent. Not a Library of Congress subject heading. 

African-American, African-Americans

Library of Congress subject heading that may be used in combination with others for books about Afro-Latines, e.g. African-Americans AND Hispanic-Americans.

Black, Blacks

Library of Congress subject heading that may be used in combination with others for books about Afro-Latines, e.g. Blacks AND Hispanic-Americans, Blacks AND Colombia, Blacks AND Brazil...