A majority of Mexican Americans polled say they are comfortable with the term "Latinx" while nearly two out of three Central Americans say they are not, according to an Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll in partnership with Noticias Telemundo.
The big picture: Latinx, a term meant to be gender-neutral and inclusive, has grown in popularity among younger people in the U.S. while facing backlash from others.
- Academic, LGBTQ activists and social media circles began using Latinx over the last decade, saying it is more inclusive of members of the LGBTQ community and women.
By the numbers: About 50% of the 1,005 U.S. Latino adults surveyed said they were comfortable with people using Latinx to refer to people of Spanish-speaking origin in the United States, the poll shows.
- Around 53% of Mexican Americans say the gender-neutral term was fine, the only majority of the Latino ethnic groups surveyed to endorse the identification. Mexican Americans are the largest Latino group in the U.S.
- Just 35% of Central Americans said they were comfortable with Latinx.
- 47% of Puerto Ricans and 42% of Cuban Americans said they approved.
Yes, but: Other surveys show that only around 3% actually use the term.
- Elected officials, a major newspaper and the oldest Latino civil rights organization in recent months have spoken out against the continued use of Latinx.
- "When Latino politicos use the term it is largely to appease white rich progressives who think that is the term we use. It is a vicious circle of confirmation bias," Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), head of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus' campaign arm, tweeted in December.
The intrigue: The Axios-Ipsos Latino Poll also showed that 89% of those surveyed were comfortable with the term Latino.
- 89% were also comfortable with the term Hispanic.
- Only 34% were comfortable with the term BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color).
Go deeper: Latinos are highly accepting of members of LGBTQ community, poll finds
Methodology: This Axios/Ipsos Latino Poll, in partnership with Noticias Telemundo, was conducted March 7-18 2021, by Ipsos' KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,005 Hispanic/Latino adults age 18 or older.
- The margin of sampling error is ±3.7 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample.
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