Hispanics Completely Reject the Left’s “Latinx” Term for Them

Well, this is embarrassing.

According to a new poll from Pew Research, only 23% of Hispanic adults are even aware that the left has dreamed up a new, gender-neutral term for them. While the word “Latinx” has gained favor with Democratic politicians, Twitter activists, and even some circles of the mainstream media, it is not catching on with the actual people this term is meant to identify.

Indeed, while only about a quarter of Hispanics are aware of the term, only 3% actually employ it. And if you know anything about polling, a number like 3% might as well be zero. For all the left’s traditional success when it comes to changing the way we talk, it looks like this one has been an abysmal failure.

From the Washington Free Beacon:

The term, which proponents employ as a gender-neutral variant of “Latino” and “Latina,” has gained widespread currency in recent years among corporations, universities, and progressive politicians. But, Pew finds, few Latino adults themselves either use it or even recognize it.

Those most likely to do so are Latinos under 30, those with a college degree, and self-identified Democrats. Least likely are foreign-born Latinos and those who speak primarily Spanish. The overwhelming majority of all respondents think terms like “Hispanic” or “Latino” are more appropriate.

The word was adopted by high-powered Democrats in the 2020 election cycle, including vice-presidential hopefuls Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) and Kamala Harris (D., Calif.). That the term is little known except by the young and well-educated suggests that such language choices reflect more the priorities of progressives’ young, ideologically motivated base than of Hispanic Americans writ large.

Duh.

This is, in fact, the usual way in which these things happen. It wasn’t Native Americans who were upset about the name of the Washington NFL team – it was busybody leftists who wanted them to get rid of the Redskins name. We doubt that there are many actual Native Americans who care all that much about Mount Rushmore – again, it’s the left that wants to tear it down, mostly as a way of getting back at Trump.

And it’s certainly not Hispanics who want to be identified as “Latinx” – it’s a group of progressives who are determined to impose 0.5% of the population’s demands on the rest of America.

Liberals usually win these identity politics wars because everyone just sorta meekly submits to the “well, if that’s what you want, then I guess it’s fine” way of thinking. It’s refreshing to see that, this time at least, there is some pushback against a term that is insulting, unnecessary, and culturally ignorant. If we could get this kind of resistance to the rest of the left’s efforts to change the language, we would be a lot better off as a nation.