A survey was conducted to determine if Hispanics accepted the use of the term "Latinx" to identify themselves. The survey was conducted among Hispanics residing in the U.S.

The population of Hispanics in the U.S. continues to increase as the years go by. Either they migrated in the country or they were born in the U.S. but their parents have Hispanic roots.

This led some of the researchers to conduct a survey if Hispanics prefer to use the term "Latinx" to give identity to themselves. 

(Photo : Unsplash/Omar Lopez)

The term "Latinx" is now widely used in different news outlets and social media. The term is a gender-neutral word to describe people of Latin American descent. There are instances also that a person identified himself or herself as part of the racial group even if one of their parents has a Hispanic origin. 

According to the survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, around 23 percent or less than a quarter of those who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino have even heard the term "Latinx." Moreover, Latinos used the term differently. 

Mark Hugo Lopez, the director of global migration and demography research at Pew Research Center, said" "Younger people, college-educated Hispanics and notably young Hispanic women were the ones most likely to say that they used the term 'Latinx' themselves to describe their identity."

The survey also revealed that more than half or 61 percent of people of Latin American descent used the term "Hispanic" and it is followed by the term "Latino" which is preferred by 29 percent. Additionally, left-leaning people seemed to have heard and used the term "Latinx."

The origin of the term "Hispanic" first appeared and used in the country in 1980 during a census while the term "Latino" appeared in 2000 after some members in the community resisted their association with the Hispanics and its connection to Spain. 

Latinx will not catch up soon

Lopez also explained that the awareness of the term "Latinx" is relatively low compared to the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino," The term "Latinx" is used until now as a gender-neutral word for Latinos and Latinas, according to a published report in The Washington Post.

The survey questionnaire has an open-ended question that asked the respondents how they view the term "Latinx," it was found out that 12 percent of them disagree and dislike the use of the term. Some claimed that the term is an "Anglicism" of the Spanish language.

Meanwhile, debates and criticisms about the word "Latinx" are not new anymore. In fact, it has been the subject of discussion on different social media sites. Some said that the term "Latinx" originated from the Whites and non-Hispanics. 

For Mexican American author David Bowles, he claimed that he was not surprised anymore over the result of the survey because he knows how slowly the language evolves, most especially from a marginalized group.

He also added that the term has arisen from the queer community. People from this community felt the need for the term that would stop the world into the gender binary. 

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