Why is the term Hispanic used as an ethnic category instead of Mestizo?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, that's n interesting but loaded question (but you knew that). You are also generalizing in a way that kind of undermines your point. A lot of the brownness of the Caribbean, for example is African not indigenous.

I am not splitting hairs here--these differences lay at the heart of your question. When the term "Hispanic" was in vogue--which it isn't really anymore--people likes it because it unified people's of different ancestry through their language--Spanish. Brazilians were never included. For a while the term was used more specifically for US-born people of Latin American decent as opposed to "Latin Americans." Even when almost everyone said "hispanic" academic circles lots of people preferred "Latino" because it harkened back much farther... skipping the conquering nations AND because it included speakers of other languages like the Brazilians.

All that said, people don't use "mestizo" because... it is a totally dated term that was common at a time when the social hierarchies were fixed and being "mestizo" was inferior to "criollo" which was inferior to European and so on and so forth. Why would anyone bring back a term from that time? Bizarre. It sounds as dated as saying "Moor"... or actually, what it really sounds like is saying "why doesn't anybody say 'mulatto' anymore?"

Ok, racially what would you consider the typical Mexican to be? The stereotypical Mexican with dark skin, brown eyes, and black hair? If asked to name that person's race, most White and I'm assuming Black Americans would say Hispanic (maybe Latino), but technically that's not correct because a Mexican of 100% Spanish descent is also Hispanic but is White. It just seems to make more sense to use the term Mestizo when describing the race of a stereotypical looking Mexican, because Hispanic could be White, Black or Mestizo.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The discussion on the Entertainment board regarding whether Giselle Bundchen is Hispanic got me thinking, why is the term Hispanic used instead of Mestizo? The category of Hispanic is so broad that it is practically meaningless. Technically a person of any race who hails from a Spanish/Portuguese speaking country of Central/South America is Hispanic. But in reality, I think most people tend to think of Hispanic as a brown person from one of these countries. and not all Hispanics are brown. The brown ones are a mix of American Indian and European ancestry. They are Mestizo. These are the people who others can identify as being Hispanic and are more likely to experience racism. When people speak of Hispanic as a racial category they are generally referring to those who have the American Indian ancestry, not someone from Mexico who has practically 100% Spanish ancestry. It just seems that the official definition of Hispanic does not match the reality of what people actually consider Hispanic. What people consider to be Hispanic is actually Mestizo, so why don't we start using that term instead?

OP, good question, but your answers make no sense.

The main point to keep in mind is that being Hispanic/ Latino is an ethnicity -- your culture, your values, your historic references, your social links, your language and music and food.

It has nothing to do with race.

And, yes, this is difficult for race-obsessed Anglos to understand, but it's pretty much the norm not only in Latin America but in many other regions.

Perhaps many in our country could learn a thing or two from them.

I get this. But most whites don't consider indigenous looking Hispanics to be White and I doubt that they consider themselves white either. And most people don't feel comfortable referring to someone like Giselle as Hispanic because she's white. So why isn't the term Mestizo used more often sense it seems to be a more accurate descriptor?

since

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The discussion on the Entertainment board regarding whether Giselle Bundchen is Hispanic got me thinking, why is the term Hispanic used instead of Mestizo? The category of Hispanic is so broad that it is practically meaningless. Technically a person of any race who hails from a Spanish/Portuguese speaking country of Central/South America is Hispanic. But in reality, I think most people tend to think of Hispanic as a brown person from one of these countries. and not all Hispanics are brown. The brown ones are a mix of American Indian and European ancestry. They are Mestizo. These are the people who others can identify as being Hispanic and are more likely to experience racism. When people speak of Hispanic as a racial category they are generally referring to those who have the American Indian ancestry, not someone from Mexico who has practically 100% Spanish ancestry. It just seems that the official definition of Hispanic does not match the reality of what people actually consider Hispanic. What people consider to be Hispanic is actually Mestizo, so why don't we start using that term instead?

OP, good question, but your answers make no sense.

The main point to keep in mind is that being Hispanic/ Latino is an ethnicity -- your culture, your values, your historic references, your social links, your language and music and food.

It has nothing to do with race.

And, yes, this is difficult for race-obsessed Anglos to understand, but it's pretty much the norm not only in Latin America but in many other regions.

Perhaps many in our country could learn a thing or two from them.

I get this. But most whites don't consider indigenous looking Hispanics to be White and I doubt that they consider themselves white either. And most people don't feel comfortable referring to someone like Giselle as Hispanic because she's white. So why isn't the term Mestizo used more often sense it seems to be a more accurate descriptor?

You're mixing everything.

For you, race comes first.

For us, culture comes first.

Hispanics are not defined by skin color. There are white Hispanics, black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics (Peru even had one as President), and everything in between.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The discussion on the Entertainment board regarding whether Giselle Bundchen is Hispanic got me thinking, why is the term Hispanic used instead of Mestizo? The category of Hispanic is so broad that it is practically meaningless. Technically a person of any race who hails from a Spanish/Portuguese speaking country of Central/South America is Hispanic. But in reality, I think most people tend to think of Hispanic as a brown person from one of these countries. and not all Hispanics are brown. The brown ones are a mix of American Indian and European ancestry. They are Mestizo. These are the people who others can identify as being Hispanic and are more likely to experience racism. When people speak of Hispanic as a racial category they are generally referring to those who have the American Indian ancestry, not someone from Mexico who has practically 100% Spanish ancestry. It just seems that the official definition of Hispanic does not match the reality of what people actually consider Hispanic. What people consider to be Hispanic is actually Mestizo, so why don't we start using that term instead?

OP, good question, but your answers make no sense.

The main point to keep in mind is that being Hispanic/ Latino is an ethnicity -- your culture, your values, your historic references, your social links, your language and music and food.

It has nothing to do with race.

And, yes, this is difficult for race-obsessed Anglos to understand, but it's pretty much the norm not only in Latin America but in many other regions.

Perhaps many in our country could learn a thing or two from them.

I get this. But most whites don't consider indigenous looking Hispanics to be White and I doubt that they consider themselves white either. And most people don't feel comfortable referring to someone like Giselle as Hispanic because she's white. So why isn't the term Mestizo used more often sense it seems to be a more accurate descriptor?

You're mixing everything.

For you, race comes first.

For us, culture comes first.

Hispanics are not defined by skin color. There are white Hispanics, black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics (Peru even had one as President), and everything in between.

This isn't a race comes first thing. I'm not trying to say anything along the lines of race is more important than culture. But it's really more that I find it odd that there doesn't seem to be a commonly used accurate word for the people that most of the world tends to consider as "looking Hispanic". Technically they are Mestizos, so why isn't the word more in use?

[Anonymous]

I’m trying to understand why anyone would think Giselle B isn’t Hispanic just because she’s white. Are Afro Caribbean Hispanics now less Hispanic too? This is ridiculous.

Hispanic refers to a culture and it doesn’t matter what color you are, you’re either part of that culture or you’re not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to understand why anyone would think Giselle B isn’t Hispanic just because she’s white. Are Afro Caribbean Hispanics now less Hispanic too? This is ridiculous.

Hispanic refers to a culture and it doesn’t matter what color you are, you’re either part of that culture or you’re not.

+1.

I think OP is the typical American racist who truly can't understand why others are not as racist as he is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The discussion on the Entertainment board regarding whether Giselle Bundchen is Hispanic got me thinking, why is the term Hispanic used instead of Mestizo? The category of Hispanic is so broad that it is practically meaningless. Technically a person of any race who hails from a Spanish/Portuguese speaking country of Central/South America is Hispanic. But in reality, I think most people tend to think of Hispanic as a brown person from one of these countries. and not all Hispanics are brown. The brown ones are a mix of American Indian and European ancestry. They are Mestizo. These are the people who others can identify as being Hispanic and are more likely to experience racism. When people speak of Hispanic as a racial category they are generally referring to those who have the American Indian ancestry, not someone from Mexico who has practically 100% Spanish ancestry. It just seems that the official definition of Hispanic does not match the reality of what people actually consider Hispanic. What people consider to be Hispanic is actually Mestizo, so why don't we start using that term instead?

OP, good question, but your answers make no sense.

The main point to keep in mind is that being Hispanic/ Latino is an ethnicity -- your culture, your values, your historic references, your social links, your language and music and food.

It has nothing to do with race.

And, yes, this is difficult for race-obsessed Anglos to understand, but it's pretty much the norm not only in Latin America but in many other regions.

Perhaps many in our country could learn a thing or two from them.

I get this. But most whites don't consider indigenous looking Hispanics to be White and I doubt that they consider themselves white either. And most people don't feel comfortable referring to someone like Giselle as Hispanic because she's white. So why isn't the term Mestizo used more often sense it seems to be a more accurate descriptor?

You're mixing everything.

For you, race comes first.

For us, culture comes first.

Hispanics are not defined by skin color. There are white Hispanics, black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics (Peru even had one as President), and everything in between.

This isn't a race comes first thing. I'm not trying to say anything along the lines of race is more important than culture. But it's really more that I find it odd that there doesn't seem to be a commonly used accurate word for the people that most of the world tends to consider as "looking Hispanic". Technically they are Mestizos, so why isn't the word more in use?

Because only someone truly ignorant and racist would believe there's a definitive Hispanic look.

Fortunately this is not a common mental disorder.

[Anonymous]

Funny, I’m a completely European DNA white American and Hispanics consistently mistake me for Hispanic for various cultural reasons. So maybe, OP, you think Hispanics look like mixed white/Indians and you’ve not been exposed to the other Latin hues (which is pretty diverse). But “Hispanic” is a more apt term for this racially diverse ethnicity. Also, just a tip. Don’t be that white person who bequeaths names to categorize brown people. It’s really not a good look.

[Anonymous]

I'm reading this with much interest and will ask my family tomorrow. As a "meztiza" with brown skin, black hair, mixed native american and spanish, my family has always called referred to ourselves (itself?) as "hispanos". Here in the US I use Hispanic and Latina interchangeably. I don't really care.

One of the threads touched on this but there is a lot of racism against Indians in our countries. Calling someone an Indian is an insult and many people have tried to distance themselves from their roots. The racism is disgusting and terrible. That may have something to do with it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading this with much interest and will ask my family tomorrow. As a "meztiza" with brown skin, black hair, mixed native american and spanish, my family has always called referred to ourselves (itself?) as "hispanos". Here in the US I use Hispanic and Latina interchangeably. I don't really care.

One of the threads touched on this but there is a lot of racism against Indians in our countries. Calling someone an Indian is an insult and many people have tried to distance themselves from their roots. The racism is disgusting and terrible. That may have something to do with it.

Admittedly, I don't know why people from the Americas use this term - ie, Indian to refer to Indigenous, or American Indian instead of Native American (or specific tribe).

Indian = a person from India, and the Indian Subcontinent in South Asia. Someone who has mixed heritage and immigrants in their background, may call themselves "Indian American."

Anything else referring to people with deep roots in the Americas seems offensive and dumb. It's confusing for people who are actually from India, and it's borrowed from Columbus' screwup.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to understand why anyone would think Giselle B isn’t Hispanic just because she’s white. Are Afro Caribbean Hispanics now less Hispanic too? This is ridiculous.

Hispanic refers to a culture and it doesn’t matter what color you are, you’re either part of that culture or you’re not.

+1.

I think OP is the typical American racist who truly can't understand why others are not as racist as he is.

OP here. I am not racist nor did I ever question whether Giselle is Hispanic. I know that Hispanic refers to culture and that Whites, Blacks, and Mestizos can all be considered Hispanic. But in practicality the term is often used as a racial category. You will hear people describe a Mexican's race as being Hispanic, even though that is not accurate because Hispanic is not a race. What is commonly thought of as looking Hispanic is in actuality Mestizo. So why isn't the phrase in use?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to understand why anyone would think Giselle B isn’t Hispanic just because she’s white. Are Afro Caribbean Hispanics now less Hispanic too? This is ridiculous.

Hispanic refers to a culture and it doesn’t matter what color you are, you’re either part of that culture or you’re not.

+1.

I think OP is the typical American racist who truly can't understand why others are not as racist as he is.

OP here. I am not racist nor did I ever question whether Giselle is Hispanic. I know that Hispanic refers to culture and that Whites, Blacks, and Mestizos can all be considered Hispanic. But in practicality the term is often used as a racial category. You will hear people describe a Mexican's race as being Hispanic, even though that is not accurate because Hispanic is not a race. What is commonly thought of as looking Hispanic is in actuality Mestizo. So why isn't the phrase in use?

ETA, You will hear police reports referring to a suspect as a "Hispanic Male" Do you think they are looking for someone with Giselle's coloring?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m trying to understand why anyone would think Giselle B isn’t Hispanic just because she’s white. Are Afro Caribbean Hispanics now less Hispanic too? This is ridiculous.

Hispanic refers to a culture and it doesn’t matter what color you are, you’re either part of that culture or you’re not.

+1.

I think OP is the typical American racist who truly can't understand why others are not as racist as he is.

OP here. I am not racist nor did I ever question whether Giselle is Hispanic. I know that Hispanic refers to culture and that Whites, Blacks, and Mestizos can all be considered Hispanic. But in practicality the term is often used as a racial category. You will hear people describe a Mexican's race as being Hispanic, even though that is not accurate because Hispanic is not a race. What is commonly thought of as looking Hispanic is in actuality Mestizo. So why isn't the phrase in use?

Because it refers to a fraction of the Hispanic population and sounds dated and silky like “mulatto”. What’s in it for you with this, anyway? Why do you care? And are you going to find esoteric names for people who are Italian/Indian, German/Indian, German/Afro Caribbean, etc? When are you going to be satisfied that we have correctly categorized all our racial specimens?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The discussion on the Entertainment board regarding whether Giselle Bundchen is Hispanic got me thinking, why is the term Hispanic used instead of Mestizo? The category of Hispanic is so broad that it is practically meaningless. Technically a person of any race who hails from a Spanish/Portuguese speaking country of Central/South America is Hispanic. But in reality, I think most people tend to think of Hispanic as a brown person from one of these countries. and not all Hispanics are brown. The brown ones are a mix of American Indian and European ancestry. They are Mestizo. These are the people who others can identify as being Hispanic and are more likely to experience racism. When people speak of Hispanic as a racial category they are generally referring to those who have the American Indian ancestry, not someone from Mexico who has practically 100% Spanish ancestry. It just seems that the official definition of Hispanic does not match the reality of what people actually consider Hispanic. What people consider to be Hispanic is actually Mestizo, so why don't we start using that term instead?

OP, good question, but your answers make no sense.

The main point to keep in mind is that being Hispanic/ Latino is an ethnicity -- your culture, your values, your historic references, your social links, your language and music and food.

It has nothing to do with race.

And, yes, this is difficult for race-obsessed Anglos to understand, but it's pretty much the norm not only in Latin America but in many other regions.

Perhaps many in our country could learn a thing or two from them.

I get this. But most whites don't consider indigenous looking Hispanics to be White and I doubt that they consider themselves white either. And most people don't feel comfortable referring to someone like Giselle as Hispanic because she's white. So why isn't the term Mestizo used more often sense it seems to be a more accurate descriptor?

You're mixing everything.

For you, race comes first.

For us, culture comes first.

Hispanics are not defined by skin color. There are white Hispanics, black Hispanics, Asian Hispanics (Peru even had one as President), and everything in between.

This isn't a race comes first thing. I'm not trying to say anything along the lines of race is more important than culture. But it's really more that I find it odd that there doesn't seem to be a commonly used accurate word for the people that most of the world tends to consider as "looking Hispanic". Technically they are Mestizos, so why isn't the word more in use?

Because only someone truly ignorant and racist would believe there's a definitive Hispanic look.

Fortunately this is not a common mental disorder.

Ok, take a Mexican who looks like Erik Estrada. If asked, what do you think most people would describe his race as being?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm reading this with much interest and will ask my family tomorrow. As a "meztiza" with brown skin, black hair, mixed native american and spanish, my family has always called referred to ourselves (itself?) as "hispanos". Here in the US I use Hispanic and Latina interchangeably. I don't really care.

One of the threads touched on this but there is a lot of racism against Indians in our countries. Calling someone an Indian is an insult and many people have tried to distance themselves from their roots. The racism is disgusting and terrible. That may have something to do with it.

Admittedly, I don't know why people from the Americas use this term - ie, Indian to refer to Indigenous, or American Indian instead of Native American (or specific tribe).

Indian = a person from India, and the Indian Subcontinent in South Asia. Someone who has mixed heritage and immigrants in their background, may call themselves "Indian American."

Anything else referring to people with deep roots in the Americas seems offensive and dumb. It's confusing for people who are actually from India, and it's borrowed from Columbus' screwup.

Are you the Indian from the other thread? We use the name Indian/Indio because when Christopher Columbus and the conquistadores came they called the Native Americans "Indians", "Indios". I mean this nicely, but the name is pretty much stuck since it's been used since 1492. It's not confusing.