“Latino Identities and Ethnicities” Encyclopedia Entry

“Latino Identities and Ethnicities” Encyclopedia Entry

Oboler, Suzanne and Deena J. González, Editors-in-Chief.

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States, Vol. 2, (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 2005).

U.S. Latinos and Latinas are directly and indirectly affected by the terms and labels that identify them both within their communities and in the larger U.S. society. In this essay we define some of these terms and trace the ways they have been used in various historical periods. Our aim is to show the multiple meanings and values they have acquired in different contexts. We point to the complexity of identity in a country in which racial and ethnic paradigms have historically eclipsed class and status considerations. Finally, we present an overview of the ways that Latinos and Latinas have in turn struggled to define themselves through discourse and language against racializing and injurious terms. As we explain below, in discussing terminology it is essential to recognize that Latinos and Latinas are not a homogeneous community. Moreover, the ways in which different groups and individuals choose their identities through the various labels reveal their multiple historical experiences, their political ideologies, their economic and social status positions, and their national and cultural identities. Together, these shape the diversity of the U.S. Latino and Latina community.