Chictlinoispanic?

There is quite a bit of confusion surrounding what the politically correct term is to use when referring to people of Spanish speaking decent. Which classification is correct? Hispanic? Latino/a? Chicano/a? Although many people use these terms interchangeably, they are in fact not the same. Each term has its own history and group of people that identify themselves as such.

Chicano/a-

The term Chicano typically refers to people of Mexican descent, however, the term has not always been welcomed by Mexican-Americans. In the 1960s, there was a great deal of prejudice against Mexican Americans, and Chicano was a derogatory term meaning the “poorest of the poor.” As the civil rights movement carried on, Mexican Americans began using the term Chicano as a political empowerment tool to unite their community and fight against prejudice.

Latino/a-

The term Latino or Latina generally refers the geographic location of Latin America. This is the term that is most commonly used interchangeably with Hispanic however they are indeed quite different. For example, Brazil is part of Latin America; however Portuguese is spoken there meaning Brazilians are Latino but not Hispanic. Latinos can also derive from areas of Europe that have Latin influence. This includes Spain but is not limited to France, Italy, and Portugal that all have strong Latin roots.

Hispanic-

The term Hispanic has been used in America since the 1970s when it first appeared on the US census to lump together people living in America with a Spanish speaking decent. It wasn’t until 1990 however when it appeared as an ethnic option. Later in the 2000s, the US noticed a large spike in the population of Hispanics in the United States and the term became widely used.

Now what is the correct term to use?

Both Latino and Hispanic are usually pretty safe to use, but since Hispanic is the most general term, this is the safest one to use because you cannot always tell which country someone is from just by looking at them. If you use Chicano, you could offend older generation Mexicans who may still associate it with the prejudice they faced or you may also offend someone who is not from Mexico. There is debate against whether to use Latino or Hispanic, and Latino is often socially accepted, however, people’s opinions about this team are as strong as they are varied. If someone corrects you, just use that term, and if you know their exact country of origin then identify them as such. For example, if you know the person you are talking to or marketing to is from Ecuador, then calling them Ecuadorian would be more respectful  than calling them Hispanic or Latino. That aside, when marketing to a large group of people, you do not always get people from the same country of origin so for the sake of this blog we will use “Hispanic.”

When reaching out to the Hispanic market, it is important to know how it feels to be “Hispanic.” There are about 25 countries in this world that either have Spanish as an official language or a strong Spanish Language influence. This means that Hispanics are deriving their ancestry from any of these twenty-some countries. Since the term Hispanic is self-identifiable, a valuable thing to comprehend is the rich ethnic diversities that give the Hispanic community its cultural identity.

Ethnicity is important to any culture, and it is no different with the dynamic concept of “Hispanics.” Realizing that there may not be a precise classification for the term will help you to understand the cultural complexity of the community and focus that into your campaign.

Cultural Linguistics

A common generalization

“Hispanic” is a term that has been used frequently in the United States since 2000, when the U.S. Census first began to notice a spike in population and influence from this community. It is important to realize that the term is a general ethnicity, and is not an actual race. In reality, Hispanics themselves are very culturally diverse and originate from many different countries and races.

The term Hispanic encompasses any person identifying themselves as such, and therefore it is not an indefinite label. Generally, people who identify as Hispanic derive from Spanish speaking counties of South and Central America, including surrounding Islands and sometimes Spain.

Understanding diversity

When marketing to this multifarious community it is important to understand that although they grouped together for statistical purposes, Hispanics are indeed very diverse. It is perfectly acceptable, and encouraged, to reach this entire community in your campaign, however realizing the complexity of the population is vital.

Just as understanding your audience is important; understanding the cultures and beliefs within that audience is just as vital. Hispanics are a multitude of different cultures and those diversities are what make them so dynamic as a target market.

A tool for the trade

Geert Hofstede, a cultural researcher and expert, developed a cultural ranking system designed to aid with intercultural business interactions. According to Hofstede, the culture of a country can be divided into four dimensions that dictate the way they conduct business. The four characteristics include Uncertainty Avoidance, which is a society’s tolerance for ambiguity, Masculinity V. Femininity, Power Distance, and Individualism V. Collectivism. In recent years a fifth dimension has been added called Long Term Orientation, but it is not a ranked for each country. The process takes each country and scales the significance of each dimension on a graph. Mexico and Latin America Countries for instance looks like this:

When marketing to Mexico for instance, looking at this graph would help you to realize that they have a low Individualism (IDV) rating and would therefore be primarily collective. The graph on the right shows that Latin American countries as a whole are even more collective. Collectivist cultures value family and community needs over self-serving ones and this information would therefore play a part in the way they are marketed to. Researching not only the culture but the various aspects that are comprised within the culture is vital to any campaign.

 

Cultural dimensions can be found at www.geert-hofstede.com. At this site, you will be able to research the cultural dimensions of various countries as well as read the explanations behind each rating. Looking through these lists will help you understand how the target culture thinks, which is an imperative skill for marketing to a culture different from your own.