Exponentially more Hispanic voters in the United States find the term “Latinx” offensive than actually use it themselves, according to a new poll from Bendixen & Amandi International.
An overwhelming majority of survey respondents said they identify themselves as Hispanic, Latino or Latina, with 89% of those polled choosing one of those three options. Another 8% said “something else,” while just two percent of respondents said they identify as Latinx.
The poll was conducted among 800 registered voters of Hispanic origin from Nov. 17-21. The margin of error was 3.46 points.
“The numbers suggest that using Latinx is a violation of the political Hippocratic Oath, which is to first do no electoral harm. Why are we using a word that is preferred by only 2%, but offends as many as 40% of those voters we want to win?” —@AmandiOnAir https://t.co/w5uzYBxT3n
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) December 6, 2021
There was not a significant generational divide, either. The highest rate of Latinx usage was in 18-29 year-olds, but still only 4% within that age group said they use the term. (RELATED: Biden Says ‘Latinx’ People Are Afraid To Get Vaccinated Because They Think They’ll Be Deported)
Fifty-seven percent of those polled said use of Latinx doesn’t bother them, but 40% said it does bother or offend them to some degree. Twenty percent said it bothers them “a lot.” Republicans were most likely to say it bothered them “a lot” at 30%, followed by Democrats at 19% and Independents at 13%.
Thirty percent of the surveyed Americans said they are less likely to support a politician or political organization that refers to their community as Latinx. Fifteen percent said it made them more likely to support, while half said it did not make a difference. One-quarter of Democrats said they were less likely to support those who use the term, despite the term being used almost exclusively by Democrat-aligned organizations and activists.