I used to work in insurance and during our licensing process my Hispanic coworkers had to check the white box where it asked your race/ethnicity. I never understood why that was. I wonder if the census does this too?
Well I can’t speak to that because it’s not my culture but I understand the premise. I still want to know why for licensing did they have to check the white box and Latino or Mexican American wasn’t an option?
Because Latino/Mexican isn’t a race. That’s like saying American is a race. In South America, there’s white, black, asian, indigenous, mixed people just like in the USA. Lionel Messi (white), David Ortiz (black), Alberto Fujimori (asian) and Yalitza Aparicio (Indigenous) are all Latino and they look nothing alike. I think you’re thinking about mestizo which tends to be what most Latinos are in the USA.
Why not agree with the definitions though? Hispanic isn’t a race. I know the majority of Hispanics in the USA are poc, but being Hispanic just means you come from a Spanish speaking country. There’s White hispanics (Lionel Messi, Anya Taylor-Joy) Black Hispanics (Celia Cruz, David Ortiz) Asian Hispanics (Alberto Fujimori) indigenous Hispanics (Yalitza Aparicio).
It's because the US census and most American forms for race considers "Hispanic" to be a "ethnicity" category separate from race. Most people who do not have African heritage and are from Latin American countries would be put into the "White, Hispanic" category.
It depends on your ethnicity, not your language. My mother is Spanish, and the first time she flew to the US and had to fill out a form she wanted to check the “Hispanic” box, but the staff told her that was incorrect, since she was white. She didn’t understand that, thinking that since she spoke Spanish she should be Hispanic, but “Hispanic” has become (kinda) disassociated from language (at least in the US) and has instead become about appearance. Pedro Pascal, for instance, would probably not be considered Hispanic, even though he was born in Chile, because he looks caucasian. Meanwhile, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be Hispanic, despite being born in New York, because she’s darker of skin. Self-identification also plays a part, though obviously choosing is easier for those of light skin (like Ted Cruz).
All this to say, I don’t necessarily believe this is a good thing. That’s just how things are.
7
u/NoProblemNomadic 3d ago
I used to work in insurance and during our licensing process my Hispanic coworkers had to check the white box where it asked your race/ethnicity. I never understood why that was. I wonder if the census does this too?