[AndyScouchek]

Okay, I have relatives living in French Guyana. Are they now latinos? some of the kids speak Portuguese and mixed with them Creole and Indigenous people there.
Personally, I don't understand what it means to be Latinos. If by speaking a latin roman language makes you latino, then I'm confused.

Asian Latinos.

[Fluivelip]

Yes, they belong to the Latin ethnic group now.

[Smalmslobby]

Calling them Asian Latinos is self-contradictory. They are Asian Brazilians, Asian French Guianese, Asian Peruvians, Asian Mexicans, Asian Central Americans, Asian South Americans, etc. The USA has a habit of calling anyone from a Spanish-speaking country Latino, regardless of their ethnic or racial background.

---------- Post added 2012-03-24 at 20:04 ----------

Okay, I have relatives living in French Guyana. Are they now latinos? some of the kids speak Portuguese and mixed with them Creole and Indigenous people there.
Personally, I don't understand what it means to be Latinos. If by speaking a latin roman language makes you latino, then I'm confused.

Asian Latinos.

Do you have any unmixed relatives born in French Guiana?

[BPitt]

Why is it that non-LatinAmericans imply that we use the word "Latino" interchangeably with white? I never even thought of Latino (again, short for LatinoAMERICANO) as "euro-centric." When analyzing such terms, you should analyze the context of it within the desired community.
And I have to disagree with Marllon on that it is only USA. Latin-American countries aren't oblivious to the term.

They are CULTURAL ties. WE obviously know were not of the same race or races. If people from OTHER countries still can't figure it out, that is THEIR problem. Latinoamericanos don't have a problem understanding that two people from different racial backgrounds can identify under the same label. Like it or not, an Asian-Latino has a lot more in common with me than with you especially if they haven't lived in an Asian community.

I don't see what is so confusing.
Okay, so lets go with the idea that we can't identify as Latino. We shouldn't identify as Americans, either. True Americans are Native-Americans. So we'll drop the whole Latinoamericano term, too. US nationals should do the same also. No more "American" for you. Tell the minorities to drop it also. They're not Asian-American, they're Asian. They're not African-Americans, they're African. And so forth. (That might also get tricky because I doubt Africans, Asians, Euros would identify with said people)

Hell, I might as well not identify with Mexican because I'm not Mexica. Neither are majority of us "Mexicans". We should not even identify with our nationality. And neither should those with countries whose names are indigenous or anything that they aren't.

So tell me. What the heck do we call ourselves?

[bMc8F9ZI]

Pao, you're confused about what I meant. I do not like terms like Latino being imposed on people of "Latin American" descent who are not of full Latin European descent. You have to learn to accept that not everyone is going to think like you. Yes, Latino is a Eurocentric word that is very colonial. I know a Dominican, a Peruvian, and some Mexican Americans who do not identify as Latino. If you want to identify as Latina, be my guest, but do not force others to adopt the label if they don't want to.

Now, they are South Americans, Caribbean, Mexicans, Central Americans, etc. I do consider someone who was born in Uruguay with grandparents from the Far East to be Uruguayan and South American, however, not Latino.

This is what I consider a Latino:




I consider a personal's national background and ethnicity. So, for example, I consider Evo Morales a Bolivian of Aymara ethnicity, but not a Latino.

[immelawealecy]

@Marllon-
I've only heard of complaints against the "euro-centric" label from US Latinos, never Latin-Americans from their countries. So no, I've never "forced" anybody to do anything.

But anyways, taking your logic, what would you consider me? And why would you consider them blank-Americans when true Americans are natives? And why am I Mexican when Mexican came from the word Mexica and I am not Mexica.

[cemDrymnVem]

I consider you a Mexican, since you were born and raised in Mexico.

I do value a person's cultural background. For example, my sister is an American of Afro-Brazilian descent and I consider her as such.

[f6HLLFcw]

I consider you a Mexican

I'm not Mexica, though so it wouldn't be accurate according to the same logic. Which is where my confusion stands. Where do we stop?

[fkisjjdhh]

Maybe not, but the name of your country is Mexico, and you were born and raised there, so that makes you a Mexican. I may not be TupÃ*, but I'm still a Brazilian. Alberto Fujimori is not Inca, but he's still Peruvian. Barack Obama is not Choctaw, but he's still an American.

[Soadiassy]

Maybe not, but the name of your country is Mexico, and you were born and raised there, so that makes you a Mexican. I may not be TupÃ*, but I'm still a Brazilian. Alberto Fujimori is not Inca, but he's still Peruvian. Barack Obama is not Choctaw, but he's still an American.

Couldn't we use the same reason for a person born in Latin America as a Latino despite having ancestry in the Far East?

[Konidurase]

Couldn't we use the same reason for a person born in Latin America as a Latino despite having ancestry in the Far East?

No, because Mexican, Brazilian, Uruguayan, American, Peruvian, and Canadian are legitimate nationalities. There is no "Latin American" passport or ID. There is nothing federal or legal about the term "Latin American". The geographical region currently known as Latin America is not invulnerable to renaming. There is no substance to the term "Latin America", it can be easily renamed. Nations, on the other hand, are not as vulnerable to be renamed.

If you want to be more general, then there are more appropriate labels like South America, Central America, North America, and Caribbean/West Indian.

[Quvwcxqx]

But were not true Americans, either.

[Arbinknit]

Asian (Japanese) Brazilians

Daniele Suzuki



Sabrina Sato



Aline Nakashima



Contestants at a Miss Brazil-Japan pageant

[inchaaruutaa]

But were not true Americans, either.

That wasn't my point. Plus, American isn't a self-contradictory terminology like Latino in the Pan-American sense. The whole world understands American within same context. Whereas there are differing views on labels like Latino. In Latin Europe, they do not consider most inhabitants from "Latin America" as Latinos. They only view ethnic Latin Europeans as Latinos.

[triardwonvada]

That wasn't my point. Plus, American isn't a self-contradictory terminology like Latino in the Pan-American sense. The whole world understands American within same context. Whereas there are differing views on labels like Latino. In Latin Europe, they do not consider most inhabitants from "Latin America" as Latinos. They only view ethnic Latin Europeans as Latinos.

That's not exactly true if you take into account that it would be the French the ones to invent the term "Latin American" during their brief adventure in Mexico.

[jyhugikuhih]

Asian (Japanese) Brazilians

Daniele Suzuki



Sabrina Sato



Aline Nakashima



Contestants at a Miss Brazil-Japan pageant

It's upsetting to me that the crown for Miss Nikkei Brazil went to a mestiça. This just confirms the standard of beauty most Brazilians keep alive, which is that beauty is synonymous with Caucasian or Caucasian admixture. All the young and famous "beautiful" Asian Brazilians I've seen in the Brazilian media are admixed. Don't quote me, but I read that 72% of Brazilians of Japanese descent are unmixed, where as 28% percent are admixed.

---------- Post added 2012-03-24 at 22:26 ----------

That's not exactly true if you take into account that it would be the French the ones to invent the term "Latin American" during their brief adventure in Mexico.

True, but most French in present day only consider themselves and other ethnic Latin Europeans as Latinos.

[DfrtYhyu]

True, but most French in present day only consider themselves and other ethnic Latin Europeans as Latinos.

Race related mode of thinking went out with the monarchy in 1789-92, so you'd have to come up with better evidence, specially in a country where making racial census is essentially outlawed. Heck, being French nowadays is more related to their language/culture and "republican values" than anything.

[ashleyjoseph]

Race related mode of thinking went out with the monarchy in 1789-92, so you'd have to come up with better evidence, specially in a country where making racial census is esentially outlawed.

Go look at YouTube videos that elaborate on the etymology of Latino. You will see many Italians, Spaniards, Catalan, French, and Romanians boasting about how they're the true Latinos, which they are. The word Latino is too connected to Europe. If "Latin America" wants to develop individual identities like Hugo, Lula, and Evo have proposed, then terms like Latin America need to be done away with and renamed.

[karaburatoreror]

Go look at YouTube videos that elaborate on the etymology of Latino. You will see many Italians, Spaniards, Catalan, French, and Romanians boasting about how they're the true Latinos, which they are. The word Latino is too connected to Europe. If "Latin America" wants to develop individual identities like Hugo, Lula, and Evo have proposed, then terms like Latin America need to be done away with and renamed.

Dude, taking YouTube as an authority on anything related to social issues is basically the same as taking wikipedia, in short, epic fail. The only saving grace about wiki it's science/math/showbiz related stuff. I'd believe your assertion coming more from the Spaniards, but not from the most republican and lefty country in Europe.

[finasteridonline]

Doesn't change the fact that the world is confused on its definition. Latino does not mean the same thing everywhere, whereas South American means the same thing everywhere. Asian means the same thing everywhere. Oceanian means the same thing everywhere. European means the same thing everywhere. Central American means the same thing everywhere.