# Preferred Panethnic Terms Among Latina/o and Hispanic Sexual and Gender Minority People

## TL;DR

This study explores how Latina/o and Hispanic sexual and gender minority individuals feel about using panethnic terms like Latino, Hispanic, or Latinx, finding that preferences vary widely based on personal and cultural factors.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into the nuanced preferences and rationales for panethnic terms among sexual and gender minority Latina/o and Hispanic individuals.

## Key findings

- Latino and Latina were the most preferred panethnic terms, followed by Hispanic, Latinx, and Latine.
- Participants' preferences were influenced by cultural norms, gender identity, and linguistic contexts.
- There was no clear consensus on a single preferred term, emphasizing the need for context-specific approaches.

## Abstract

This cross-sectional study evaluates Latina/o and Hispanic sexual and gender minority individuals’ preferences and rationale for panethnic terms.

What are Latino and Hispanic sexual and gender minority individuals’ preferences and rationales for using panethnic terms?

In this cross-sectional study using survey data from 517 SGM participants, Latina or Latino were the most preferred panethnic terms (29.8%), followed by Hispanic (24.4%), Latinx (16.6%), and Latine (9.1%), with others less commonly selected. Among the 376 participants who provided a rationale for their preferences using write-in responses, preferences reflected complex personal, cultural, and linguistic considerations related to identity and belonging.

No clear consensus emerged regarding preferred panethnic terms, highlighting the need for a culturally informed, context-specific approach to using panethnic terms in research, community engagement, and communication.

Latino and Hispanic individuals in the US represent a diverse and growing population, including a significant number of sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals whose identities challenge the use of a single panethnic (ie, ethnicity) label. Little is known about SGM individuals’ preferences for panethnic terms.

To understand Latino and Hispanic SGM individuals’ preferences and rationales for panethnic terms.

This cross-sectional study used survey data from SGM-identifying Latino and Hispanic adults in The PRIDE Study, an online, community-engaged cohort of SGM adults in the US completing 2021 or 2022 annual questionnaires, with qualitative analysis of an open-ended question asked to a subset about their preferred panethnic identification. Data analysis was conducted from June 2023 to November 2025.

Survey responses for preferred panethnic terms and associated rationales.

Of 530 eligible participants, 517 reported their preferred panethnic term, and 376 provided their rationale. Among those who reported their panethnic term preferences, the median (IQR) age was 29.6 (24.2-40.5) years, among whom 253 (48.9%) identified as Mexican or Mexican American, 149 (28.8%) were gender diverse, 305 (59.0%) received a 4-year degree or higher, and 45 (8.7%) were born outside the US. Latina and Latino were the most preferred panethnic terms among 154 participants (29.8%), followed by Hispanic (126 participants [24.4%]), Latinx (86 participants [16.6%]), and Latine (47 participants [9.1%]) with others less commonly selected. A total of 59 (11.4%) selected another term or provided a write-in response for their panethnic identification. Six themes were identified in thematic analysis that reflected how preferred panethnic terms were shaped: (1) aligning with cultural norms, (2) influence of ethnoracial identity, (3) affirmation of gender and ethnicity, (4) linguistic and sociopolitical contexts, (5) delineating between Latin American and Spanish ancestry, and (6) cultural disconnection with origin group.

In this cross-sectional study with a qualitative analysis of an open-ended question, there was no clear consensus on preferred panethnic terms, and participants’ rationales indicated that personal, cultural, and linguistic factors related to identity and belonging influenced their preferences. Using panethnic terms in research, community engagement, and communication should be culturally relevant and context-specific.