Book Sneak Peek: PR, DEI & Touchy Terminology

I value the feedback I’m getting from readers of my book, Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know. If you know me, I want to share everything I can about a topic. Sometimes all at once! In that spirit, some of the fan favorites from each chapter will be shared in this Sneak Peek blog series. Read on for a gem from each chapter.

In Chapter 6, “Use Tailoring to Serve Multicultural Needs,” I dive deep into cultural strategy and why communicators should understand how to tailor their communication approaches for a multitude of audiences. Read this excerpt with information on how the US population has changed and how we need to evolve public relations to fit current and future stakeholder preferences. For more important details, order your own copy on Amazon or purchase an autographed copy here. 

Americans Have Changed

In the United States alone, Americans are more multiracial than ever. According to the 2020 Census, for the first time in history, the white population has declined. The face of America looks different, and that means the majority of Americans are different from what traditional marketing communications is set up for. If we try to focus PR campaigns only on the old “majority,” our success will be compromised. Major growth happened in the Latino, Asian, and multiracial populations, and this growth is forecasted to continue.

The US increased by 22.7 million people since the previous census, and we’re now over 331 million as a total population. Of that population growth, those who self-identified as Hispanic or Latino led that growth with a 23% increase. More information has come out in 2022 that shows there was an undercount in the Latino population in the 2020 Census. However you slice it, all stats are on-trend for whites to comprise less than half of the population in just two decades. People of color now make up over 42% of the population and possibly more. In many instances, an increase in racial diversity means an increase in ethnic or cultural diversity. To practice effective PR now and in the future, it is a must to integrate PR with the best practices of DEI. Doing so is not as hard as it may seem.

This model we created at MVW Communications shows how practicing PR in ways that support mutually beneficial relationships is in alignment with how DEI practices benefit society. When you look at the similarities in the middle fo the PR and DEI circles, you can see how learning more about diversity, equity, and inclusion could benefit our work as PR professionals. Present and future PR practitioners should consider how these disciplines can support each other. Naturally, both fields are built on understanding and relating with people. 

Why Terminology is Touchy

The human brain is built to sort things. Since cave people times, we’ve been wired to determine which group we’re a part of and which may cause us harm. While so much has evolved since then, our brains are still primed to categorize things (and people) as safe or unsafe. When we want to describe other people, our brains pull up those categories. The most common descriptions we may think of are often an individual’s race, age, gender, or weight. While those descriptions may help us describe someone, those identifiers may not be what that person wishes to be aligned with. Terms, especially these kinds, can be touchy territory.

Try to give grace when people use terms you don’t identify with. Perhaps it’s our fundamental need to categorize that’s kicking in. Real bigotry aside, most people not familiar with cultural strategy or DEI practices will make a misstep. I’ve done it myself! Our own preferences and biases may shape how we feel about one specific term. So, how do you choose a term that’s “right” when you do need to refer to a specific group of people?

The surest step forward for PR pros is to start with research. For example, the US Census Bureau category of “Hispanic or Latino” is not necessarily how everyone in those groups describes themselves. As PR professionals, we care about building relationships, which begins by working to understand others. Most of the identity terms we use in the English language were created in the past, and none will fit for every member of a group. 

For example, terms used to describe Hispanic or Latino people are currently in hot debate. I grew up being told I was Hispanic, and as a kid, I thought anyone with brown hair was Hispanic. I learned I was wrong when a brown-haired little girl yelled in my face, “I am not Hispanic!” That taught me my first lesson about making assumptions and telling people what they were. As I started to work in Hispanic PR, I learned how complex the ethnic terms for this cultural group are. Here’s what I had to learn to be able to decide which term to use for what purpose when working with the Hispanic or Latino markets. 

The term Hispanic originated in the 1970s when the US Census Bureau used it to categorize all people in the US whose backgrounds were in Spain or Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. The term was associated with language rather than geography.

In the 1990s, as more people resisted the term Hispanic because of its strong connection with Spain, the word Latino emerged. In 1997, government publications had begun using the term, which referred to people with cultural ties to Latin America who didn’t necessarily speak Spanish. Latino better accounted for mixed races as a category and is more associated with geography than language. By this measure, Brazilians who speak Portuguese are considered Latino.

Historically, a person in the US is considered Latino if they or their family have come from a Latin American country. People whose backgrounds are in Spanish-speaking countries, on the other hand, are considered Hispanic. 

Studies by the Pew Research Center have shown the term Hispanic is more widely accepted by US Hispanics than Latino. This is surprising for many people because Latino was adopted by some groups because they didn’t appreciate being labeled Hispanic and thought Latino was more inclusive.

From Hispanic to Latino came the term Latina, which is used to denote women whose backgrounds are in Latin American countries. In the Spanish language, Latino is a masculine noun, although it’s meant to include both sexes. Latina became popular with women as an empowering reference.

In the early 2000s, Latinx made its way into the lexicon. It was said to be more inclusive by being gender-neutral. However, Latinx has not been widely embraced. In fact, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) made a public announcement that it would stop using the term in its official communications due to low awareness and acceptance of the term. The Pew Research Center found that less than a quarter of US Hispanics have heard of Latinx, and only 3% use it as of late 2021. This shows a big gulf between thinking and knowing when it comes to identity terms.

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For more guidance, other PR pro’s opinions, important real-world key terms and hard-learned lessons, get your copy of  Smart Talk: Public Relations Essentials All Pros Should Know. Audiobook now available!