The College Fix

ANALYSIS: Blacks and Hispanics don’t use terms academics have created for them like ‘Latinx’ and ‘BIPOC’

Chances are if you work or study at a higher education institution, you have heard terms like “anti-racism,” “Latinx,” and “BIPOC.”

But a new poll suggests these are a language of Ivory Tower elites and not average Americans — including the people to whom these terms refer.

The YouGov poll, conducted last week, asked people about 30 “social justice” terms, their familiarity, and usage.

These included “toxic masculinity,” “white privilege,” and “woke,” as well as “patriarchy,” “reproductive” and “environmental justice,” “critical race theory,” and “decolonization”

More than half of those polled had never even heard of the term “BIPOC,” which stands for black, indigenous, and people of color. That includes 54 percent of black people and 51 percent of Hispanics.

What’s more, nearly one in four Hispanics said they were not familiar with the term “Latinx.”

But universities regularly host events and programs specifically geared toward “BIPOC” and “Latinx” students.

Among black adults, only 15 percent said they use “antiracism,” a term made popular by Boston University Professor Ibram Kendi.

Additionally, 52 percent of those polled said they were not familiar with “heteronormity.” It’s the idea, often with a negative connotation, that heterosexuality is the norm for human behavior.

More than likely, however, students at Kent State University in Ohio know it. This year, the public institution is offering roughly 150 courses that discuss gender, sexuality, or LGBTQ+ topics and ideas about “normative” sexual behavior, a recent College Fix analysis found.

The YouGov poll found the people most likely to use “social justice” terms are Democrats and college educated adults.

“While majorities of Americans are familiar with most of the terms in our survey, very few Americans say they use them regularly, including those who voted for Donald Trump or Kamala Harris — though more Harris voters do,” YouGov’s director of survey data journalism Taylor Orth told the news site Semafor.

“We also observed some differences in familiarity based on age, education, and race, but within all groups, regular usage of these terms is rare,” Orth said.

“Rare” in society maybe, but a search through The College Fix’s archives shows these terms are in frequent usage at the institutions tasked with creating our next generation of leaders.

MORE: Elon U. has early education majors do ‘social justice’ projects for required class

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