ABSTRACT
Latinx Studies scholars seek to at once acknowledge the differences as well as the commonalities. The umbrella term used to identify the sense of a shared history and inter-ethnic belonging is Latinidad. For Latinx Studies scholars, the concept of Latinidad recognizes the need to overcome inter-group differences as a survival tactic within regions and communities where Latinxs are underrepresented. Latina media scholars such as Mary Beltran, William Nericcio, Deborah Paredez, and Isabel Molina-Guzman, among others, critique the mainstream media’s fusion of Latinx differences. In terms of the indigeneity, there’s a long history of Latinx Studies scholars identifying and affirming ancestral ties to indigenous peoples. The space of nonnormative sexual expression allows for the interconnecting of different Latinx groups in the affirmation of a queer pan-Latinidad. Latinidad in all its powerful expansions and refinements provides an important conceptual framework for scholars and activists to recognize differences as well as join arms to push against forces of oppression and exploitation.
