Mexican | AMerican

I grew up in the United States where racism was historically based on a very literal black and white point of view, but over time has become a little more grey.

As I studied colonization of Latin America, I learned that soon after the establishment of the Spanish came a very detailed caste system which was based on the percentage of Spanish blood one had versus how much native blood someone had. It goes with out saying that the Spanish were very light skinned whereas the native people had deeper skin tones. The more Spanish blood one had the higher they were in the caste system, which was ultimately linked to lightness in skin. These different levels on the caste were kept very detailed and had serious social and political implications.

What I’ve experienced with my family is the usually unspoken, yet obvious inherit biased and established colorism that resulted from the once strict caste system. The clear point is that the lighter you skin the better because of how you are perceived by society. This reality in combination with the point of view of the United States, which has a white or nothing perspective, has lead me to create the body of work below.

I’ve photographed members of my immediate family who are husband, wife or siblings. I then put them in a “white passing” category or “other” category. Historically in Mexico, where my family is from, the reality of their place on the caste system would have had huge implications to their marriage and concern for their children. In the United States, where my cousins photographed below have grown up, it’s now more about being white passing and the realities that those with deeper skin tones live with.