Color Me White (2021)
Colored pencils and oil pastels on bristol paper
4 x 5 inches

Children of Mexican immigrants grow up in an incredibly unique environment in the United States. !ey are split be-
tween two cultures and two languages. In this piece, I explore the struggles many darker-skinned children face while 
growing up as minorities in a white country. I grew up consuming media focused on white people, and on top of that, 
my culture put lighter-skinned Mexicans as the beauty standard. I faced not only racism from others but internal racism 
from myself and my people. O"en I felt as if many of my problems would go away if I colored my skin white. I found this 
internal dissonance was unique and o"en was verbally inexpressible. Yet in this medium, I was able to encapsulate years 
of frustration in a form that is easy to communicate with people who have di#erent upbringings.

Aisthesis      Volume 13,  202286

Color Me White

by Jacob Romero