utopia: final project

My final, utopia project is an extension of my persona project, and part of an even larger exploration that I hope to continue developing for a while. As I stated before, other people have always questioned my ethnicity. Having gone to a small, sheltered private middle and high school, I was one of four students of color in my grade. When my fellow classmates “learned” this fact, they ridiculed me until graduation. Having blonde hair, and light skin, and looking virtually 100% white, made it impossible for people to take my background seriously.
Growing up with a black father and a white mother was something I took pride in. When I grew up and realized that they way I perceived myself and the way I looked were staunchly different, I became introverted and shy about my skin color. There have been countless occurrences when people have told me what I can and cannot say in regards to my background. “You’re not really black,” has been the most common response.
No matter how progressive we might think we are, the tendency to judge people at face value, through race, gender, dress, etc.. is ever-present. For me, utopia is a place where this need to fit people into categories doesn’t exist. A place where the marriage of the way I look, and they way I perceive myself can co-exist, instead of compete.