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Hidden Behind Colours : Art Piece & Reflection on the Impact of Cultural Identity on Mental Health Goh, Nichole

Abstract

Humans, being a social species, all live while subject to societal expectations; but the extent to which people are constrained in society by expectations are often indicative of their marginalization. This combination of repressive expectations, constraints, and marginalization can have strong negative impact on one’s mental health. Through her art piece, Goh uses different panels to speak to the multifaceted nature of the pressures that society places onto nonya/nyonya, an identity that places Goh (and others like her) at the intersection of Malaysian and Peranakan identities. Between societal pressures, family pressures, and internalized pressures, Goh’s piece speaks to the pervasive and all-encompassing nature of repressive societal expectations, and the damage that can do. This leads to a bigger question – how do we break this cycle?

Item Metadata

Title
Hidden Behind Colours : Art Piece & Reflection on the Impact of Cultural Identity on Mental Health
Alternate Title
A Life Coloured by Expectations
Creator
Goh, Nichole
Date Issued
2021-04-18
Description
Humans, being a social species, all live while subject to societal expectations; but the extent to which people are constrained in society by expectations are often indicative of their marginalization. This combination of repressive expectations, constraints, and marginalization can have strong negative impact on one’s mental health. Through her art piece, Goh uses different panels to speak to the multifaceted nature of the pressures that society places onto nonya/nyonya, an identity that places Goh (and others like her) at the intersection of Malaysian and Peranakan identities. Between societal pressures, family pressures, and internalized pressures, Goh’s piece speaks to the pervasive and all-encompassing nature of repressive societal expectations, and the damage that can do. This leads to a bigger question – how do we break this cycle?
Subject
Attractiveness; Beauty; Body shaming; Depression; Expectations; Mental Health; Nonya; Nyonya; Peranakan; Social pressure; Stigma
Genre
Report
Type
Text
Language
eng
Series
University of British Columbia. ACAM 320B
Date Available
2021-06-23
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0398516
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/78779
Affiliation
Arts, Faculty of
Peer Review Status
Unreviewed
Scholarly Level
Undergraduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International