They lack feeling a sense of control over their own appearances, as their bodies are constantly subjected to outside influences about how they should look.
Creator:
Donna Wu 伍子颖
Humans are known to be a hypersocial species – we have a fundamental need for affiliation (i.e. being around others and existing in a social space), for better or for worse. When thinking about it being “for the better”, it means we can cooperate/coordinate with others to divide up tasks, allowing our species to survive. We can also rely on each other to provide support so that we don’t need to face our problems alone. When thinking about it being “for the worse”, though, it means that we are often subjected to others’ opinions and perspectives that may lead to negative emotions and experiences on our part. For example, existing means being subject to various forms of influence, including explicit and implicit messages about what counts as “attractive”. For Asian diaspora (including those from the Hong Kong diaspora), this often means being caught between different messages about attractiveness – mainstream ones in Canada, and prominent ones from their heritage cultures. Donna explores these different norms of attractiveness, and traces the various ways in which these norms may have a psychological impact on diasporic folks. How should one navigate through these messages about attractiveness?