self-expression

[ self-ik-spresh-uh n, self- ]

/ ˈsɛlf ɪkˈsprɛʃ ən, ˌsɛlf- /

the expression or assertion of one's own personality, as in conversation, behavior, poetry, or painting.

Origin of self-expression

First recorded in 1890–95

self-ex·pres·sive, adjective

With its emphasis on self-expression and three-dimensional adolescents, Awkward.

In Praise of ‘Awkward’: OMFG MTV, Like, Really Gets High School |Amy Zimmerman |June 20, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
At a time when personal freedom and self-expression swept the country, Rüdiger pressed for more independence.

Hunting Down Aribert Heim, Egypt’s Hidden Nazi |Nicholas Kulish, Souad Mekhennet |March 24, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Classicist James Romm writes that we have replaced head-to-head competition with collaboration and self-expression.

The Olympics Wimps Out on Wrestling and Competition |James Romm |February 23, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
Another theme that I thought was so powerful was the importance of self-expression and the pain of being denied a voice.

Ping Fu’s Journey from Cultural Revolution Orphan to Geomagic CEO |Katie Baker |January 20, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

The Stuyvesant High School for Shy Nerds, The Oberlin Academy for Self-Expression, and Huntah College for Everybody.

Gary Shteyngart: How I Write |Noah Charney |December 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Like a spark thrown among oily rags, it set my whole being aflame with longing for self-expression.

Hungry Hearts |Anzia Yezierska
That desire for self-expression is indeed already almost an instinct with many of us.

The Passionate Friends |Herbert George Wells
It is not in industry alone that the natural impulses of the person for response, recognition, and self-expression are balked.

Introduction to the Science of Sociology |Robert E. Park
He held that every man should sing, speak, paint or carve—this that he might taste the joys of self-expression.

Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Vol. 13 |Elbert Hubbard
All singing should be idealized, should be the result of self-expression, of an expression of the emotions.

The Renaissance of the Vocal Art |Edmund Myer

self-expression

the expression of one's own personality, feelings, etc, as in painting, poetry, or other creative activity

self-expressive, adjective