Sex and the city : young women’s perceptions on rights to pornography in Singapore

Abstract

The discourse of pornography in Singapore has always been a taboo topic in typical Singaporean homes and schools and has also been rather inadequate in the field of sociological literature, especially from a rights-based perspective. This paper seeks to address the issue of citizen rights to pornography among Singaporeans from young Singaporean women’s perspectives. Drawing from young Singaporean women’s narratives of their lived experiences and sentiments regarding pornography, this paper uncovered three main stances on this issue: (1) Pro-rights to pornography, (2) Anti-rights to pornography, and (3) The third (neutral/undecided) stance. Specifically, the factors behind each stance will be discussed further: (1a) Embodiment of rights to pornography as freedom of expression; (1b) Moderation is key, (2a) Prevailing unequal gender dynamics in pornography; (2b) Pornography as culture industry; (2c) Morality as fundamental, and (3a) The debate between efficacy or indispensability of Singapore’s pornography regulation laws.