CAN SAY OR NOT: SINGAPOREAN YOUTHS AND THEIR ATTITUDES TOWARDS FREE SPEECH

Abstract

Drawing on the lived experiences of Singaporean youths who are engaged in civic and/or political activity, this thesis explores how the freedom of speech is perceived and practised among them. It seeks to examine the cultural and institutional structures which have constrained and/or facilitated free speech and discover how Singaporean youths cope with the social environment. Expanding on the self-censorship model of Cook and Heilmann (2010), the thesis uncovered that Singaporean youths perceive the freedom of speech to be limited and that these perceptions have translated into their practices. Amongst them, there is an ingrained fear of how authorities may punish anyone whose speech is deemed inappropriate and/or unacceptable. Several topics are characterised as “sensitive” by the Singaporean youths whereby skilful navigation around them is needed. This perception of free speech as limited has inspired self-censorship in public and private among Singaporean youths. Free speech is practised in culturally specific ways, and online where anonymous opposition against the established non-discourse is known as “invisible demonstrations”. The thesis then moves towards a theorisation of Bourdieu’s (1990) concept of habitus as both reproductive – the recognition and subconscious perpetuation of the constraints of social conditions and conditionings – and transformative – the capacity for improvisation and generation of opportunities for free speech in the social field. While the perceptions and practices in the field have been reified and sustained by the reproductive habitus, the transformative habitus has enabled Singaporean youths to innovate strategies which unravels the prevailing doxa and enable possibilities for free speech.