This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Tan, K. P. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Sexing Up Singapore

National University of Singapore, usptank{at}nus.edu.sg

At least two significant obstacles today prevent Singapore from progressing economically: a population unable to reproduce itself; and a people that generally lack creativity and entrepreneurship. Both are unintended consequences of earlier authoritarian policies of a paternalistic and patriarchal postcolonial government. Singaporeans were industrialized, militarized, disciplined by a system of punishment and reward, and administered according to a technocratic rationality seeking to eliminate ‘irrational’ desires and the chaos of erotic instincts. Subsequently, an Asian values campaign helped to form a conservative, censorious and electorally significant moral majority. Today, Singaporean society is described as sexually repressed and repressive. Singapore’s ‘new economy’, however, requires not only a large enough workforce, but also a stimulating, non-repressive climate conducive to imagination, innovation and adventure, one that can also attract and retain globally mobile talent. This article explores the complications surrounding the government’s ‘sexing up’ policies relating to procreation, creative talent and the new economy.

Key Words: Asian values • censorship • cosmopolitan/heartlander divide • moral majority • new economy • political legitimacy • population policies • sexual repression • technocratic rationality

International Journal of Cultural Studies, Vol. 6, No. 4, 403-423 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/136787790364002


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				K.C. Ho The Neighbourhood in the Creative Economy: Policy, Practice and Place in Singapore Urban Stud, May 1, 2009; 46(5-6): 1187 - 1201. [Abstract] [PDF]