The New Bully on the Block

It was really upsetting to once again read about Straits Times criticism of Sarong Party Girl's weblog. I have nothing against anyone expressing his/her views on such a matter, but to be able to say it when you want to, as opposed to publicising it in a national paper, that is a different matter.

First it was Zhenzhi, now this gal. In a city, where censored papers dominate the flow of information, there is simply no way, people who share different views are able to express themselves to the wider public. It is basically your story, versus silence.

Of course, some people will say, there is the internet, but heh, let's just face it: 1) not many Singaporeans, apart from the Youths are well aware of what is going on 2) even ST attempts to claim to present views on the internet while only selectively portraying the views

I am not sure how many people actually recall facing bullies in schools, where they experience prejudices or were ostracised, by dominant bullies, and others who would choose not to offend them simply going with the flow.

I am not certain, what is driving The Straits Times today towards such attitudes and behaviour; in proudly seeing itself as moral policing in an evangelic or fascist manner. Instead of exposing the hardships and problems of people facing in the real daily life, in relating people to what is going on in Singapore, the Straits Times picked on weak figures whose response can barely be heard, to emphasize and claim its moral high-ground. The Straits Times is not only sustaining and reinforcing a simulacrum, it is disciplining and eliminating, any attempts to challlenge its dominance in its quest to create the perfect simulation of life in Singapore.

It is not realistic to be expect papers to tbe netural or unbiased, but to be actively involved in the construction of simulacra, with an attitude found commonly in thugs and bullies, that is just outright disgraceful.


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June 18, 2005
Teen pulls out nude weblog photos after parents find out

By Melissa Lwee

THE now infamous Sarong Party Girl has taken down the nude photograph of herself from her weblog - after her parents found out about it.

'People I don't know out there can't hurt me with their opinions,' the 19-year-old told The Straits Times yesterday.

'But I'm living with my parents. What they feel bothers me. They've cared for me so long, I should do the same for them.

'My parents didn't like the picture. And since they are the people who take care of me and love me, I am accountable for how they feel.'

Her action comes just a day after she told The Straits Times that she had no qualms about posting nude photographs of herself online and was, in fact, intending to put up more erotic pictures. The self-confessed exhibitionist described herself as 'a visually pleasing specimen of the female species'.

'I had something good and I wanted to share it.'

But while she was willing to show her face in those photographs, she insisted on not giving us her name.

Her weblog - www. sarongpartygirl.blogspot.com - chronicles her life and numerous sexual escapades. It now has about 14,000 visitors daily, nearly five times the 3,000 she used to get.

Not that everyone approves of her attention-grabbing photographs.

Said student Cassandra Chew, 22: 'What if my kid brother stumbles on her site and he starts having a porn addiction? That's not good, is it?'

Internet forums like flowerpod.com.sg, also saw comments frowning upon her actions.

Some said that what she was doing was 'degrading', others called her a bad example to other young girls out there.

On weblog www.tomorrow.sg, one reader even went so far as to say: 'What if others from other countries or Singaporeans saw it? They (will) think that we are dirty-minded.'

While she shrugs off such comments, she said she will defer to her parents' wishes. 'Sometimes you have to make compromises for the people you love.'

The teenager started on the Internet at age 13, engaging in 'cerebral conversations' with strangers and 'casual discourses' at forums. Three years ago, she started blogging.

The Internet is also where she gets her daily dose of reading material. Her reading tastes range from racy and quirky stuff such as the Postmodern Courtesan ( postmoderncourtesan.blogspot.com) and the Hungry Ghost (hungryg.blogspot.com) to more intellectual reads such as The Economist.

So how is her real self different from her blog persona? Not that different, she said. 'Perhaps a little less full of myself, a little more fallible, and a great deal more easy-going.'

In the real world, she is aiming for a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Nanyang Technological University or a scholarship to study overseas.
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