The Constitutional Status of Speech About Oneself

Abstract

Recently, the idea has prominently been endorsed that the free speech clause does, or at least should, protect speech that is essentially about the speaker--autobiographical speech with no intended social or political implications, as strongly as the free speech clause protects political speech.

This Article explores the argument that speech about oneself, with no such political or other social implications, should be treated as of equal free speech value as political speech, and ultimately rejects such an argument. The Article reaches this result mainly by considering and applying the various basic purposes widely thought to underlie special protection for speech in the first place, but also by noting the implications of current Supreme Court case law, as well as the practical risks of even an unintended and indirect constitutional validation of cultural narcissism.

Keywords: freedom of speech, speech about oneself, political speech constitutional law