i dont usually do this, but this should be interesting enough to justify its place here.

(for those who do not read my blog)

At Takashimaya, couples do not hang out at the square at the basement. They are moving bodies, browsing through displays; each partner may break away from the other led by different interests and attentions, but always in close proximity. In many cases, the man trails behind the woman, tapping his toes in impatience and having difficulties placing or focusing his eyes on all the bodies around him, especially the goods in the woman's merchandise section,. Often, the woman in addition to 'shopping' for herself has to interest her male companion in items for himself too. In all these instances, the behaviour of couples is generally unremarkable, until they reach the escalator.

On the escalator, a seen-but-unnoticed sight in shopping centres in Singapore is repeatedly enacted by different couples. The woman changes from one who leads, as mentioned above, to one that is dependent on her partner. As if overcome by the exhaustion of shopping, she appears no longer able to hold up her own body and stand on her own. She leans onto him and he supports her body with his shoulder. By propping her up, he eliminates all physical distance between them. The bodies are almost glued together until landing at the top or bottom of the escalator. Again, as if in gratitude, she may even give him a peck. In Singapore, where physical distance is still relatively rigidly maintained and public expression of emotions still culturally frowned upon, dating couples rarely engage in intimate gestures for fear of public scrutiny. Such displays of intimacy therefore deserve special analytic attention��

Parenthetically, we should not overlook the need for simple reassurances like these ��we-are-still-together�� gestures. Elaborate everyday cultural practices are often built around simple messages like these. In American homes, for example, names of married couples often disappear and are replaced by ��dear��, ��honey��, ��darling�� or their equivalents. These gestures though small, explicitly express love and concern and provide unconscious reassurance for the other party.

In the context of shopping, intimacy in full public eye is largely diminished because the individual is more enticed and attracted by the glittering merchandise while browsing through displays. The brief neglect for each other therefore creates the need to re-establish connection on the escalator. One can imagine the man often feeling less-than-merchandise while accompanying his female partner in shops. The initiative for closer contact on the escalator can therefore be seen as constituting an admission and apology for having been mesmerized by objects in the ��palace of desires��, leading to temporary negligence of her partner, and also an attempt to re-seal the relationship. When the escalator stops at the next floor, the female counterpart is met by another dizzying range of desired products and unconsciously breaks the newly-reformed physical bond again, if only momentarily until the next escalator ride.

However, it remains a puzzle why the escalator remains the sole ��privileged�� space for contrition. I believe this is largely because pedestrian traffic, especially during peak hours, is too dense for couples to stop comfortably in midstream on circulation paths between displays/shops. If one stops to seek reassurance from the other party, the couple will definitely encounter both physical and psychological collisions with the public. This resembles an accident on an expressway, when the driver stops to take a look, consequently slowing down fast-moving traffic. No convenient stopping point can therefore be found without entering food outlets or the central square. However, the problem of remaining in public eye remains, and the couple has to constantly make gestures, or tie-signs, to each other not as a sign of affection, but an indication to the public that they are an item and should not be broken up. It is only on an escalator that a couple is accorded the personal space and time to express intimacy to each other. But even then, the couple remains on the move to evade the public eye.