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I sat down at the steps of The Star Vista’s Plaza at 9.45pm. I observed the 52 people present for the next one and a half hours, noting that many were youth chatting together. This included groups of Junior College students, with a ‘orientation group vibe’ - an equal mix of both genders but a distinct male-female segregation in conversation - which reminded me of my old self, fresh out of an all-girls secondary school and awkward around the opposite sex due to the heteronormative gender relations instilled from young. Many groups also consisted of only females, and through some coincidental eavesdropping, I noted that a majority of their conversations had a very emotional and heartfelt mood versus the conversations of the males in the space, indicating a gendered difference in emotional expression which Vogel et al., (2011) argues is culturally conditioned.

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Jarvis (2009) argues that physical urban landscapes can affect the body, illuminating multi-scalar power relations. At first glance, the SV Plaza seems built for the people. Its open design, its flexible use of space and its popularity as a ‘hang-out spot’ even till late indicate a form of civic care, providing a refreshing and relaxing large space for the public to rest at.  Influencing this is the design of the plaza, with the contrast in the overhang of levels two and three arching over the open-air plaza, creating a cozy and inviting atmosphere to the space (Architect, 2013).

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However, at the same time, the plaza ‘coincidentally’ provides an excellent 360-degree view for the mall’s stores across all levels and this coupled with the advertisements on escalators on either side of the steps, is a constant reminder of the capitalist nature of the space. Advertisements and programs shown on the large television directly in the middle of the plaza are also overwhelmingly related to food, encouraging visitors to perhaps patronize some of the food stalls that are easily seen from their vantage point.

The television switches off at 10.45pm, which is near the closing time of the last store open, suggesting that visitors are no longer welcome in the plaza once all shops are closed, decreasing their likelihood of providing any profit to the mall. Disconcertingly, people began to leave almost immediately, and the simple shut down of the television felt like a socially conditioned sign for visitors to exit, having outstayed their welcome in the mall.

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Today’s fieldwork commenced at 7.00pm, with a post-dinner crowd that was predominantly young, including an abundance of heterosexual couples. However, I begin to question myself - how do I know these are indeed couples or am I merely making assumptions? How do I know there are no LGBT couples present as well? Am I being presumptuous? Staehei and Nagar (2002) framed these concerns of mine well in their questioning of the researcher’s ‘right’ to talk about people from ‘other worlds’. In this case, I felt anxious about making a quick judgement about the lack of the LGBT community in the space merely based on my impressions of body language and behaviours - but as Staehei and Nagar puts it, we cannot shy away from difficult topics that are embedded with contentions of difference and power.

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I felt that there was an overwhelming sense of heteronormative performartivity in the space and lack of LGBT representation, which could be perhaps due to the design of the space which left visitors of the plaza exposed to the view of visitors on all levels of the mall; and the fact that SV is owned by a religious institution - New Creation Church (The Straits Times, 2019). As Mitchell (2004) argues, superstructures that are branches of “repressive institutions of the state'' still govern and reproduce our relations outside of production, showcasing that a religious aspect in the maintenance of “labor-power” cannot be ignored either.

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These thoughts sent me down a path of questioning: who is absent? On my previous visit, I had a vague memory of a disabled access lift that used to be right next to the SV plaza steps but which was absent on site. I discussed it with my friends, but they too had a similar memory to mine, suggesting that perhaps such a lift for the elderly and disabled to access the space had been removed. On site, there were none of these demographics utilising the plaza as well, despite the peak dinner timing. Lefebvre’s right to the city theory argues that equality of place means the ability to inhabit, habitat and participate as well (Pugalis, 2009). The very nature of the plaza, with a lack of accessibility for these demographics who are less mobile, remove that right to use and shape the public space, demonstrating that SV’s ‘civicness’ and lauded connectivity (ArchDaily, 2014) does not extend within its mall entirely.

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ArchDaily. (2014, May 30). The star / Andrew Bromberg Of aedas. Retrieved February 19, 2021, from  https://www.archdaily.com/510587/the-star-andrew-bromberg-of-aedas

Architect. (2013, May 20). The star, designed by Andrew Bromberg FOR AEDAS. Retrieved February 19,  2021, from https://www.architectmagazine.com/design/buildings/the-star-designed-by-andrew-bromberg-for-aedas_o

Mitchell, K., Marston, S. and Katz, C. (2004), ‘Life’s Work: An Introduction, Review and Critique’ in K.

Mitchell, S. Marston and C. Katz (eds.), Life’s Work: Geographies of Social Reproduction,

Blackwell Publishing, Chp 1

Staeheli, Lynn A. & Nagar, R. (2002) Feminists Talking across Worlds, Gender, Place & Culture: A  Journal of Feminist Geography, 9:2, 167-172

Vogel, D., Heimerdinger-Edwards, S., Hammer, J., & Hubbard, A. (2011). “Boys Don’t Cry”: Examination of the Links Between Endorsement of Masculine Norms, Self-Stigma, and Help-Seeking Attitudes for Men From Diverse Backgrounds. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(3), 368-382.