The irony

Some things strike me as ironic, and I can't help but be amused.

Take the sight of a young man and his female companion. It's not uncommon to see a guy walking hand in hand with his girl, but what makes the picture look silly (to me, at least) is the unmistakably woman's bag slung over the man's shoulder (sometimes it's a handbag). Most likely manifesting his interpretation of gentlemanly courtesy, the boyfriend thus dons the feminine item, whether it's a floral tote, an LV-emblazoned purse, or one of those trendy baguettes that are absolutely unflattering on the male form!

It may look silly, but I can appreciate efforts on the part of men to demonstrate courtesy. And maybe these young men (and their female companions, obviously) are unaware of codes of conduct such as that which considers a man's carrying a woman's purse to be an absolute no-no. I don't know where such rules are written, but it is simply not done (this, of course, does not include cases wherein the woman's bag weighs a few hundred pounds and the owner obviously needs assistance in transporting the thing).

But what I really find ironic is something I often witness at the MRT station.

So you have the purse-donning man and his girlfriend (thereby "hands-free," thanks to her boyfriend), standing in line, awaiting the next train.

As sounds of the approaching train reach them, they get into position. He guides her to stay in front of him; sometimes she is somewhat beside him while still in front of him, his hand usually on her shoulder.

When the train finally arrives and slows down, all the commuters on queues rustle and press against each other, shoulder to shoulder, as much as they still can, given that there is no more space left between bodies that are visibly getting ready to charge into the soon-to-open doors of the train. One can observe that it looks like a bunch of football players -- sans helmets and gigantic shoulder pads -- psyching themselves up for a tackle. By this time, the girlfriend is normally right in front of the purse-carrying boyfriend.

As the door opens, the purse-carrying boyfriend guides his purse-free companion in a way that looks as if he is pushing her toward the wave of people exiting the train directly in their path. This is a seemingly endless stream of commuters who show no mercy when they make their way out of the train, since nobody wants to get stuck inside and miss his stop.

Meanwhile, the sight of the floral tote-carrying man coaxing his girl in front of him to push on and make her way into the train against the oncoming river of people seems odd. For one thing, she looks like some sort of shield, there to protect the man behind her who has his hand on her shoulder, making sure she is not swept away by the human river heading the opposite direction. What kind of a man would do such a thing, putting a lady in harm's way? And not just any lady -- his lady.

At this point, the tote, satchel or whatever caters to the woman's fashion tastes seems like a suitable symbol in this scenario. He is the boyfriend, but the manly duty of protecting the fairer sex is not being carried out. He is being the lady here -- hence, the purse on his shoulder or slung over his arm or wherever the feminine item is best positioned.

Is this not ironic? A man makes the gesture of relieving his girl of her belongings, then when it comes to that which requires his protection and guidance, he coaxes her to take over. Hmmm.

In cases like this, it seems fitting that she be garbed in shining armor.


* Painting by Alphonse Mucha ("Heraldic Chivalry").
* Cartoonist unknown.