The misconception of gossip

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Last month, a colleague of mine was about to post on her Instagram a photo I took of us chatting after the launch of Fashion for Good’s new exhibition.

As she was about to post it on her IG story, mhm I think I’ll title it gossip, wait never mind it sounds negative, she said.

The notion of ‘idle women’s talk’ has a bad reputation in today's society through multiple communities. Always viewed as a problematic and burdened virtue that can often be perceived as a moral act.

When we hear the word "gossip," we associate it with a negative undertone and implications of hostile and spiteful statements. If you look for synonyms of gossip, you'll get terms like rumour, scandal, and slander, all of which have obvious negative connotations.

But where does this stigma come from?

Back, back then, in the Late Middle Ages, a woman could be still stand up for her rights against male individuals.

Men saw this rising collective female strength as a danger, and by the sixteenth century, women's status in society had begun to decline.

Greater enforcement of gendered standards, as well as she, would be severely punished for acting in such a way and showing any form of independence.

Punishments women endured were frequently forced to wear 'branks,' which tore their tongues when they spoke. If they acted rebelliously, they were taken to the 'cucking stool,' and many were accused of witchcraft and tortured, driving women to turn against one another in large numbers.

The patriarchy dominated by males felt that when men gossiped, it was for vital reasons, but it was different for women since they were jobless and no one took them seriously except themselves. And the biggest problem with this concept is that it's not just women who gossip. According to a study, it was revealed that in the current age, men gossip just as much as women. Thus, no time to be point the finger at each other and be hypocritical.

But do we still gossip?

One of the iconic movies from the Y2K Era: Mean Girls

Gossiping has become a normal, everyday practice that every human being does.

According to Megan Robbins, Assistant Professor of Psychology at UC, Riverside has stated that 'gossiping plays an important role in keeping our society to feel connected and also has been found to benefit cultural learning.' All that matters is that it should be at least practised in, at least in the right context.

There is an appropriate way to discuss what you observe, talk about someone, or handle a problem, and you can frequently identify a terrible gossiper — someone who shares information or talks about others to make themselves feel better or to degrade or gain an edge over them.