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‘‘The countryside breeze sends a gust of wind through the hair of five noblewomen as they head to the market. Upon arrival, they are met with dismissal from the townsmen— they assume the women are talking senselessly. Brushing it off, the women continue to share knowledge and intimate stories; they give each other advice and provide support. These routine meet-ups outside the home release them from everyday silence. The women find strength in their gossips, opposing the conventional dynamic between man and wife.

The term ‘gossip’ is innately tied to women. In Greek mythology, Pheme personified fame, and her wrath caused scandalous rumors. She worked her way into the affairs of gods and humans, and with a whisper at first, she’d spread the information louder each time. Homer believed her to be the messenger of Zeus. Her Roman counterpart, Fama, had multiple tongues, eyes and ears. Virgil, a Roman poet, described her as having, “her feet on the ground, and her head in the clouds, making the small seem great and the great seem greater.”

Through these thousands of years, people told lies, laughed, misconstrued information and spread knowledge.

Women’s circles in 800 CE helped women understand spirituality and sexuality, while the Bible denounced tattlers and busy bodies. Yet, it was not until 12th century medieval Europe, the word ‘gossip’ took shape. Around 1014, an Old English phrase, godsibb, meant god parent. This role belonged typically to women who were present during childbirth. These women partook in lengthy conversations while aiding the woman in labor, forming cherished and confidential bonds. Similarly, the French term ‘commère’ now means “a person who listens to and passes on gossip.” Originally, the name was designated to a godmother or godfather.

During the 1500s, the word ‘gossip’ described a person, usually a woman, who enjoyed idle talk or tattling. During the Salem Witch Trials, female friendships were targeted during witch hunts. A proclamation issued in 1547 “[forbade] women to meet together to babble and talk.” Husbands were ordered to keep their wives in the house, and if the woman left, she would be at risk of being accused of being a witch. Shakespeare first used the word as a verb in Midsummer Night’s Dream, which premiered in 1605. The term remained applied to a person until the 1800s when it transitioned to a type of conversation.

In 1600, Moderata Fonte published ‘’Il merito delle donne’’ or “The Worth of Women: Wherein is Clearly Revealed Their Nobility and Their Superiority to Men.” This dialogue follows seven Venetian women of varying ages freely discussing their opinions. What is so striking about this reading, is the complexity and relatability of the emotions and conversations portrayed. The women described are wealthy and educated, therefore more well off than those unlike them, yet they lack power. Intelligence is power and in a society where women lacked power, they found a form of it through uninterrupted, meaningful discussion. When looking at a group of women interested in conversation, it is easy to assume they are gossiping when they are spreading necessary information. The activity may be gender-neutral, but the connotations are not. In the Middle Ages, some women, including Noblewoman and nuns, were literate, but this was largely restricted to the upper class. Women of lower classes completed work that was genreded such as weaving, cooking and maintaining livestock. When completing these actions together, close friendships developed and were thus looked down upon. “The Worth of Women” exemplifies why female friendship is threatening to the patriarchy: unhindered conversation fosters opinions and questions that directly oppose societal standards.

Gossiping can be seen as a way of bonding for women, signifying close female friendship and understanding. For example, during the Middle Ages in Europe, In tight-knit groups, women would perform collective tasks, such as making clothes and other artisan objects. Men were not a part of these specific activities, which threatened the idea that they are all-knowing. Reactionary responses took place with inventions to forcefully silence women. First reported in Scotland in 1567, women were forced to wear the Scold’s Bridle, or the Gossip’s Bridle. This was a metal device that sat over a woman’s head like a birdcage and tore their mistrust among women. This created the perception today that women dislike one another and use gossiping as a way to spew jealousy or resentment.

Nowadays, gossip has taken a new role in celebrity culture. No publicity is bad publicity. Celebrities need to be discussed to maintain relevance. Instead of letting parasocial relationships create their narrative, celebrities use the attention to their advantage, reinstating gossip’s purpose: to serve oneself. Gossip has been used to culminate and fester, ruin lives, but this shift has proven that women can still use it to further themselves so long as they reclaim it.

Overall, the negative perception of gossiping persists, but its original that women use gossip to take down someone they are jealous of has not completely disappeared, but it’s not just women. It’s not the act of gossiping itself that is harmful, but the way we choose to share gossip that ultimately determines how damaging narratives get spun. If people don’t talk, then nobody knows where to go, what to do and who to follow. https://resources.unbabel.com/blog/origins-gossip https://medium.com/lessons-from-history/howpatriarchy-redefined-gossip-to-be-a-womens-thinghttps://apsnews.org/1089/entertainment/theHow did “the Gossip” Become a Woman? | Psychology https://www.neatorama.com/2011/02/07/scoldsbridle-medieval-punishment-for-gossiping-andhttps://www.thesaurus.com/e/ways-to-say/s/weirdhttps://academic.oup.com/restud/