Words by: Angel Tully
Art by: Rai Cade

It is traditionally said that men are the hunters and women are the gatherers. As much as gender roles may have evolved since cave people times, I think it is safe to say that women have been gathering things for a long time. We didn’t just gather nuts and berries, we gathered information, emotions, alliances and secrets. The latter, which when left uncorked, translates into the age-old tradition of storytelling in the most lavish and scandalous sense—gossip.

Gossip was literally made for women.

In fact, the word itself is derived from a description of a woman who delights in idle talk—or in today’s vocabulary—who loves to yap.

I think it is quite fitting that sharing gossip has become known as ‘spilling the tea’, as once again it’s a testament to the long-standing origins of this sacred communication technique. Socialisation between women in regency Europe was very much scheduled around sharing a cup of tea. Now we’ll never know for sure if the conversations that went on between those very proper women are as spicy as they can be now when girls get their yap on, but I’d like to think their tea was being served equally as hot.

There is something so cathartic about gossip. Not the part about spreading malicious rumours or anything nasty, but rather the silly little things we share with our friends that spark joy, humour, relatability and sometimes even nostalgia. In fact, I’d argue that there is no better expression to see on your best friend’s face than when you tell them, “I have gossip!”. Or better yet, the jaw-dropped-to-the-floor face they make when you actually reveal the information.

Now as the saying goes, this is why we can’t have nice things. The world loves to shit on gossiping like it’s a bad thing, like it’s a low and frivolous form of communication. They look down on the act of gossiping as if the individuals who partake in it are shallow and manipulative, and we’re taught from a young age not to do it. But here’s the thing, if you tell me not to push the red button, obviously I want to push the red button. Literally nothing will get in the way of my love for a good gossip session.

Gossip is a natural part of femininity, and spoiler—it is not all bad. Perhaps the TV show ‘Gossip Girl’ gave the practice a bad rap. But for the most part, gossip is just what happens when friends catch up on current events — as I like to see it. I think it is time we start to embrace the unique form of communication that is gossip, that dispenses information in fun and exciting bite-sized packages with just the right amount of enthusiasm.

Women have been the natural-born yappers since the beginning of time. Through centuries, wars, continents and social classes, women have bonded and communicated through gossiping. So what makes the gossip haters think that a little bit of negativity shrouding the concept of gossip would stop us?

We will keep yapping, we will keep spilling the tea, we will keep dishing the dirt and most of all, we will keep up the longest-standing form of female communication: gossip