Gossip Research

For my research this week, I chose to look at gossip through the lens of subversion. This lens is the most interesting to me, especially when taking into account the gossip subject, and because we all know what gossip is, I wanted to literally flip my understanding on its head. When I approached the topic, I immediately thought “What’s the opposite of gossip?” and the response that came to mind was “not gossiping at all.” That seemed a little to flat (and unrealistic), so I wanted to interrogate what gossiping could look like from the lens of either not talking behind someone’s back and inviting them into the conversation OR only speaking positively about the person(s) being gossiped about.

My initial process involved going straight to Google, which then led me to a Wikipedia article. Here, I was able to see where the idea of gossip came from, its etymology, and even the fact that the word “gossip” first showed up in Shakespeare’s writings. That was really interesting to me. From there, I referenced articles from https://guides.nyu.edu/critical-experiences and let that be my springboard for future research. Speaking of, I haven’t connected with the librarian Margaret just yet, but I am planning to do so later this week. I’m also planning to reach out to at least 4 people about this topic, but I’m having trouble accessing the Finding Experts link; it seems to be broken.

Using subversion as a lens to research, I learned that topics can have a for and against, meaning even though a topic seems bad on the surface, there is probably something out there that argues for it and explains how it can be good. I think this is what’s sticking out to me most about my topic because it is presented as a taboo or a transgressive act, but in some ways, I’ve found it can also be a way to get ahead (even non-maliciously). 

Systems Thinking

Of the systems Easterbrook identified in Systems Thinking and Genetically Modified Food, the 7th system matches my own understanding of GMOs the most. This group is looking at the potential health effects of GMOs on the human body: allergies, cross-species genetic transfer, increasing demand on our immune systems. I would consider myself to be a bit of a health nut, and I am constantly interrogating what I feed my body. When I go grocery shopping, I stick to organic produce and responsibly-raised meats, so naturally this means I avoid GMOs at all costs. I don’t know what’s being pumped in certain foods to make them look appealing under grocery store lighting, so I steer clear as much as I can. I don’t want my health, now or later, to be jeopardized by scientists and their current understanding of GMOs. He states it perfectly: “a bad outcome doesn’t have to have already occurred for us to take the risk seriously.” To be clear, this doesn’t mean that I think all GMOs are nefarious or the scientists behind them are acting in a way that would intentionally put the general public in danger, but I also can’t be overly trusting either. 

Using gossip as an example, I would identify 3 different groups/stakeholders who have differing points of views as 1) Media Hosts/Personalities, 2) Celebrities/Influencers, and 3) The General Public. If I had to sum it up, gossip poses a threat to public figures’ reputations and could impact their livelihoods. For media hosts/personalities, they think they’re doing their job by reporting gossip and keeping the public abreast of what’s going on; these folks (ahem, Wendy Williams) claim to take an unbiased approach when reporting gossip, but their biases usually come through anyway. For celebrities/influencers, I imagine they think gossip culture is the worst part of their job; they’re constantly being scrutinized under a microscope, so I imagine this also provides some stress when they’re going out for jobs, interacting with family members and even being leery of making new friends or being around strangers. For the general public, I would say this group is probably most indifferent; they don’t have any skin in the game, and often times, gossip can be seen as a form of entertainment. To them, gossip is harmless and provides a way for them to escape their day-to-day by hearing what someone else has going on in their life, even if it’s untrue or damaging.