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<div id="content"><h1 id="some-gossip-on-gossip-and-what-coffee-has-to-do-with-it.">Some
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Gossip on gossip and what coffee has to do with it.</h1>
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<div class="centered-image">
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<figure>
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<img src="image1.jpg"
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alt="Tittle Tattle; or The Several Branches of Gossipping, British Museum Collection" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Tittle Tattle; or The Several Branches of
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Gossipping, British Museum Collection</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p>In the 12th century, “Godsipp” (God and sib (akin), godmother or
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godfather) was a word used for both men and women in fables and society.
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The church also recognized this word. It was used to name companions
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present at childbirth, e.g. the midwife. Sometimes, it was used to
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mention close friends. It represented the strong ties between women,
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which surpassed their relationship with their husbands. Was it witchery
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that strong and independent women preferred their gossip over their
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husbands? Well, that is something that hasn’t changed since the middle
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ages. </p>
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<figure>
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<img src="image2.jpg"
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alt="Tittle Tattle; or The Several Branches of Gossipping, British Museum Collection" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">Tittle Tattle; or The Several Branches of
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Gossipping, British Museum Collection</figcaption>
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</figure>
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<p>“Godsipp” began its journey with nothing but good and emotionally
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strong connotations. Women bloomed and blossomed among each other and
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were autonomous in their existence. Men were never a part of this party
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women were throwing. By the 16th century, as things began to change, the
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traditional meaning lingered on. In 1602, the word was still used to
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signify female friendships. This can be seen in Samuel Rowlands’s
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<em>Tis Merrie When Gossips Meete</em>, a satirical piece describing
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three London women spending hours in a tavern talking about men and
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marriages. It implied that ‘women could create their social networks and
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their own social space’ and stand up to male authority (Federici,
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2019).</p>
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<p>Solidarity and friendship amongst women were demeaned and
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female-exclusive parties were banned; women who met in public were
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identified as “witches” and women’s first duty was now to be obedient
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and quiet. The talk about husbands at taverns was too hurtful for the
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sensitive male ego. The public, the church and the law punished women
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who engaged in “idle talk”. Centuries past, the sensitive male ego
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remains and continues to attack women from many angles which now include
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cyberbullying, mobbing at the workspace and other violent
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iterations. </p>
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<p>Wives who were seen as “scolds” and “witches” were forced under
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sadistic torture with a “scold bridle”. Looking back, I can’t help but
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see these sadistic, desperate acts as a meek scream of how men couldn’t
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get even close to satisfying women physically or mentally. If they spent
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some time working on female anatomy rather than these horrifying torture
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methods, we would be living in a different world today… </p>
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<p>Here is an excerpt from a song which portrays women in a tavern.
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These words on ale and wine are an ancient remedy for us to consider
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today when we are out drinking with our “gossips”:</p>
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<p>“In a 1630s song, Fowre wittie gossips disposed to be merry, a group
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of married women in a tavern debate the merits of ale and wine in
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relation to cost and value. They conclude, ‘If our opinions do not
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faile: / a quart twelve cups [of wine] containeth, / Its cheaper then a
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dozen of ale, / where froth and snuffes remaineth’. (‘Snuffes’ was the
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‘backwash’ left when, as was common, multiple people drank from a single
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vessel.) The wives also point out that the after-effects of drinking
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sack (a Spanish white wine) are much less injurious than those of
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drinking too much ale. In consequence, they will not suffer hangovers
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from drinking all night, as all their husbands are” (McShane,
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2016). </p>
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<p>It was in this context that “gossip” turned from a word of friendship
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and affection into a word of denigration and ridicule (Federici,
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2019).</p>
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<h3 id="so-what-does-coffee-have-to-do-with-it">So what does coffee have
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to do with it</h3>
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<p>Fortune telling over coffee stretches back to the 16th century, when
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the beans made it to the Middle East and the Ottoman Empire. In the
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Ottoman Empire, concubines in the Harem were banned from talking and
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“gossiping”. They had a great influence on sultans (although not
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officially recognized by men themselves), and therefore affected the
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political decisions and affairs of the Empire. Out of solidarity, women
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began to perform fortune-telling over the remains of coffee inside and
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outside coffee cups. This way, they could talk about their fears and
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inner</p>
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<div class="centered-image">
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<figure>
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<img src="image3.jpg" alt="kahvegibikahve.com/blog" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">kahvegibikahve.com/blog</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p>worlds freely. I can’t help but see the similarity with the
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oppression women went through in relation to “gossip”. The striking
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difference is that fortune telling over coffee didn’t change its
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connotation with time. Today, it is also an act of solidarity or a
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chance to “gossip”, one might say. </p>
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<p>“In this painting, an Ottoman woman drinking coffee and her maid
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serving her is depicted. It is known that the painting is from the first
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half of the 18th century. The work of Jean-Baptiste Vanmour, ‘Turkish
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Girl Drinking Coffee on the Sedir’ was based on this Ottoman woman, who
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is the main figure of the painting. The maid, who is positioned on the
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right side of the painting and serves on her knees, is noticed as the
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other interesting side of the painting. The large and ostentatious
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headdress on the head of the Ottoman woman stands out as another element
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that focuses attention on the work. It is also known that the headdress
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in question was inspired by the picture of a serpentine woman in the
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book of the Dutch painter Cornelis de Bruyn, who visited Turkey in the
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17th century.”</p>
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<p>Whether with gossip or chatting over coffee, women have always found
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a way to express themselves regardless of oppression. These rituals were
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performed by women as an act of sisterhood and out of respect for both
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their inner worlds and each other. It is undeniable that gossip still
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brings people together and that centuries of oppression failed to change
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that. Through the centuries, as the word began to be weaponized against
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women and became a tool to turn against each other, I can’t help but
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wonder how unfair pop culture has been to women. In any magazine or TV
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series, anyone can spot a gossip scene</p>
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<div class="full-image">
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<figure>
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<img src="image4.jpg" class="white-caption"
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alt="kahvegibikahve.com/blog" />
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<figcaption aria-hidden="true">kahvegibikahve.com/blog</figcaption>
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</figure>
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</div>
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<p>with negative consequences or aim. A woman is sassy, “bitchy” or evil
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when she gossips, but why do we still let our acts be defined by the
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misogynistic portrayal of men?</p>
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<p>Nowadays, the notions of gossip or fortune telling may be used as
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something you wouldn’t want to be a part of because it could harm
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someone. Let’s oppose the negative connotation assigned by men to these
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words and use them as a joyful gathering. Reclaiming gossip and fortune
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telling as an intimate support system, a strong web, is the least we can
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do to honour the women who met at taverns and shared a part of their
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souls with each other.</p>
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<p><br class="page-break"></p>
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<h3
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id="how-to-make-the-perfect-turkish-coffee-and-some-guides-for-fortune-telling">How
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to make the perfect Turkish coffee and some guides for
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fortune-telling:</h3>
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<ol type="1">
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<li>Put two teaspoons of coffee in “cezve”, the traditional pot. </li>
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<li>Add one cup of cold water to the pot. Mix once with the spoon. The
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ratio is one cup, and two teaspoons of coffee. </li>
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<li>Begin cooking at a low temperature until the top coat
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gets darker. </li>
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<li>Cook at a high temperature until the point where the coffee begins
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rising. </li>
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<li>Take the pot off the oven right before it overflows. </li>
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<li>Take the foamy part with a teaspoon and put it in the cup before
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pouring the rest. This will protect the foam. The foam is important for
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quality check.</li>
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</ol>
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<p>😊</p>
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