Sauce for the gander

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AN old axiom, possibly from the days of epicurean food preferences, and from the repertoire of gourmet cooks, states that “what is sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander”. Originating from old English and Germanic (gandra), Dutch (gander) and English (gannet), ‘gander’ (noun), in use since the 18th century, refers to the male of the geese species, while goose indicated the female.

The expression ‘goose’ is often used to describe a silly or timid female. Similarly, ‘gander’ is slang for the simpleton. However, Aesop’s  “goose that laid golden eggs” was  a profitable bird. ‘A fattened goose’, of unknown gender, was a popular item consumed at festive dinners in England. Possibly, ganders were reared for meat, while the goose contributed to proliferation of the species by laying eggs. The bird’s sexuality was overlooked and  the expression goose was singularly descriptive of both sexes.

The idea of ‘gandering’ off (verb) in the 17th century connoted  wandering off foolishly. Gander (verb) also found its way into slang in the latter half of the 19th century wherein “taking/having a gander” meant taking a long look at something.

 A ‘gander party’ was the expression once used to describe an all-male gathering. This has now been replaced by the term ‘stag party’, possibly because humans see themselves as more akin to animals (which are also mammals)  rather than birds.

 Gander is also the name of a less known town in E Newfoundland in Canada. An international airport, built here in 1936, played a strategic role in the positioning of military aircraft heading towards Europe during World War II.  By the 1950s, Gander Airport had expanded into a hectic international airport carrying overseas traffic.

 The use of an identical sauce to cook both the ‘goose’ and the ‘gander’ is an idiomatic expression. The literal meaning implies that a well-cooked bird, irrespective of whether it is a goose or a gander, will be served with the same sauce. However, the idiomatic expression does not even remotely refer to the cooking of poultry.

 ‘Goose’ represents the human female while ‘gander’ describes the human male. The idiomatic expression implies that the same set of rules remain applicable to both men and women. John Heywood wisely observes that “asdeep drinketh the goose as the gander” (1562). Given the nature of patriarchal societies the world over, a cursory ‘gander’ (quick look) enables us to recognise that men and women’s lives have seldom been garnished with the same sauce. 

 ‘Sauce’ when equated with ‘cultural practice’ demonstrates that men and women have led disparate lives and have been subject to differing rules all along. In fact, the new term now used to describe male and female identities conditioned by society is ‘gender’. From Latin (genus; birth, family) and Old French (genre; kind type), ‘gender’ refers to  the social and cultural differences that constitute male and female identities and  pays scant attention to biological identities.

All manner of strange sauces for the hapless goose are being concocted by honking ‘ganders’ heading political and religious institutions in India today. Ancient personifications of divinity as ‘ardha-narishwara’, embodying the equal and composite status of men and women, has made little impact. Hide-bound, gendered roles are currently being prescribed on various public platforms. Such regressive formulations must be rejected. Else “our goose will be truly cooked!” (We all will be in deep trouble).