“Pass it to me!” a pig-tailed girl yelled across the emerald-green field, surrounded on all sides by thick brush and densely leafed trees.
“Don’t rush me!” a boy yelled back, holding a red, black, and white ball, elbows poised to pass the precious orb to one of his five friends.
“Come on, Terry! We haven’t got all day, ball-hog!” a boy in a white-and-blue tunic retorted as a teasing, teeth-bearing grin sprawled across his face. The children erupted in laughter as the boy holding the ball turned red and snorted in frustration.
“Alright!” Terry huffed, cranking his arm back, “You want the ball!? Then go get it!” he screamed, hurling it toward the white-and-blue tunicked boy. WHOOSH, the ball whirred through the air, cutting through the giddy, taunting laughter. The white-and-blue tunicked boy’s eyes widened as he dove out of the way. Crumple, Crumple, Crumple, the ball crashed through the brush behind him, breaking the web of branches along its way.
“What did you do that for!? Go get the ball, you spazz!” the boy winced as he lifted himself up from his deft dodge.
“YOU’RE the one who missed it, Johnathan! YOU go get it,” Terry threw his hands up in the air.
AWEHTAHYAH, an unintelligible gurgling came from beyond the brush.
“Umm.. What was that?” the pig-tailed girl leaned back, her voice shaking. “Johnathan, go check!”
“What, why me!? You’re-“
But, before Johnathan could lay his accusation, a goblin jumped out from the brush, wearing nothing but the ball it was holding in its clawed hands.
“AHH, A GOBLIN!” the girl screeched, running in the opposite direction. Johnathan turned around and saw the rest of the children fleeing and screaming in unison like a terrified choir.
The strange creature, no taller than Johnathan, continued gurgling and approached him, walking bow-legged, holding the ball at waist height. Johnathan breathed heavily, slowly took a step back and held his arms up, “Nice goblin, nice goblin,” what do I do!? Mom and Dad said there were no more goblins left, but now it’s gonna eat my bones, just like in the stories! The goblin took one leap forward, landing just in front of Johnathan, its back-hunched. Its eyes bulged out of its head like saucers, as the odd little creature studied the boy,.
Oh gods, it’s gonna eat my toes and fingers and use my skin for pie crust! Johnathan thought, as he raised his arms and closed his eyes. A second passed, then another, and then another ten or twenty before Johnathan heard the gurgling begin again. He opened his eyes and saw the creature offering the ball to him in between its unkempt, green, gaunt hands. The boy took another step back and saw the goblin shove the ball toward him.
“D-do you… want to give it to me?” Johnathan pointed to the ball, and then himself. The creature gestured one last time before Johnathan hesitantly reached for the ball, quickly pulling it back toward his chest. “Th-thank you?”
The creature ignored this, and started walking back into the brush, “Wait!” Johnathan cried out as the goblin turned around. He held the ball up, “I’ve never met a goblin before! But, you’re nice. Do you wanna play catch, maybe?”
The creature tilted its head, babbling again and approached him. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” The goblin just picked its nose in response. “Okay, wait,” Johnathan stuck out his tongue, “DOoh his,” he babbled, pointing to his tongue. Snarling, the creature stuck out its tongue. Johnathan grabbed the leathery tongue, and spoke in a hushed tone, “speak,” as golden, twinkling dust flowed from his hands onto the creature’s tongue.
“Let go!” the creature yelled, its high-pitched, gargled voice piercing through the forest. Snorting, the goblin touched its lips, “Wait, how me talk!? What you do!?” Johnathan walked forward, “Don’t worry! It’s just a little bit of magic my sister taught me! Now we can talk to each other and be friends… I mean, if you want to be?”
“Friends?” the goblin scratched its head.
“Well, yea? You’re nice, and I’ve never met a goblin before! Plus I bet the others will be SUPER jealous that I’M friends with a goblin and THEY aren’t,” Johnathan explained with a chokingly thick smugness. “My name’s Johnathan, what’s yours?”
“No name! Only me for a very long time, so no one to call me anything!”
“YOU DON’T HAVE A NAME!? Your parents didn’t give you one!?”
“No parents, only me!” the creature scratched its belly button..
“Oh… Well, we’ll have to give you a name!” Johnathan resolved, a tenor of joy rang through his decree as he smiled at the goblin. “You’re a boy so you need a boy name! What abouuuuu-“
“NOT BOY, GIRL” the creature scowled and shrieked at him.
“But, you’re-“ Johnathan pointed at the creature’s body.
“NO, I know what ‘boy’ mean enough to know that I am girl!” The shrieking turned into tearful whimpering.
Johnathan approached the goblin and put his hand on her shoulder, “Okay, okay, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you sad!” His brow turned down, “If you’re a girl goblin, then you need a girl name! What about….” The boy grabbed his chin in deep thought, “Goblina?”
“Oh, Goblina, yes, yes! Good name, I can be Goblina!” her frown turned into a toothy, shark-like smile.
“Okay, Goblina it is!” he smiled, and pondered a bit longer as he scanned Goblina, “The girls in my village all wear dresses or skirts,” He took off his tunic and offered it to her, “Take this and tie it at your waist, just like the skirts my mom wears!” Johnathan explained. Goblina complied, donning the tunic. Despite the novelty of cotton rubbing against her skin, she smiled as she twirled around just like she had seen so many girls do before. “Wait! I have one more gift for you!” Johnathan exclaimed, untying a knot of silk from his elbow. “This was my sisters.” He paused, looking at the ribbon, “She’s… gone now,” He looked down at the cloth, melancholy. Tying the band of silk into a ribbon, he offered it to Goblina, “if you take this ribbon and put it in your hair, everyone will always know you’re a girl! That’s what my sister used to do!”
Goblina reached for the ribbon, putting it into her messy, singular tuft of brunette hair, “it’s magic ribbon!?”
Johnathan paused and took a deep breath and, looking at the glee on Goblina’s face, he chose not to demolish it, “Yes! It’s magic! As long as you wear it, everyone will always know you’re a girl!” he smiled and the two celebrated their new friendship with a game of catch, rapidly losing track of time. As night fell, the temperature did too, and the clattering of
Goblina’s teeth echoed through the dense field. “You must be cold a lot? And you’re here alone without a mom and dad? Do you live with anyone?” Johnathan inquired, wide-eyed as he imagined what her life must be like.
“No, just Goblina, but it’s fine! Goblina is happy, she can do whatever she wants, even if it’s cold sometimes, or she gets hungry!” She replied, forcing a smile.
Johnathan didn’t press further, “Why don’t you come home with me? We have lots of room now, and no one should have to be cold and hungry!”
“You’re inviting Goblina… to stay with you? I know other humans don’t like goblins, y-you sure?”
“Well, you’re different! Mom and Dad said that goblins are supposed to be mean, but you’re nice, and you’re my friend!” Johnathan smiled and put his hand on Goblina’s shoulder, “everything will be fine, I’m sure of it!”
Goblina thought for a fleeting moment, but her stomach rumbled, “Okay! I come home with you!”
The two embarked back home through the woods where Goblina had been living. Although their trek was short-lived, it was one Goblina felt she would remember forever as she skipped along with her new and only friend. However, the reality of the human world set in as they came to the top of a small hill, overlooking the village she had stayed away from for so long, remembering how prevoius towns had treated her. She crossed her arms, coiling her body tightly, “you sure it fine?” Goblina asked.
“Don’t worry! I promise, as long as you’re with me, you’ll be alright!” her new friend put his hands on his waist and smiled, almost like a superhero, and she couldn’t help but believe him. The unlikely duo approached the humble village, home to no more than a couple hundred people, all of whom had, evidently, gone home for the day as they walked by empty store fronts,
and wooden homes with flickering candlelight shining just beyond thin cloth drapes. Eventually, Johnathan stopped in front of a small cottage and pointed to the door, “This is my house! Are you ready?” he held his hand out for Goblina to take.
She held his hand and smiled, “Yes! I’ll be very good!” she resolved as he opened the door. The house was just as small inside as it was outside. The was one medium-size room containing a shabby dining room table, derelict cabinets, and a cauldron over a fireplace. A woman stood near the cauldron, dropping various vegetables into a stew. She wore a long, brown dress, down to her ankles, covered by a white-frilled apron that concealed her body, up to her neck.
“I’m home, Mom, and I brought a new friend over!” Johnathan’s proclamation was filled with a healthy mixture of excitement and anxiety.
“Well, tell us-“ the woman began to turn around, her train of thought stopped by the sight of the horrible little creature near her dear son. “Johnathan, get away from that thing!” she screamed at him, to him, her worry filling the house.
“Woman, why are you screaming!?” A man entered the main home through a closed door. The short, lanky man, put on his glasses, “what’s all the fuss-“ he scanned the room and saw the little monster, “What the hell is that!?” he reached for the nearest weapon, a fire poker, and wielded it like a sword, “Johnthan, get away, it’s gonna eat you-“
“Mom, Dad, stop!” Johnthan stood in front of Goblina, “this is my new friend, Goblina!”
“You can’t be friends with that… that… thing!” his father shouted.
Thing? Goblina hid behind Johnathan.
“Well, we are! She’s nice and she gave me back my ball,” he held up his ball, showing his evidence of her kindness.
The two adults looked at one another and then back to the two children, focusing on the sniveling, scared creature behind their son. “Your friend?” his mom approached, leaving the stew behind.
“Yes, and she’s all alone! She doesn’t have a Mom or Dad, and I figure since Aria is gone, maybe Goblina could stay here?” Johnathan’s eyes were filled with conviction as his lip quivered, trying to keep his voice steady.
Without a word, the adults looked at one another, a knowing melancholy in their eyes. Johnathan’s mother approached him and took his hand, “Johnathan, you can’t-“
“Please,” his eyes welled up, “just for a little bit?”
His mother sighed and smiled, “okay sweetie, she can stay here, and just for a little bit! But, if she causes any trouble-“
“Goblina won’t cause any trouble, she promises!” Goblina jumped out from behind Johnathan, her arms covering her body like an anxiety shield and the parents smiled at her. The night went smoothly as the adults finished making dinner for the new guest. As the little goblin ate her first hot meal, she was filled with the less literal warmth of family that she had never experienced, the parents asking probing questions about where she had come from, what she was doing, and what she had done. Before long, the two children were sent to bed for the night in a shared room. Despite being hushed many times, the pair couldn’t help but giggle and laugh themselves into eventual sleep, as they imagined the fun they would have when the sun rose.
“Goblina! Johnathan!” Mom yelled, “it’s time to wake up!” Both of the children jumped from their separate beds and launched themselves into their clothing for the day. When Goblina left the room wearing her signature white-and-blue tunic, ribbon in her hair, Mom stared and asked, “Goblina! Don’t you have other clothes!?”
Goblina looked down at the pristine, clean-smelling cloth, “why new clothes? This dress clean!”
“Goblina, you’re not supposed t-“ she interrupted herself, realizing that she had never taken a closer look at Goblina’s hairy little legs and arms, or the little whiskers on her lip and chin. “Goblina! You-you’re quite hairy aren’t you!? Don’t you want to shave? Have you bathed yet?”
“Bathe? Why would Goblina bathe? Only been three weeks since last bath in river,” Goblina inquired incredulously.
“Three weeks! Dear, gods, didn’t anyone teach you that you ought to clean yourself! You’re a girl after all and you don’t want to smell sweaty and gross!” Mom replied with equal incredulity.
Teach?
“Mom, Goblina didn’t have anyone to show her that girl stuff,” the boy leaned in closer to his mom, whispering this reminder.
“Oh you poor thing!” Mom hugged Goblina tightly, noticing her daughter’s ribbon in the creature’s hair.
Goblina’s first ever hug!
“Well, don’t worry! I’m going to the dressmakers to tailor some dresses, and,” she stopped, looking at the room the two had shared, as empathy and sadness prompted her to offer: “Aria isn’t here, so I suppose we can have her dresses tailored to you!”
“Dresses? For Goblina?” her buggy eyes bulged out even further, and her mouth grinned wider than she had ever known was possible.
“Yes,” Mom held back tears at the sight of the happy goblin, “yes, absolutely! You didn’t have anyone to parent you, and I want to help. Don’t worry, me and the other women will help you learn everything you need to know!” she embraced Goblina tightly.
The two children held hands, and Goblina smiled, “We go shopping together!” Chuckling, Mom grabbed their hands, “No, Goblina! Only the girls will go shopping, the boys have to go do something else!”
“Don’t worry! We can play later! Besides, I think Dad wanted to go hunting today!” Johnathan reassured her. With one last toothy smile, Goblina nodded her head, and she and Mom went off into town to get new clothing.
As they walked through town, Goblina noticed that people stared and hushed their voices as she walked by. They must be jealous of Goblina’s new tunic and ribbon, she mused. Before she knew it, they had arrived at a building with strange markings on it. Can speak but not read? They entered, and Goblina ogled the mannequin in the small shop. It wore a simple but beautiful lavender dress, sleeveless, ankle-length with a ruffled collar. Pretty! The woman inside didn’t turn to look at them, “elcome!” she muffled through pins in her mouth.
“Hello!” Goblina shrieked, “Goblina wants a new dress! Lots of ruffles!” The woman turned around, the pins dropped from her mouth and she yelled, “What the he-“
“This is Goblina, Moira,” Mom interrupted. “She needs a new dress and we were wondering if you could tailor one of Aria’s old ones for her!”
Moira looked at Mom with bewilderment, “This-this…”
“I understand, but she’s a very nice girl, please? I’ll cook you my stew,” she haggled.
“You should’ve said that to begin with!” Moira smiled, grabbed a stool and gestured for Goblina to stand on it. Although all of Aria’s dresses were pretty, Goblina couldn’t help but feel weighed down by the multiple layers of the dresses as she tried them on. With each dress, she was reminded of the tunic she had been given. It was light weight, short, and freeing, without any undergarments at all! Something she could run and roll around in as she searched for grubs and mushrooms, unfettered by the floor length skirts she was wearing now. “Well, which is your favourite?” Moira asked, as the group tried on the last of the dresses.
“Maybe something shorter, like tunic from Johnathan?”
Mom looked to Moira and laughed and kneeled in front of Goblina, “Oh sweetheart! That’s for boys! These clothes are for girls, you’ll get used to them, I promise!” Mom put her hand on Goblina’s shoulder, and, only for a moment, the little goblin felt the same comfort she had from Johnathan’s promise.
Goblina scowled and asked, “But how will Goblina find food or climb trees in dress! Too fancy and it doesn’t let Goblina move right!”
“Sweetheart, that’s why the men go hunting, so that we can keep ourselves and our homes clean for them,” Mom smiled gently.
“Okay, Goblina try this one,” she pointed to the dress she currently had on. With that, Moira set to tailoring it for Goblina. They didn’t wait very long as Moira worked fast to please her customers, and shortly after, Goblina was wearing her new, floor-length, cotton dress.
In the sun, Goblina noticed that the layers were heavy and made her hotter than she was used to. The skirt of the dress was heavy as she flapped it, fanning her legs. “Goblina!” she heard from behind her. Mom was pointing to her ankles, “I had forgotten that you needed a good shave!” she chortled.
“Why! Keep Goblina warm when she sleeps!” she rubbed the few hairs she had on her chin that, obviously, would never keep her warm.
“Well, if you want to look like the other little girls, we’ll have to shave your face! Don’t worry, I’ll show you how to do it!” Mom held Goblina’s hand and took her to another strange building. When they entered, Goblina saw other women and a little girl sitting down waiting for something. As she scanned the singular room further, she saw two other women, opposite to those in waiting, one in a chair wearing a large bib, and another with scissors in her hands, cutting the woman’s hair.
“Don’t worry, Goblina, this is a salon. It’s not much, but Nora came from a big city, and has shown us how nice it can be to get a nice hair cut and be clean shaven!” The two sat down in the empty seats, facing Nora and her client. As they sat, the women leaned over in their chairs to stare at the little creature: they must be jealous of my new dress!
“Is-is that…” one of the women began.
“Don’t worry! This is Goblina, she’s Johnathan’s new friend, and she’s a perfectly lovely girl, aren’t you Goblina!”
Perfectly lovely girl? Goblina blushed, Goblina is a lovely girl!
“She’s a little hairy, don’t you think?” Another woman stifled laughter.
“Of course Goblina’s hairy! How else you think she keep warm at night!?” Goblina answered.
“Girls aren’t supposed to be hairy! See!” the little girl next to the laughing woman pointed at the others in the salon, who, now, Goblina noticed didn’t have any hair on their faces, arms, or legs.
“B-but how you keep warm?”
Nora turned around, and Goblina noticed for the first time that she had unfamiliar markings around her eyes, fan-like eyelashes, lips red like roses, and perfectly kept hair.
“Oh don’t worry, you poor thing! Back in the city, we had all kind of other folk who didn’t know a thing about make-up or cosmetics! I’ll fix you up so that you can be just as pretty as the other girls,” Nora said, snipping her scissors with delight.
“See, Goblina, doesn’t that sound nice!” Mom put her arm around Goblina and pulled her closer.
Is Goblina… Not pretty now?
She sat with that thought for what felt like hours. However, her ruminating was interrupted when it was Goblina’s turn. The large, comfy chair seemed to swallow the little goblin as Nora began her work, first applying a hot towel to Goblina’s face, then a strange cream.
The woman grabbed a blade and approached Goblina, “Now don’t worry dear, this won’t hurt a bit!” Mom smiled and reassured her as Nora went to work shaving her face, legs and arms. Liar! It do hurt! Goblina thought, using all of her willpower to stay still as the stranger with the blade did away with her body hair. “Alright, now stay still while I cut your hai-“ she saw the woman try to take out her ribbon.
“NO! NO TAKE OUT MAGIC RIBBON,” Goblina clasped the ribbon like it was the only branch at the edge of a cliff. “JOHNATHAN GIVE TO GOBLINA,”
“I just want t-“
“NO! EVERYTHING ELSE OKAY, BUT NOT TAKE OUT RIBBON,” Goblina began to tear up.
Nora raised an eyebrow and looked at Mom, “It’s alright dear.” Mom walked toward Goblina and put her hands on her shoulders, “I think it’s been a lot today, Nora. Maybe just a little make-up? Is that okay, Goblina?” she gently cupped Goblina’s cheek with one hand.
Goblina wiped away tears and nodded, “Okay, Goblina want to look pretty, like Nora said,” she sniffled.
“Okay,” Nora gave a sympathetic glance and got to work, applying make-up to Goblina’s face. The process was shockingly intrusive as Nora grabbed Goblina’s lips tightly to apply lipstick. She used tweezers to remove stray hairs from her brow, and applied a novel, deeply distressing pressure to Goblina’s eyelids as she applied eyeliner and eyeshadow. “Well,” Nora presented a mirror, “What do you think?” the woman wore a proud grin.
For the first time through this process, Goblina saw herself, “Goblina looks… different?”
“Well of course you do! Now you look like a pretty girl!” Nora explained.
“Why is Goblina so itchy,” she asked, clawing at her arms, legs, and face.
“Goblina! Don’t itch! It’s just what happens sometimes when you shave! We’ll put a little moisturizer on it when we get home and you’ll be just fine!” Mom handed Nora some coins and thanked her.
On the way home, the itching became worse and worse as it spread across her body. Soon her eyes itched, too, as she rubbed away the black gunk that Nora had applied to her eyelashes. “Goblina don’t touch your face, you’ll ruin your make-up!”
“Why no touch!? It’s Goblina’s face, Goblina can touch Goblina’s face!” The itching intensified, “Why so itchy!?” she complained as she walked onward, noticing a lovely, large pile of mud along the side of the road. Goblina knows what to do! And she jumped into it, rolling around, the cool mud relieving the prickling sensation throughout her body.
“GOBLINA!” Mom shrieked, pulling Goblina out of the mud. She looked at Mom’s face, teeth bared like a wild animal, “Look at what you’ve done! You’ve ruined your new dress, your make up, and you’ve gotten filthy!”
“Goblina likes to be fil-“
“You’ve been a very bad girl, Goblina!”
Goblina is… a bad girl?
“Now we have to go home and bathe!” Mom screamed, her voice ringing through the little goblin’s ears.
Goblina cowered as Mom reached for her hand, “Goblina’s sorry, she didn’t mean t-“
“That’s enough, Goblina! It’s fine, just come home and we’ll get you cleaned up,” Mom snorted and let out a sigh.
Mom held Goblina’s hand tight like she was choking a chicken and marched her back home. When they arrived, they didn’t enter the house, but, instead, went around the back. There, Goblina saw a barrel, no taller than she or Johnathan, but wide enough to sit in. Next to it was an odd spout with a lever that Mom used to pump and pour water into several pails. “Get undressed for your bath, I’ll heat up some water for you so you don’t have to be cold,” her voice was hushed as her disappointment with and her empathy for Goblina battled one another.
Goblina began to take off her dress, but couldn’t get it over her head, “Help Goblina?” she whimpered, her voice muffled by the dress.
Goblina could hear Mom sigh, “here, let me help.” Mom went behind Goblina and noticed her daughter’s ribbon poking out from the ruffles of the outturned dress, “I’m sorry I yelled, Goblina, I shouldn’t have done that, you’re not a bad girl”
As Mom helped her pull down her dress and undo her buttons, Goblina smiled Goblina knew it! “It okay, Goblina shouldn’t have ruined her new dress,” she apologized as the last of the buttons was undone.
“Alright, now take off your undergarments and I’ll get the water ready,” as she walked toward the door, pails in hand.
“Okay,” Goblina took off her underwear, “thank you for showing Goblina lots of new things today,” she called as Mom went inside.
“Of course de-“ Mom turned around and stopped what she was saying as she saw Goblina. A look of bewilderment overcame her as she blushed.
“Goblina thinks being a girl is hard, but I try my best to-“
“Girl!? You’re not a girl at all, Goblina!” Mom yelled at her, pointing at her, “You’re a boy!”
Goblina’s heart sank as her chest tightened. She reached for and grabbed the bow, “No!” Goblina began, pointing to the ribbon, “Goblina is a girl! Ribbon that John-“
“No, Goblina, you’re a boy! A very poorly behaved boy who, apparently, likes to play tricks on people! You can’t go around telling everyone you’re a girl when you’re a boy!” the little goblin’s hear sank into her gut, as Mom’s voice boomed with anger and disbelief, pointing at Goblina.
“No! Goblina is a gir-“
“Stop lying, Goblina! This isn’t a funny trick! You and Johnathan are both in big trouble for playing such a nasty prank on us!” she continued to berate Goblina as the little goblin tried, but failed, to hold back tears.
“Bu-but, Goblina’s ribb-“
“Stop crying! Little boys don’t cry!” the reprimand pierced through Goblina as she continued to sob, inconsolable.
The air was warm tonight, so Mom filled up the bath, “Your punishment is bathing with the cool water,” she tossed the pails aside. “Come inside when you’re done so we can finish this discussion, young man,” the yelling stopped, but Mom continued to mutter as she went inside, slamming the door behind her.
Goblina had never liked baths, but this one was by far the worst. She wept, alone. She clutched onto the ribbon, untied it, and looked at it in her green little hand. Tears rolled down her face as her frown turned into a tooth-baring snarl, and she tossed the ribbon out. NOT MAGIC, JOHNATHAN LIE TO ME. The make-up was unbearably itchy as she wiped it away and clawed at herself until she felt relief. Her teeth chattered as she shivered. Slowly, the cold water chipped away her will power to continue bathing, and, after only a few minutes, she broke and left the barrel. Stepping over the clothes strewn on the dirt, she reached for the doorknob, Goblina doesn’t have to go back inside! Goblina can leave!
But, as this thought crossed her mind, Mom opened the door, eyes turned down, “Goblina, I’m sorry. I’ve been terribly rash lately and awful to you,” still unable to look at the little goblin. Mom held out her hand for Goblina to hold and fought through her own tears, “please come inside, I don’t want to you feel like you have to go be all alone again.”
Goblina, hunch-backed and anxious, reached out for Mom’s hand, and they went back to the room Goblina and Johnathan had shared the night before. They sat on the small bed together, and Mom turned to Goblina, “I don’t want to get too into it, but it’s been a hard time for our family, and I apologize for lashing out,” Goblina saw tears stream down Mom’s face. “But, if you say you’re a girl, then you’re a girl.”
Goblina bit her tongue and steeled herself, “thank you,” she whimpered.
“But,” Mom began, “there are still things you have to learn if you want everyone else to know you’re a girl. You can’t go around jumping into puddles of mud, and you certainly can’t ever bathe in front of anyone.”
“Why?”
“Because there are rules for being a girl, and you have to learn those rules.”
“Why?” the question echoed, insisting on itself.
“Because that’s the way the world works, Goblina,” the words, like little blades of air, cut the question off at the knees. “Now,” Mom wiped away the last of her tears, “dinner will be in a couple of hours, so why don’t you find a new dress from Aria’s things, and maybe go find some other girls to play with?” Mom’s delicate hand brushed through Goblina’s wirey hair as she stood up to go prepare stew.
“Where is Johnathan? Goblina has a question to ask him!” the words left her mouth as she huffed and crossed her arms.
“Johnathan’s gone out with his father to hunt, and likely won’t be back until tomorrow.” Goblina’s interrogation would have to wait. “Now, go out and play, and remember, be a good girl and behave,” Mom turned around in the door frame as she walked away, with her eyes half-opened, she smiled sympathetically, and left to prepare dinner.
The door closed gently, and Goblina stared at the wooden floor. In the corner was a closet, with several of Aria’s dresses, and, folded beneath those, were Johnathan’s clothes. The neat piles seemed to blend into each other, except for one single garment: the white-and-blue tunic Johnathan had given her when they met. She reached for it and put it on again as she wrapped her arms around herself. Memories streamed through her mind as she felt the material against her, and the mettle she had mustered before exploded into tears of anger. Goblina was better before! Alone! Free! Moments from the past two days flashed in her mind, and all she remembered was the pointing, the pointing, the pointing. With her little goblinic claws, she tore at the tunic, leaving only enough material for a loin cloth. She looked at the door and snarled, then at the window. Breathing deeply into her chest, she finalized her resolve as she jumped through the open hole. Cool mud cushioned her fall and refamiliarized her clean skin to grime. She took another step forward and felt something beneath her. Underfoot was the crushed ribbon, dirtied and tattered.
Growling turned into whimpering as she recalled the little boy in the white-and-blue tunic who had given it to her. Grasping at the ground, she picked up the dirty, magic ribbon, clutched it tightly, and left the village behind.
Explanation Write-Up
The ‘short’ (maybe not so short) story, “Goblina and the Magic Ribbon,” is meant to be an allegory regarding queer theory/queer anarchism. The story is written in plain language, substituting directly introducing theory with utilizing plot and character development so that people from multiple experiences/educational backgrounds can understand. The theory part of this story relates to queer anarchist theories, primarily through Lucy Nicholas’ work. There are two themes in particular that are demonstrated herein: firstly, the notion that “compulsory heterosexuality is clearly tyrannical,” (Lucy Nicholas, Gender and Sexuality), and secondly that queer anarchism, and anarchism in general, seeks to free us from “gender tyranny,” (Nicholas, Gender and Sexuality). These two points are demonstrated through the characters in the story: Goblina is representative of queer anarchist thought, wanting freedom from the control of the gender binary and heteronormativity imposed on her by the village. She believes she was a girl before, and continues this belief after being admonished for not ‘being a girl,’ choosing her freedom over heteronormative tyranny. This heteronormativity is demonstrated through several examples (being told girls wear dresses to impress boys, being told to shave, told she must be a boy when she is naked, and even within her name itself as a ‘girl’s’ name). This tyranny is primarily demonstrated through Goblina’s punishment once she stops, in Butler’s words ‘performing,’ (Butler, Imitation and Gender Insubordination, p.311) her gender (in this case, a combination of jumping into the mud, doffing the ribbon, and when her physical body doesn’t match up with her gender). To demonstrate Butler’s point, this insubordination is punished (Butler, p.315) the moment it stops with emotional and verbal rebukes. I also wanted to touch on the queer pedagogy that Nicholas discusses in a separate paper, “Anarchism, Pedagogy, Queer Theory and Poststructuralism: Toward a Positive Ethical Theory of Knowledge and Self.” In this
paper, she discusses several things. For instance, Focualt’s notion of “subjectivation,” wherein our identities are defined by the discourses around us (Nicholas, p.245): in this case, the identity of ‘woman,’ is decided by the women around Goblina. Nicholas also discusses how to overcome this power relation within a pedagogical structure through, “developmental,” discourses that are “explicit and transparent and open to constant critique by all participants,” (Nicholas, p.252). This teaching will always have a power structure, but this isn’t necessarily bad as, in Foucault’s words, there is “nothing wrong in the practice of a person who, knowing more than others in a specific game of truth, tells those others what to do, teaches them, and transmits knowledge…” (Nicholas, p.249). In this story, I provide a negative case of this, where the pedagogy is not developmental at all, but instead follows rigid structures as those with “more knowledge,” teach Goblina how to be a girl. This is demonstrated by the unhealthy, ‘extractive,’ and ‘subordinating,’ (Nicholas, p.249) pedagogical structure between the women and Goblina, This relationship is not open to critique, as Goblina’s questions are cut off with dogma.
Bibliography
Butler, Judith. “Imitation and Gender Insubrodination,” The Lesbian and Gay Studies Reader. Edited by Henry Abelove, Michele Aina Barale, and David M. Halperin. Routledge. 1993. https://pcnw.org/files/Butler-ImitationandGenderInsubordination.pdf. Last Accessed August 17, 2024.
Nicholas, Lucy. “Anarchism, Pedagogy, Queer Theory and Poststructuralism: Toward a Positive Ethical Theory, of Knowledge and the Self.” Anarchist Pedagogies: Collective Actions, Theories, and Critical Reflections on Education.” Edited by Robert H. Haworth. PM Press. 2012. Oakland, CA.
https://courses.ecuad.ca/pluginfile.php/746000/mod_resource/content/0/Anarchism_Peda gogy_Queer_Theory_and_Post.pdf. Last Accessed August 17, 2024.
Nicholas, Lucy. “Gender and Sexuality.” The Anarchist Library.
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/lucy-nicholas-gender-and-sexuality. Last Accessed August 17, 2024
Galateia Kefalas: Artist Portfolio 