Gowaty’s subject was the eastern bluebird, Sialia sialis, the cobalt-coloured songbird associated with happiness and featured in Disney’s ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah’. A much-loved avian superstar as wholesome and all-American as apple pie, and Gowaty was effectively calling her a Jezebel. It was never going to go down well, but Gowaty was shocked at the depth of prejudice amongst her peers.
