ceofari
“I think White women are taught to be competitive with one another … in my circle of Black women, they do not do that,” the actress and Goop founder said in a recent interview.
Gwyneth Paltrow, during a Thursday chat with Dr. Ella Bell at The Makers Conference in Beverly Hills, California, praised the “incredible intrinsic self-honoring” of her Black women friends, saying “it’s like from the deepest part of their souls all the way to the tips of their fingers.”
“My Black women friends know themselves, love themselves, in a way that I think White women are not taught to,” explained Paltrow, 51. “I think White women are taught to be competitive with one another — which is something I’ve tried to work so hard to dispel, because I don’t believe in competition between women — but we’re raised to be competitive, to be jealous, to look over each other’s shoulders.”
“And, at least in my circle of Black women, they do not do that,” the Academy Award winner continued. “There’s an immediate acceptance and safety and appreciation.”
Paltrow went on to tell Bell that she believes “White women have a lot to learn from Black women.”
“I’ve learned so much from my Black friends about ruthless self-acceptance and full love of self,” she said. “And I think we as White women in this culture have a lot to learn from our Black sisters and the way in which they respect themselves. And I’m not sure exactly where that comes from.”
“I can ask you that question. I would actually love to know why you think that African American women have that, and it’s like in a collective — it’s like an interwoven beautiful connection — and how you think, as White women, we can start to cultivate that within ourselves and in our own friendships,” Paltrow continued.
“I can turn to the Black women in this room when I need lifting up. That’s important for us. And I don’t think White women have that,” Bell replied.
Agreeing, Paltrow added, “Keeping White women at odds with each other, in competition with one another, keeps the patriarchy strong.”
