Gwyneth Paltrow, actress and curator of overpriced products (see: $820 incense burner), would like women far and wide to know they have a deadline for self-actualization. According to the Academy Award winner, if a woman doesn't have her life figured out by age 40, she's basically a lost cause.
"If you haven't taken all of life's incredible knocks and disappointments and used them to become a fully integrated, self-expressing person by the time you're 40, then what can I tell you?" Paltrow explained in an interview with Samantha Bee for Harper's Bazaar.
It's true that "knocks and disappointments" are all relative. Paltrow is an incredibly wealthy, privileged woman who can get through said knocks while munching on truffles, behind four walls. She has, however, had to face the end of her marriage in a very public way and has surely dealt with a number of personal struggles unbeknownst to the public. However, implying that all women need to do anything by a certain age is problematic.
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Most families don't have the luxury of nannies to help with childcare or bursting bank accounts to handle the bills. Statements like this are incredibly insulting to those trying to keep their family afloat under harsh circumstances.
It's great that Paltrow has become the kind of person she wanted to be. Though, she needs to check her privilege before judging women who lack certain resources.
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