I’m trying to remember if I’ve ever used the phrase “the common woman” in all seriousness. I think I might have written it sarcastically, to make fun of some peasant-shading elitist, but I can’t say that it’s a phrase that comes rolling off the (peasant) tongue for me. But then again, I’m not constantly defending myself against charges of unbridled elitism. To be fair to Gwyneth Paltrow, she was not the first person in this CNN Money interview – she was asked how she thinks she has anything to say to “the common woman.” As in, the CNN interviewer asked her that. So… while I’m not giving Gwyneth a total pass, I think she was just rephrasing the question. I also think she truly believes that she has an enormous amount in common with the commoners. Some assorted quotes from Gwyneth’s CNN interview:

The purpose of Goop: “What we try to do at Goop is curate and to edit. We know that a woman’s time is her most precious resource and we want to multitask, get a lot done, and what we want to do is provide the best solutions.”

The common woman: “I’m incredibly close to the common woman in that I’m a woman and I’m a mother and we all are in a physical body with beating hearts with compassion and love we are all seekers…we all want fulfillment, we all want to live our best lives. We want to be healthy and happy and squeeze the most we can out of life. I think that’s all women.”

The perception that Goop is only for rich people: “I always say that when people make that false assumption, it’s because people haven’t actually gone to the site and seen what we’re selling and seen what we’re about… I think the idea is that we’re going to find the best thing and where it is at any price point.”

Don’t call her a lifestyle guru: “I see myself as an actor and a mother and as an entrepreneur. I don’t see myself as a guru at all. I’m not a guru because I’m the one asking the questions. I’m not purporting to know anything.”

[From E! News]

She certainly has her talking points down – she said some similar things in her recent Wall Street Journal interview too. Do you really think Gwyneth Paltrow is down with the common woman? I think it’s interesting that she’s trying to seem like she is. I think it’s interesting that this is her new image. She’s no longer the snotty elitist deigning to speak to the common people, she’s trying to say that we are all women and we all go through the same crap. Are you buying it? And by “buying it” I mean “$5000 Goop-curated booty shorts.”

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet.