I have a bit of a confession to make: I absolutely adore Martha Stewart - or at
least the facsimile that’s presented via her website and magazines. She makes shit from scratch and can neatly fold a fitted sheet. Looking at those bright, crisp photos just
makes me want to clean my house and make my family a meal. They make me want to figure out how to make
preserves and start a garden. Maybe I’ll
start composting. Maybe I can convince
Ray to let me have a couple of chickens in the backyard – fresh, organic eggs,
right?
Then, I remember. I
come back to myself.
I don’t really want to do that shit. I want someone like Martha to work for me and keep my house in
tip-top shape.
By all accounts, she’s a
hard-working and ambitious woman. She
started a catering company and grew it into what is now Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. Apparently she doesn't need a lot of sleep (I
definitely envy that) and possesses boundless energy.
But, alas, everything is not perfect. Not even Miss Martha.
Obviously, anything is possible. Anything.
It’s just some things are unexpectedly disappointing.
I hadn't realized that within the superwoman also lives a super insecure gal.
I'd assumed that anyone who had built
what she has from hard work and grit would be self-assured, less likely to feel threatened. Plus she’s older. It’s always my hope (though not my
experience) that women get more confident as they move through their decades –
especially those over 35.
I realized how wrong I was when I read about Martha Stewart criticizing
Gwyneth Paltrow for getting into the lifestyle brand game (via her website,
Goop):
“She just needs to be quiet. She’s a movie star. If she were confident in her acting, she wouldn’t be trying to be Martha Stewart.”
Whiskey. Tango.
Foxtrot.
This is why we can’t
get anywhere as a people – as women-people.
There’s always some catty cow trying to squeeze someone out or exclude
them altogether. Can’t she be a movie
star and launch a lifestyle brand?
Jessica Alba is an actress and launched The Honest Company. Lucy Liu is an actress and a photographer and
painter. People can do more than one
thing in life.
I hate to go all
Rodney King (God rest his soul) on you, but can’t we all just get along? Can’t we just support each other? Or, at least rely on the old adage about having nothing nice to say? Women
are now (mostly) free to do and be what and who they want. Martha could definitely be considered a pioneer in her arena. What does she want to do, burn the bridge
after she’s crossed it?
Besides, have you
ever visited Goop? Martha Stewart’s
demographic is the middle class. Goop thinks
nothing of suggesting a $2,500 blazer (that doesn't come in any size larger
than an 8 or 10) as a must-have for the season or recommending a hotel that
cost $1,200/night. How can that be
competition? The site was originally built
as a way for Gwyneth to widely share her recommendations on travel, food, etc.
with her friends (e.g. people that
can afford this shit as easily as she can).
As I type, there is a lace bomber jacket on the site for sale – all you need is $2,295.
Marthastewart.com
is about everyday appeal. Goop is unequivocally and unabashedly about the 1%.
Martha Stewart
being put out by Gwyneth Paltrow’s efforts and then sharing the nasty carnival
that goes on inside her head with a reporter – the whole thing just seems
in-fucking-sane.
The statement actually
says more about the critic than it could ever say about the critiqued.
In it's proper place, competition is healthy. If used correctly, having someone nipping at your heals, can provide the necessary (albeit, painful) push to move your game to the next level. It can be a blessing.
What a sadness. After all she's built, it seems she can't stand a little wind and rain. She can't conceive that her contributions are uniquely her and cannot be usurped by anyone else. There will never ever ever be another Martha Stewart.
She doesn't know what I do: There is room for both.
There is room for
all of us.
