It’s no secret that women are socialized to compete with one another, and it’s important now more than ever for women to support each other. That’s why I would never invalidate another woman’s success – but I will tell you how her parents made their money.
Even though there are a lot of things that can impact a woman’s career and success, your parents can have an impact or influence on one’s social stratification. It’s sexist to claim another woman doesn’t deserve her success, but it’s not sexist to mention how mommy and daddy are loaded.
Whenever I’m lucky enough to witness the glory of another woman achieving success, I don’t get jealous. Why? Well, it’s because I will do a deep search of her on the internet, then see if there are any oil tycoons or famous film producers with her last name. Then I figure out how her parents make their money. I do all this not to negate against other women’s success, but rather to contextualize her journey to success.
Sometimes, you find out that your gal pals with seemingly perfect lives come from blood money. Does stumbling across that information make a person feel better about themselves? Not gonna lie, yes. Finding out that another successful woman’s great grandparents were kinda evil and rich does make me feel better about myself.
This is never done in an attempt to make another woman feel bad about herself, just something to keep in mind when I see her flexing on Instagram.
Sometimes I see a woman win, and I think “Yes! All your parent’s fracking has paid off.” I don’t try to downplay her success or work. I celebrate her wins, knowing I can rest easy at night knowing my parents raised me with resourcefulness.
Is it sexist to attribute a woman’s success to the generational wealth of her family? Maybe…or you could call it class consciousness.
Women of all backgrounds should be celebrated! A person can’t help that they were born into money, but it does make a lot of sense why that person is winning at life. Just because her parents fund her lifestyle, doesn’t mean she works any less than anyone else. Self-made queens with rich parents are still self-made!
