Quote · Call Her Daddy
Olivia Wilde: Dating, Double Standards & Dealing with Scrutiny
Where this was said
Women Police Women — The Patriarchy Thanks You
At 51:45 · chapter starts 51:20
Cooper asks whether it feels like a betrayal when it's mainly women fueling the online commentary about Wilde's body and relationships. Wilde doesn't let women entirely off the hook — she argues that in participating in this cycle, women are effectively doing the patriarchy's job without being paid for it [1] — Olivia Wilde "The harshest critics of women are often other women — and Wilde argues that's not a coincidence. Women have been handed the patriarchy's to…" 51:20 . She offers a more generous interpretation too: gossip originated in medieval times as a genuinely positive form of feminine communication and community care. That instinct has been corrupted into a weapon. She and Cooper identify the cycle: a woman gets sexism directed at her, then takes it out on another woman, and so on, while the men laugh. Cooper frames it perfectly: 'The men are just watching.'
The harshest critics of women are often other women — and Wilde argues that's not a coincidence. Women have been handed the patriarchy's tools and are unconsciously using them to keep each other down, while the men are laughing. The origin of gossip was once a positive feminine superpower. It's been weaponized.
