Gwyneth Paltrow’s Goop has launched a new vagina-themed candle in support of reproductive rights.
On Thursday, the wellness company announced the launch of Hands Off My Vagina, a new limited-edition version of its popular This Smells Like My Vagina candle.
The new candle, which features an “alluring, intoxicating, deeply feminine scent” created by Paltrow and perfumer Heretic, has been released ahead of the 49-year anniversary of Roe v Wade on 22 January.
To celebrate the Supreme Court decision, which protects the right to abortion in the US, Goop announced that it will be donating $25 from the sale of each $75 candle to the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.
On Instagram, where Paltrow shared a video of the candle burning, she wrote: “The word ‘vagina’ holds a lot of power. And yet, there is a recurring need to say: Hands off. Hands off our vaginas in any context where they’re not invited. Your reproductive organs; your choice.
“In honour of the anniversary of Roe v Wade on January 22, Goop will donate $25 from the sale of each limited-edition candle sold on goop.com and in our retail stores to the ACLU Foundation’s Reproductive Freedom Project.”
In a press release from Goop, it notes that its This Smells Like My Vagina candle, which first launched two years ago and features scents of “hinoki wood and Damascena roses with flints of toasted cacao and soft coriander,” was initally created to “shed light on the unnecessary shame around vaginas, a continuation of Goop’s mission to empower female pleasure and sexual wellness”.
“The subsequent uproar about the name of the candle, which was designed to be a punk rock, feminist statement (and is obviously a bit cheeky), underscores the need for this dialogue,” Goop continued, adding that, given the “dire state of abortion access” in the US, it hopes to direct the attention to the “necessary cause” of reproductive freedom.
The press release continues: “If Roe is overturned, the ability to get an abortion is on the line for everyone - women, trans people, and anyone who can become pregnant - in America,” before acknowledging that “half of the states are poised to ban abortion for 36m people and politicians could try to ban abortion nationwide if they have the opportunity”.
Texas recently passed the nation’s most restrictive abortion law, under which abortions are banned after six weeks of pregnancy. The law also allows private citizens to sue a person who performs an abortion or assists someone in getting an abortion.
Following the launch of the latest candle, which also follows Goop’s successful This Smells Like My Orgasm candle, fans have praised Paltrow for the new product.
“Take my money,” one person commented on Instagram, while another said: “This is amazing. You are amazing.”
According to Paltrow, donations will be made on each candle sold until the candle sells out or until 1 July 2022, whichever occurs first.
