Earlier this year, Jennifer Aniston wrote an article in which she addressed the "dehumanising" way women are viewed by society.
She wrote:
This past month in particular has illuminated for me how much we define a woman’s value based on her marital and maternal status. The sheer amount of resources being spent right now by press trying to simply uncover whether or not I am pregnant (for the bajillionth time... but who’s counting) points to the perpetuation of this notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful, or unhappy if they’re not married with children. Here’s where I come out on this topic: we are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone.
Well, now Jennifer has revealed the reason she felt compelled to write the piece – and it's down to feeling perpetually shamed.
Speaking to Marie Claire, Jennifer revealed that she's been shamed for just about every status she's occupied over the years.
She explained:
My marital status has been shamed; my divorce status was shamed; my lack of a mate had been shamed; my nipples have been shamed. It's like, Why are we only looking at women through this particular lens of picking us apart? Why are we listening to it?
And she concluded by saying for once and for all, how sick she was of being defined by her maternal and marital status.
Jennifer said:
I just thought: "I have worked too hard in this life and this career to be whittled down to a sad, childless human."
YES. JEN. 🙌 👏 🙏 💗
She did, however, go on to say that she's reached a crossroads in her life, and is deciding what route she should take professionally.
Jennifer explained:
This is a time when I'm not completely sure what I'm doing. I'm at this sort of crossroads trying to figure out what inspires me deep in my core. What used to make me tick is not necessarily making me tick any- more ... The most challenging thing right now is trying to find what it is that makes my heart sing.
Whatever Jennifer decides, there's no doubt she'll be amazing.
