Jennifer Aniston Claps Back At Gossip: "We Don’t Need To Be Married Or Mothers To Be Complete"

Ever since Jennifer Aniston decided to change her hairdo in the mid ‘90s, she has been the subject of intense media speculation.

The tabloids and gossip sites have focused their glare on her marriage to Brad Pitt, its eventual dissolution and, more recently, her relationship with husband Justin Theroux, through it all perpetuating pregnancy rumours.

The Friends star has had enough, writing a blistering op-ed in The Huffington Post criticising not only her objectification by the media but also the “lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues.” (The fact she’s held her tongue for two decades is impressive in itself.)

“The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing,” she writes.

“The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty.

“I used to tell myself that tabloids were like comic books, not to be taken seriously, just a soap opera for people to follow when they need a distraction. But I really can’t tell myself that anymore because the reality is the stalking and objectification I’ve experienced first-hand, going on decades now, reflects the warped way we calculate a woman’s worth.”

Her argument about the objectification of women in the public sphere is not an uncommon one, but Aniston adds a new, damning crinkle by saying that the preoccupations of gossip sites on the “marital and maternal status” of women takes us back to a regressive time.

“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. In this last boring news cycle about my personal life there have been mass shootings, wildfires, major decisions by the Supreme Court, an upcoming election, and any number of more newsworthy issues that 'journalists' could dedicate their resources towards.”

Then, the hammer:

“[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. Let’s make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as examples. Let’s make that decision consciously, outside of the tabloid noise. We don’t need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own ‘happily ever after’ for ourselves.”

You can read the full piece here.

Photo: Universal.