Jennifer Aniston gets real about body acceptance and the power to have or not have children

By Stephanie hallett

July 12, 2016

By Stephanie hallett

July 12, 2016

Jennifer Aniston is fed up with the pressures placed on women to be thin, married and mothers—and she’s not going to take it anymore.

In the face of new pregnancy rumors, the actress spoke out in a powerful op-ed about the ways women are regularly body shamed and objectified in the media, and how that toxic cycle can end.

“The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general,” she wrote in a Huffington Post blog post on Tuesday. “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.”

Aniston firmly denied the pregnancy rumors in her HuffPost piece and said that although she usually chooses to stay above the fray and not address gossip, she finally decided to take a stand and send the message that women are in charge of their own destinies—whether or not they include motherhood, marriage or just a burger for lunch.

Aniston has faced constant speculation about her maternal status over the years, so it’s no surprise that she’s had enough. On Twitter, Vogue contributing editor Michelle Ruiz cheered Aniston’s op-ed, saying the actress has been “reduced to a walking womb for the last 15+ years.”