After years of being “stalked” by photographers trying to get the first snapshot of her non-existent baby bump, Jennifer Anniston has had enough.
In a piece for Huffington Post, Jennifer Anniston calls out tabloids for stalking her, the mad rush of photographers even sometimes manhandling bystanders who are “unfortunate” enough to be around her.
“Every day my husband and I are harassed by dozens of aggressive photographers staked outside our home who will go to shocking lengths to obtain any kind of photo, even if it means endangering us or the unlucky pedestrians who happen to be nearby. But setting aside the public safety aspect, I want to focus on the bigger picture of what this insane tabloid ritual represents to all of us.”
Going beyond that, she says that society’s engagement with women purely on the basis of how they look, or should look, and whether they are married or not, have kids or not, has to stop. She says that this excessive focus on appearance was sending out the wrong message to children, especially girls.
“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.”
The best part though, is what she says about beauty standards:
“Sometimes cultural standards just need a different perspective so we can see them for what they really are — a collective acceptance... a subconscious agreement. We are in charge of our agreement. Little girls everywhere are absorbing our agreement, passive or otherwise. And it begins early. The message that girls are not pretty unless they’re incredibly thin, that they’re not worthy of our attention unless they look like a supermodel or an actress on the cover of a magazine is something we’re all willingly buying into.”
Read the full article here. It’s great!