We applaud Jennifer Aniston for speaking up and championing the concept of women being inspired by personal motivations rather than societal expectations and those set by the media and marketers, for that matter. The reality is we are all susceptible to media and marketing messages, and there is a more positive role each can play to align with women’s personal motivations rather than setting unrealistic expectations.

While Aniston certainly gets a lot more attention and scrutiny than the average American woman, all women fall prey to such expectations. She had this to say:

“If I am some kind of symbol to some people out there, then clearly I am an example of the lens through which we, as a society, view our mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, female friends and colleagues. The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing. 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…. This past month in particular has illuminated for me how much we define a woman’s value based on her marital and maternal status…. 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.”

Hear, hear.

Read more of her powerful statement at The Huffington Post >