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Louise McSharry hits back at those who body shamed Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston wrote a very powerful piece on the Huffington Post yesterday in response to arti...
Newstalk
Newstalk

16.35 13 Jul 2016


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Louise McSharry hits back at t...

Louise McSharry hits back at those who body shamed Jennifer Aniston

Newstalk
Newstalk

16.35 13 Jul 2016


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Jennifer Aniston wrote a very powerful piece on the Huffington Post yesterday in response to articles written about her in tabloid magazines in recent weeks.

The subject of Aniston's pregnancy, or lack thereof, has been tabloid fodder for a number of years, as magazines took any bit of post-meal bloating to indicate a baby was on the way.

As she is not on social media she decided to write an article to finally set the record straight.

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"I am not pregnant. What I am is fed up," she began.

"I'm fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of 'journalism,' the 'First Amendment' and 'celebrity news.'

"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," she continued.

She said that sometimes cultural standards need a different perspective so they can be seen for "what they really are", and wrote about the message that society is giving to young girls on the importance of their physical beauty above all else.

Aniston's piece has sparked an overdue conversation on a woman's worth, and the star has been heavily praised for speaking out about this topic in such an honest and open way.


Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show this morning, 2FM broadcaster Lousie McSharry said that she thinks the piece was "excellent".

The DJ and author of 'Fat Chance' has previously spoken out about her own experiences of body shaming and her relationship with her self image.

She said that originally she was "skeptical" about Aniston's piece as you do not often think of the actor as a voice against body shaming.

"She has the typically beautiful body in terms of the way that society sees bodies," she explained.

"I just wish she'd said something before because it is completely insane the level at which her body has been scrutinised in the context of pregnancy over the last 15 to 20 years.

"There have been huge conversations around bodies in fashion, but what Jennifer is talking about is tabloids. These magazines are targeted at women and read largely by women."

She said she made a conscious effort seven or eight years ago to stop buying those magazines because they are "solely built on tearing down female celebrities."

"They have sections like the so-called 'circle of shame'", where images of celebrities on holidays with their family's are circled to highlight their so-called flaws.

"One week someone might be an 'inspiration' for daring to bare it all on the beach, and the following week they'll be ripping them down because they don't look perfect in their bikini," she added.

"It's a cycle of body terrorism!"

One texter to the programme explained how she was astonished by how much of the conversation around her current pregnancy is based on how she looks.

"My two-year-old is listening to this conversation and has begun to ask me does she look pretty," the texter explained, "I wish our general conversation around women would focus less on beauty and looks and more on who we are as people."

Louise said it is not all bad news though, as she thinks media is changing for the better.

"The rise of feminism is being represented in websites and in magazines, not necessarily in the tabloids, but in women's magazines - they are becoming much more enlightened and more informed than the used to be."

Louise also urged people to make conscious decisions about what messages they buy into.

"Think about the media you consume, think about the impact it is having on you, and making a conscious decision about what it is you want to consume."


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