Macleans has a story questioning how Jennifer Aniston, who is on every magazine cover this month as far as I can tell, morphed from “America’s Sweetheart… into America’s Spinster.” What a great headline, even if I do find it somewhat insulting. How come men get to be playboy bachelors and we get to be barren spinsters? Macleans discusses the tabloid battle between Jolie, Pitt and Aniston, and examines how it changed public’s perception of her.
Elaine Lui, founder of the popular celebrity gossip blog Laineygossip.com and an eTalk reporter, believes Aniston’s plight taps into female anxiety. “There’s a fear among many women that their husband is going to work one day and hook up with the hot colleague,” she says. “So every time they see Jennifer Aniston’s face they can’t help but feel for her or support her, not because they like her but because they feel a vote for her is a vote for themselves.”
As part of the most mused-upon triangle since Euclid, Aniston’s now intractably tethered to Pitt and Jolie in a perverse geometry: for every “Brangelina’s Baby Joy” headline, there’s the inevitable “Jen Alone in Malibu!” sidebar. In the gravitas sweepstakes, she’s the lesser, a sun lamp eclipsed by a supernova. As Pitt and Jolie tour refugee camps and rebuild New Orleans, she’s photographed bagging rays in Cabo and dating a series of child-men, most lately the singer John Mayer, which sparked the recent Life & Style cover line: “Having More Surgery for John?”
Aniston’s post-Pitt hookups, which include Vince Vaughn, her co-star in The Break-Up, have the whiff of publicity stunt. Lui views Aniston’s relationship with Mayer, whose conquests include Jessica Simpson and who’s nine years her junior, as an attempted “Screw you” to Jolie: “She’s saying, ‘I’m 40 but I can still bag a younger man and change him.’ I almost feel sorry for her talking about her like this, it’s so misguided.”
Aniston’s uterine status is the subject of constant speculation as she approaches the big 4-0. “She’s Having John’s Babies,” announced Star magazine in mid-November, which claimed Aniston was undergoing “secret fertility treatments” to have twins. That same week, In Touch falsely reported it was a fait accompli: “Jen’s Bump Gets Bigger.”
Of course, obsession with celebrity baby bumps drive newsstand sales. “Her fans are interested in her having a traditional husband and house,” says Sansing. “They’re very eager for her to have this life that we all think she’s wanted for some time.”
You can read the whole article at Macleans, which is quite interesting if you’re a Brad/Angelina/Jennifer follower, or just nosy like me.
‘We all think she’s wanted for some time’. This is probably the key sentence to me, is that we all think we know what Jennifer Aniston wants. The article pulls a quote from her post-break up Vanity Fair article where she declares “I’ve never in my life said I didn’t want to have children. I did and I do and I will!”. Several years down the track she might have changed her mind, but she’ll forever get that comment thrown back in her face.
Gawker found this bit of advice for Jennifer Aniston from Ellen Fein, author of The Rules.
“Breaking up is never easy, but it doesn’t have to be humiliating…Never mention Brad’s or John Mayer’s name in public. Also, don’t say any thing bad about him (“he’s missing a sensitivity chip”). Never talk about Angelina or call her “uncool,” even if she was uncool. She does not exist in your world. Never date a man or take a man back who humiliated you publicly or held a press conference to explain your breakup. Go to parties where there are lots of single men and ask everyone you know to set you up. You’re going to be 40 soon. You have no time to waste if you want kids.”
Here’s my tip to Jen – be photographed skydiving, snorkeling, bungee jumping and all those fabulous fun things that those of us burdened with children (whom we love, but definitely find annoying at least 12% of the day) find very hard to do. Apart from the great pictures it would make, you’d look like you were having a great time, sans husband/baby/suburban dream.
Besides, I don’t know why people pity Jen. She looks fabulous for 39. She could retire on Friends residuals. The Rachel Haircut actually looked good on her, unlike on most of us who copied it.
Jennifer Aniston is shown outside her office on 11/21/08. Credit: Fame. Header is the cover of Star’s November 24 edition.
Sorry but this is what i hate in the media.Jen has behaved great.She should have been heavily angry and should have said things as they were back when Brad and Angelina were two timing her/.Yet she walked of with dignity and kept pretty much silent,while she had to endure the gloryfying of the holy couple,and how conviently everybody forgotten Angelinas huge mental problems and drug addictions and so on,cause she gets photographed doing charity.I wonder whom of us could adopt any child having Angelinas past.Now Jen after many years dared to make a comment,and she is vilified.Why?Also why she should explain her choice to be independent?We women want equality yet when we see a working succesfull woman who doesnt have kids and lives an independent life,we say,she is unhappy and miserable.I hope Jen will find someone better than Mayer.But i still have a great respect for her.I used to be an Angelina fan,but her behaviour towards Jen was awfull,and even more she dares to keep her father away cause he cheated and dropped her mother.YET SHE FORGETS SHE DID THE SAME TO JEN.
She didn’t this story is LAME
Now whenever I read a story about this triangle, I can’t help but think about the NYT manipulative story. Is this one of those? It is candid for sure, but then again, it is mainly Brangelina fans that have tried to paint Jen as a spinster (read loser).
Poor girl, she cannot do something right, when she talks, she is damned, when she is general, she is boring. If she had a child now, they would say she is trying to copy Brangelina. That poor girl was a nice normal girl till she met Pitt. I guess she will have to live with the label off the girl Brad Pitt left. Much better than the home wrecker label or pussy whipped one for that matter. I get the feeling she will have the last laugh in all this, then no body will feel sorry for her.
i thought the definition of a spinster was someone “of an age” who’s never been married.
boy, the media sure puts a lot of pressure on people these days. just ain’t fair.
a divorcee is by no means a spinster. check your dictionaries, media people!!
The media is unnecessarily cruel towards her but Ellen Fein’s advice is spot on. If JA followed it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
That spinster title is downright sexist.
She may not skydive or bungee jump, but she takes about three Mexican vacations a year. Yes, sometimes I envy her lifestyle, but it doesn’t make me wish I was her, and adding skydiving to the mix wouldn’t change that.
And by the way, she doesn’t look great for 39, she looks great PERIOD. Better than I did at 29. But it’s always been obvious with Jennifer that she spends a lot of time on herself.
This is what I have been trying to say for a while now: nobody knows what is really going on between these people. All they have are pictures and random quotes from supposed sources. People are projecting their own sad lives on these celebs and go nuts whenever someone attacks them.
People demand journalistic integrity when it comes to real news, yet take stuff like these tabloids with hardly a grain of salt. Or at least they readily accept any articles that feed into their self-centered worldview and dismiss anything dissenting as manipulation of the media.
It is freaking pathetic. They are freaking human beings, and they are not going to handle things perfectly. But that doesn’t mean that their lives are just so damn horrible.
By the way, there needs to be a Jolie/Aniston version of Godwin’s Law: If you bring up
a) Aniston’s loneliness and supposed control issues
b) Jolie’s issues with her father or past drug use
c) Hitler
d) the kids/the desire to have kids
you automatically lose your argument.
Jeez, between the father issues, the ridiculous articles in the press, and the taste in men, Aniston and Jolie are more alike than I thought.
“There’s a fear among many women that their husband is going to work one day and hook up with the hot colleague,” she says. “So every time they see Jennifer Aniston’s face they can’t help but feel for her or support her, not because they like her but because they feel a vote for her is a vote for themselves.”
SPOT ON! That’s what Team Aniston thinks. There is no other reason to viscerally relate to her as opposed to AJ… AJ has made many mistakes, has problems with her birth father, has married very young and then divorced twice, dealt with drugs, had issues with her self-esteem and physical outlook, and now is a working mom of 6… she would be perfect for people to relate to. But so often JA is preferred JUST because of this fear that so many women have to be dumped for the hot colleague.
I can’t believe magazines still sell with this old love triangle theme song and dance. So lame-o.
I don’t think that any of them can win.
No matter what is said they are crucified for it.
They have all moved on and WE NEED TO DO THE SAME!
But I do not agree with Kate’s comments. YOU do not know what went on in any of this. Unless you were in the room – I’m betting you weren’t. Or do you know any of them personally – again I’m betting no. Then you should stop writing like you have all the FACTS. You don’t – nobody does.
Not exactly the most balanced article, is it? (the Macleans one) I mean, their main source is Lainey, whose blog I do like but wouldn’t be one of my regulars, but she is a committed Antiston. They’d need somebody from that hateful female-first blog or similar for balance.
As granger said, the whole attitude is quite misogynistic. She seems a very floaty character in her interviews and probably just coasts along nicely most of the time.
As for yer wan off The Rules – I will say this for her, when their advice was good, it was very very good. But when their advice was bad, it was hilarious (always wear lipstick when jogging is my favourite.
I think that having a more proactive lifestyle would be a good thing – as it is, editors have damn all else to write about her other than the hysterical bs like the Star cover. Distract the media a bit more and give us a break from this infernal triangle!
Jennifer has to want to hang herself every time she sees tabloid stories like these. The media’s been humiliating her over her and Brad’s breakup since it happened, and the second she shows any sign whatsoever of (understandable) anger over the situation by daring to call St. Jolie “uncool” for sleeping with her husband (and let’s be honest, it was pretty uncool), everyone goes crazy.
People keep screaming at her to get over it, but it’d be kinda hard to get over -anything- if people ask you about it in every friggin interview and shove it in your face on every magazine cover.
Also, WHY IS IT that if a man is her age and single he’s considered some playboy bachelor, but if a woman is single and just dates around she’s considered desperate and a “spinster?” Horribly sexist and cruel if you ask me.
Speaking of sexist.. Angelina is uncool for sleeping with Brad, but Brad’s a great guy? Excuse me, but he was the married one.
Besides, you don’t know if they had sex early on. They became friends, Angelina looked forward to going to work every day, there is no mention of bringing work home at night. I work with some great people and I look forward to hanging out with them every day, but I’m not having sex with any of them, nor do I plan to.
Everyone’s too willing to tar and feather the woman and not to blame the man.
I agree 100% with “The Rules” advise.
I was going to come on here and declare that “spinster” was harsh – but now that I’ve read the whole piece – including comments – I argree with nearly everything and then some.
Here’s a question: Is Jen an innocent “victim” of this triangle, a “victim” of The Spinster Doctrine or has she actively engaged herself in it for publicity’s and career’s sake? Because, let’s face it, if she had followed The Rules rules, we wouldn’t be talking about her today – or any other day.
First this article is not really about Jennifer it is about how people in society view women. Jennifer is being used to put women down. You are right would any new article ever talk about George this way. Never. women are viewed as desperate and pathetic if they do not have a man with them. All women – the press will tear them apart then suddenly if they get a man and have children they are now doing so well. This is so sad!
Kaiser does Jennifer really want this type of publicity. I can’t imagine why. Would any woman want this type of publicity? I don’t think so. To even think that a woman would like this type of publicity is again putting women down. I realize that in the horrible hate of Brad/Angie fans they think that they are vindicated, however, this whole Jennifer mess has so pulled women down. Just remember the way they talk about Jennifer is the way they talk about all women. So sad. And if Jennifer had followed the “rules” she would still be talked about. She was huge in friends, her last movie grossed 4X its budget. Again saying that Jennifer is only something because of Brad puts women down. So Jennifer is nothing the fact that she had a hit TV show, makes movies, is on the Oscar voting is nothing. It is still all about Brad. Really? Give women some credit. We are somthing without a man – a man does not make us who we are. I am so sad that society is going backwards over this whole thing. Look at Perez – he cruifies women and no one cares because this is now the new culture. Because of this whole mess and they way bloggers have talked about Jennifer and or Angie. All women are now fair game. All bloggers (alot are men) now feel that it is totally acceptable to put women down (they look ugly, call them rude names (maniston), talk about how sad they are without a man, etc. And women on their sites agree with them! These same bloggers would never do that to men. And Kaiser if you really believe that Jennifer is sad, pathetic, wanting attention why are you posting her and giving her the attention. Why don’t you stop talking about her? Why- because Jennifer is a fascinating personality that we all love to watch. That will never change.
Susan – Then why not multiple Lisa Kudrow tabloid covers? Or multiple Matthew Perry posts?
How in the world can any woman be held as The Victim Of All Broken Marriages yet still be this twisted faux-feminist icon? Screwing John Mayer doesn’t make her a feminist. Calling Angelina “uncool” yet saying that she’s “so proud” of Brad doesn’t make her a standard-bearer for the women’s movement.
And before The Pity Party Patrol gets their panties in a wad, let me say this for the millionth time – I don’t think Jen has ever wanted to be a mother, and that’s fine with me. She doesn’t care, and I don’t care. What always bothered me is that she’s not feminist enough to admit that motherhood’s not her thing, because she thinks (or knows) it be a betraying her fan base, the Minivan Majority.
LOL! Jennifer is a lot of things but she most definitely is not a fascinating personality. I’m sorry, just couldn’t let that one pass!
She’s an ordinary woman given, imo, extraordinary and baffling attention.
My God, I’m full of typos this morning. Sorry girls! Of course I didn’t mean to say “it be betraying” – but that’s kind of funny. Also, some typo with “agree” in my first comment. Sorry!
Oh God. Angelina is the one everyone should feel sorry for. I bet that woman hasn’t (and can’t) spent 15 minutes of her life alone without a man, being strung out, hurting (cutting) herself or collecting children to get attention for herself. There is nothing wrong with Jennifer’s life, I would take normal/plain/ordinary over needy, addicted headcase any day.
Susan is right insofar as some male bloggers go. You only have to check out Bastardly, Drunken Stepfather or Hollywood Tuna to see that. Pile on top of that the Aniston-Jolie catfight and gal hasn’t got a safe corner anywhere because these attitudes are carried over into day-to-day life, people just don’t admit to it. We (women) need to stop being each others’ worst enemies.
And I’m sick and tired of hearing about how if you’re not married and don’t have kids by ‘a certain age’, you cease to be useful not just as a woman, but as a human being. Screw that. I’m 42 and my partner is 31. He and I have a blast and I’ll leave the childbearing to my sisters with more patience 😉
A spinster is not someone who has ever been married and they certainly don’t have a boyfriend. Anyway someone needs to read their Jane Austen here! 😆
sexist piece of shit that article. I agree though, Clooney is single, 45 and a total hollywood playboy. Aniston is almost 40, single and a spinster! OMG! The shame of being an unmarried woman with no children! The Shame! *eyeroll* get real, you can be unmarried, no kids and happy as a pig in shit.
I wonder what Kaiser and Geronimo will say when Brad Pitt has left a mentally unstable fourty something year old Angelina and she is charactersied as a desperate spinter.
This article was obviously written by one Angelina worshipper in response to all the negative press that Angelina has been getting. If the author thinks that she is winning any fans for Brangelina with such articles, let them think again. It is negative bloggers who are pro Angelina who call JA names that have made Angelina deeply un popular inspite of her machinations of manipulating the press. What has Jeniffer ever done to warrant such vilification? Nothing, she was married to a loser who run off with the biggest prosititute in town. What was she supposed to do? Stand back and support them? Give me a break.
Angelina keeps this love triangle alive because she knows it gives her more hits, she has made most money out of it. She is the one who brought it up when it seemed like it was finalluy dying down. Whatever she does, Angelina behaves like she is doing it to hurt Jeniffer. Even when she has children or does charity, one gets a feeling of passive aggression towards Jeniffer.
Mind you the reason public opinion is firmly in JA’s corner is because the world cannot stand home wrecker whether Angelina or Sienna. It is not about inherent insecurities harboured by women that our husbands will run away. No. It is the fact that wrong is wrong. Entering a bed to act nude without transparent panties in a blatant seductive ploy is wrong even when the man is as stupid as Brad Pitt.
Articles like this push most people/bloggers towards Jen and against Angelina. For example, I used to be neutral (didn’t like Angelina much but never thought what she did was a big deal) till I read posts from Angelina’s fans. Oh and those interviews by Angelina can always make me want to bitch slap her hard on her cracked lips. OK the child pimping and fake charity dos. I kind of liked her before she got with that pathetic idiot Pitt. Now I want both of them to fall off a cliff.
Kaiser – unless you know Jennifer personally you don’t have a clue as to what she is thinking regarding motherhood. Jennifer has stated she wants children – that does not mean tomorrow. Her good friend Sheryl adopted at 45 that gives Jen 6 years still. You will hear 20 year olds say that they want children – again that doesn’t mean tomorrow. WE put such pressure on women because they are getting “old” – their eggs are not good anymore. Ever see that same pressure on men. For example Brad is 45 and have you heard one world that he is too old to have chilren. However if Jen got pregnant at 42 you can be sure that would be all over that she was too old. So unfair!
The mini-van majority as you call them obviously from Lainey is sad. That woman is so against women it sometimes makes my stomach turn. Notice in her gossip guide all the people she talks about are women. She hates women and pulls them apart at every turn. Please don’t use her. This whole mini-van majority thing is just really out to lunch. I can’t believe that you would even quote someone who is so obviously against women.
And I don’t think that anyone but you is trying to make Jen a feminist. Who said she was? What I am saying is that the way the press has used her has made women look stupid. Jen has nothing to do with this press. No woman regardless of who they are wants to be painted as a loser, dumped all the time, sad, lonely. You know that as well as anyone. The press is using Jen as a model of how all women are seen. And the “haters” of Jen have made it more so. Now thanks to the press women without a man are nothing, women without children are nothing, a woman’s success is now seen as success only because she is with a certain man. We have just stepped back about 100 years.
And why don’t we see the other friends on tabloids (and by the way tabloids do not help or make you a star infact they hurt stars)- mainly because they have not gone on to movie stardom. Jen (I realize that you hate her) has had hit movies recently. The Break Up like I said made 4X its budget (over 200 million), Along Came Polly also made 4X its budget (171 million worldwide), even Delrailed with did not do all that well made 2X its budget. In fact all her last eight movies have made good money according to their budget. And please don’t say that it was all about the men she was with on the movie. That again makes women look like they can do nothing on their own. perhaps Kaiser you should just take Jen for who she is a wealthy, incredibly famous, single women. And she is famous in her own right. Quit trying to always say that women are only famous because of the man they are with. Are you a women hater or just a Jen hater?
IMO Jennifer should disappear from HW and spend her 110 mil with her toyboy Mayer and spare us with her whining and never ending Pity Party. That goes to all her delusional fans that said jennifer is so famous ..yeah right she’s so famous she had to go to The Ivy to get her pictures taken. Anybody who dates John Mayer got dumped by him and still crawled back to the douche bag is DESPERATE and STUPID.
Helen, PLEASE! “She looks fabulous for 39.” What is this? What are women supposed to look like at the age of 39, all wrinkly in a wheelchair? Good Lord!
Sorry for Jen but karma is a bitch. Perhaps if Jen learned humility and forgiveness towards her own mother, well, maybe things would lighten up for her. Seems like it is true……what you give is what you get. I think it best if start at home with her own relationship with her mother. Give the woman a break already. Haven’t we all at one time or another had “words” with our mother. It’s time to bury the hatchet and Jen should be asking her mother for forgiveness for dragging on her very public and ugly feud with her.
Shame on you Jen.
This story, unfortunately, is not over.
*TC- I agree with you, AJ is the desperate dramaqueen in this story. Press is generated by JA’s every move, while AJ generates press for her every move.
Neither is the most appealing of personalities, there’s lots to like and dislike about both but AJ is “uncool” because she broke the golden rule over and over by rhapsodizing about her life and the story of her “romance” with BP, and if after a few years of taking her comments JA countered with an “uncool” then, she’s cool.
As for JA’s seeming innability to get or keep love, there’s millions of us, men and women, who share her issues, what’s scary to us is that she’s so good looking. If she can’t who can?
NJMDPS: Actually Jen and her mother are doing well now. Jen has stated in several interviews that her and her mother have made up and are enjoying each others company. There was even pictures of her leaving her mothers home a few weeks ago. I guess that you didn’t realize this. Perhaps you should take post a sorry note for having made that mistake and attacking Jen when you didn’t have all the facts.
Oh for God’s sake, Yourself. Why don’t you put all that energy into where it might actually do some good – ie. disgust at the authors of this migogynistic, nasty, pathetic article – instead of obsessing over what I or Kaiser think and feel about AJ or JA being described as desperate ‘spinters’? 🙄
geronimo: The media is unnecessarily cruel towards her but Ellen Fein’s advice is spot on. If JA followed it, we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
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Absolutely. Fein could have added another piece of advice: Don’t allow your friends to bad-mouth your ex in public. Very passive-agressive behavior that doesn’t reflect well on you.
I am at a loss to understand why Aniston doesn’t take the opportunity to reinvent herself and develop some new interests so that she doesn’t continue to be the same old boring Jen with the same old boring hair style who never does anything but lay around the pool and blow-dry her hair all day long. Good lord, there’s a whole world out there to explore and her world begins on Rodeo Drive and ends in Malibu with occasional side trips to Meh-hee-co. She should get out there and take a trip around the world, visit some third-world countries and get a new perspective on her own problems which would pale in comparison after she sees how 90% of the world has to live. But as long as she remains Ms. It’s-All-About-Me Aniston, she will continue to be stale, dull and terminally boring.
So, she’s not having fertility treatment to have Johns baby, she having it to have Johns “babies”. From this article it would seem that one baby at a time isn’t enough anymore to prove your love for a man? With the male obsession of “more is masculine” does this mean we can expect women to be birthing litters of four and six in years to come?
Lord. 😯 The Patrol is out in full force. *walks away slowly*
why is it tragic for a woman to be unmarried and childless? george clooney is unmarried and childless…is he a sad, lonely spinster too? that is such sexist bullshit.
@ xiaoecho: According to Star mag (always a valid source of info, no? 😆 ), Aniston wants to get married and have twins to say “In your face” to Brad Pitt. As if Pitt would care if she had quintuplets or threw herself under a bus.
These tabs absolutely crack me up, almost as much as the nitwits who take them seriously.
@ Lore: I don’t share Aniston’s issues at all, and there are millions of women out there who are much less good-looking than Aniston is and they have no trouble at all keeping a man. Getting and keeping a partner has never depended on looks alone, and maybe that’s why Aniston can’t keep a man: Once you get past the hair and the body, there’s nothing there to hold a man’s interest. She impresses as being very shallow and superficial and she doesn’t seem to have any concern at all in what’s going on in the world around her outside the narrow confines of her daily existence. I get a feeling from her that if someone asked her for her views on the Darfur situation, for instance, she’d say “What’s that?”
A woman going on 40 who projects insecurity and general ignorance is not going to attract or hold anyone for long. Looks will only take her so far and if she has nothing else to recommend her, the guy will get bored and move on.
The “ZOMG Fan Girls” can slander JA all the time, yet when someone replies to their post, they either leave or not answer it.
it is really terrible that she is under this much scrutiny. Leave her the f* alone already. And that one comment about karma in regards to her mother?!?!? who do you think you are?!?! it is true that these people choose a career in front of the public – but to be dissected like this over and over and over must be eroding and maddening. no one deserves this. pedophiles, predators and sexual predators do – but not working actors. it’s all gone a bit too far. She has the right to be happy. she has the right to show pain in what was a painful period. she carried herself with dignity in that whole mess. kudos to her. and no one has the right to comment on “karma” and her relationships with her family…. that’s just too much.
Are you talking about me, Kristin? I reply to some of the more rational posts directed at me, but I’ve begun to try to steer clear of most of the frothing-at-the-mouth, deranged commenters that seem to think it’s their mission from The Immaculate Pity Party to take me down a peg.
The “ZOMG Fan Girls” can slander JA all the time, yet when someone replies to their post, they either leave or not answer it.
Say something worth f’n replying to, instead of the usual drivel that get’s posted in these threads about 800 billion times.
“They have no trouble at all keeping a man” This statement here is one of the problems. Do women “keep” men. So if we don’t act the way a man wants us to act we can’t “keep” men. Or what do we have to do to “get” a man? What about George. Have you ever heard it said that he can’t “keep” a woman. Women do not keep men. Again this is a attack on all women. Remember when you say Jen’s name to put all women’s names there because a personal attack is also an attack on women. Jen haters are so anti-women. I often wonder if some of the posters here are men acting like women. Really sacry how rude and hateful the posts are against (Jen) women.
Also if you have never actually talked with Jennifer how exactly do you know that she is shallow and superficial? Jen has her own production company, she is currently starting a healthy eating program for school children, she supported Obama with money and time. Perhaps the tabloids are giving you this view but Jen is anything but shallow.
Also Kaiser you always back away when you are questioned as your statements often have no factual evidence (such as Jen not wanting children, etc.) it is an attempt to make others look foolish when you can’t answer a question.
Jen “haters” aren’t anti-women.. although we might be anti-feminists, yes 🙂
Wow. Harsh.
This article was particularly distasteful to me because there are so many ridiculous presumptions (putting JA completely aside) which hit me more because of the views I was reading on ‘the modern woman’. Case in point:
‘Her fans are interested in her having a traditional husband and house,’ says Sansing. ‘They’re very eager for her to have this life that we all think she’s wanted for some time.’
Are we? Do we? Really? Who says?
Jesus wept…. Did we just travel back to 1950? Did Sansing somehow employ some kind of mind reading trickery on the women of the world to ascertain this knowledge?
Maybe I’m reading this out of context but who says her ‘fans’ want this? Maybe some of her ‘fans’ wish she’d shave her head, hook up with another hot chick, buy a Harley and an RV and travel around the US drinking at biker bars while challenging people to arm wrestle.
The sexism that exists in the media defies logic. Women do not need a ‘traditional husband and house’ to define them, yet we have been subjected to “Bump Watch 2008” for the whole of this year. So many female celebrities of a child bearing age have been pregnant at some point in 2008 for daring to have gas or a bad camera angle. The obsession with baby bumps is driven entirely by the media because quite honestly, as a consumer, I couldn’t give a rats arse if a woman has a child or not. It won’t make me buy a magazine or watch a movie because she might be pregnant. In my view, it’s her choice and whatever makes a woman happy is what counts in my book, not the media’s view of her lifestyle.
(Standing down from Soap Box)
@ Cheyenne: You are right, it’s not about looks. There must be some other reason why her magazines sell the way they do and items about her get so many comments.
As for her projecting insecurity and ignorance; I can’t see it. I hate to bring AJ back into this for no other reason than to illustrate that a truly insecure person never shuts up about how happy she is.
@Cheyenne: She’d probably thrust out her chin and say “I don’t care what kind of fur it is, I refuse to wear it.” You know, because I have a feeling she’s just that vapid. I bet if you stand real close to her you can hear the ocean.
Jesus on a bike, who say a woman has to keep a man? What is he? A dog? Who says a woman out side marriage is unhappy? Which cage did this woman crawl out of?
The more I read this article, the more I am astounded that any woman would even write it or condone it for that matter. It is a gross insult to all women and should be denounced in the strongest terms. Love Angelina and hate Jen for all I care but please don’t lap up such absurdity in the name of sticking with your saint.
A couple of facts. Jen made up with her mother, they even recently had lunch together. It is Angelina who cannot forgive her father but wants us to forgive terrorists who killed our loved ones.
Secondly, nothing against feminists and thanks to them women are in a better position but Jen has never professed to be one.
From Wiki: A spinster (or old maid) is a woman or girl of marriageable age who has been unwilling or unable to marry, therefore has no children.
I got married at 28. Prior to the marriage, the previous marital status box had to be completed. The Jamaican government declared me to be a spinster.
Oh yes we dislike your celebrity woman of choice du’jour, so we must be anti-woman and anti-feminist. Would you like some shiny new nails for your cross, Miss Martyr – or is it Mizz ?
sassyspank: it is really terrible that she is under this much scrutiny. Leave her the f* alone already.
_______________________________________________________
Oh right. You guys can tear AJ apart ten ways from Sunday and scrutinize and dissect every word she says, but when it comes to JA we’re supposed to leave her the f* alone? I don’t think so. If she can’t take the heat, she can get the hell out of the kitchen.
“Also Kaiser you always back away when you are questioned as your statements often have no factual evidence (such as Jen not wanting children, etc.) it is an attempt to make others look foolish when you can’t answer a question.”
Susan – I said “I don’t think Jen has ever wanted to be a mother, and that’s fine with me.” That’s my *opinion*, and I based that *opinion* on the *fact* that Pity Party is 39 and childless.
And when I spout my opinions about Jen being a sad, desperate, catty, vindictive woman, I WILL NOT be talking about womanhood in general, just like when all of you Angie-haters WILL NOT be talking about womanhood in general when you spout all of your ZOMG HOMEWRECKER bullshit.
And just for the record, Susan – you don’t need my help to look foolish. You do it every time you post.
Spinster – a woman who has never married.
As I imagine most readers of this piece are aware, Jennifer Aniston was married once before, to Brad Pitt I believe. Therefore – not a spinster.
Once a ‘writer’ makes such a stupid error with what presumably is their mother tongue, I have to discount whatever else they may have to say, because just how dumb are they ?
often have no factual evidence (such as Jen not wanting children, etc.)
Susan, you want factual evidence about an opinion of someone who couldn’t pick you out of a line-up if you were on fire ?
DO YOU LISTEN TO YOURSELF ?
CAN YOU FATHOM HOW NEUROTIC THAT SOUNDS?
Damn shame you don’t have such ferocious demands on topics that really matter.
Cheyanne @36…..That makes a TINY bit more sense but of course having twins would only invite more comparisons
….not that any of it’s true as you said 🙄 😆 (but don’t we love it anyway)
Just on the not answering questions – I’ve often asked straightforward questions or clarification from the so-called Jen fans and with the exception of two or three people (whose comments I always love, no matter what topic), I’ve been consistently ignored. So it does go both ways.
There are some seriously unbelievable comments on this thread – and to think I actually felt bad about an earlier comment on a different thread, I asked the Mod to delete it. That won’t happen again in a hurry.
I am actually offended by the assumption that if you don’t like JA then you are anti-women. O
You guys are funny.
Is this some kind of social experiment in disguise?
This, like ALL of this? Maybe so… maybe so :ponder:
Angie and Brad have nothing to do with Jennifer. They do not speak about her in interviews… Why? she is not important to their lives. But of course they are important to hers. Jens fans claim that Brad cheated on her with Angie. He said no, Angie said no, and Jen said no. But of course the fans know better. If he did cheat why is she able to speak of him so highly.. would you. Well women do what they always do..Attack and hate the woman with the man. Jennifer has had at least 4 relationships after Brad Pitt… But he is the only one you talk about. Why no hate for John who humiliated her on the TV in front of millions. Oh.. forgot he is not Brad. He is just the man she says in the man in her life. Jen should live her life, and let Brad/Angie live theirs. They have 6 kids, and seems truly in love. No amount of hate or ugly names will change that. He has moved on. Jen is with John. Why don’t her fans focus on that. Angie is never asked about Jen in interviews. She is asked about her family; Brad and kids. She has a right to talk all she wants about them. Brad does not nor did he ever belong to Jen. This is a grown man who had the right to leave a marriage that was not working. Remember Jen divorced him. If she is not over him, her bad. She should just not talk about them, and focus on John. And her fans need to stop all the hate and name calling. Where are the adults?
😆 Codzilla
Everything else 😯
“They do not speak about her in interviews” Again an untrue statement. Angie stated in her vogue interview that Jen was Brad’s best friend and she would love to have a sit down talk with her. Brad stated last year that him and Jen were very close friends. Both Brad and Angie speak about Jennifer. Please if you are going to post get your facts straight.
“Why no hate for John who humiliated her on the TV in front of millions”. JOhn stated that he had broken up with her and called her the smartest, (and some other good things cannot remember) women he had ever known. I dont think that that was really humiliating.
“This is a grown man who had the right to leave a marriage that was not working.” Who exactly stated it was not working. Brad never said that, Jen never said that. Again you read the tabloids to much.
The Brad/Angie fans regard marriage as nothing. They put down women. Really sad.
I think it should be pointed out that Macleans is not a tabloid, it is actually a reputable news magazine. I would compare it to Time magazine before I would compare it to Star. Even though it does have a small entertainment section, the majority of its articles are about politics and world issues.
When I read the Macleans article, I felt that it was talking about how JA is, and has been, portrayed in the tabloids and blogs. Quotes such as “It’s as if the lens trained on Aniston is fated to dredge up the past.” and “She sold this image of herself and now she can’t shake it.” as well as the talk of her being a great seller for the tabloids (especially in conjunction with the AJ/BP triangle) have lead me to this conclusion. I have been reading this site, as well as other celebrity sites, for years, and can see that the JA/BP/AJ articles receive a larger amount of posts on average than most other articles. So it is apparent to me that these individuals continue to evoke strong feeling in people, as Macleans eluded to. Maybe we should be discussing why that is, instead of bringing up the same tired arguements for and against each side. (You know the ones I’m talking about…AJ is a slut, Jen is pathetic, etc.)
Oh well, that’s just my two cents.
1. Disliking Aniston doesn’t mean you hate women. That’s illogical.
2. The language used by posters on this site – including anti-Jolie commenters – is, at times, misogynistic. Not that unusual, considering the world we live in. But I do think it’s important to point it out, the same way I will point out when people make comments that are racially offensive. Judging a woman for not being able to “keep a man” is a sexist construction. I know it’s not fun and sarcastic to point that out but I don’t think it’s right to keep coming to this site if I don’t also occasionally say, “Wow, you know, that’s really not okay to think that way about women.” Again – just for clarification – I feel this way about anti-Jolie comments too, but somebody else usually knocks those down before I even get there (which is why I end up defending “slutty” Sienna Miller for whom I have zero fan interest).
This story is so….”uncool.”
Even I am a man, I can’t believe how sexist it is. I also think all the woman bloggers and posters fail to see things from man’s points of views. Ms Aniston with her body is no ways a spinster while Ms Jolie right now is a mother of 6. That’s a fact.
By the way, when “Wanted” came out, there is an article about Angelina Jolie’s cinematic image (I think it’s New York Times again). It said that Ms Jolie’s movie image is ultimately sexist because her character in action movies are always tailored according to man’s fantasy only, not portrayal of feminine power. For example, she can shoot together with a boy and also sleep with him, while pass no female perspectives or judgements, ie an ultimate playmate for a boy.
My girlfriend therefore concluded that Ms Jolie unconsciously consistantly looks for man’s recognition, to play this kind of boy’s pal characters, to have babies for him, to appear “crazy” for him in front of the public, to follow him around, to wear blood vial for him….etc.
Perhaps she indeed has a father’s issue.
Anyway, I agree with my girlfriend (who is always very wise) that woman deserves independence. The public should stop painting them as losers if they don’t want the traditional frame for woman, like getting married or having babies.
I don’t know, I mean yeah my 14 year old daughter can seriously get on my last nerve at times (as they do), but I wouldn’t trade having had her when I did for anything. I had her when I was barely 24 (married for three years and finished with college, though). I’ll be 42 when she goes off to college. That’s certainly young enough to do whatever the hell I want and I’ll have better financial resources to do so than when I was in my 20s.
As for Jennifer Aniston, she puts me to sleep. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
well aniston brought this latest “poor pathetic Jen” on herself. she and her publicist thought bringing angie’s name would result in jen “empowering” herself. instead it made her look like and angry, bitter, middle-aged woman who blames instead of acknowledging her part in the break up of her marriage. a total backfire on her and her pr’s part.
Way to go Debra 77-
I could not have said it better myself.
If she wants a chance at any future love that will sustain, Jen has to disassociate herself from Brad and Angie. Resist the urge to speak about Brad and Angie, DO NOT COMMENT on THEM. Do it not because you do not have an opinion, but because their existence is irrevelant to yours. As long as you comment on them, you are stating that you care. This is the way to finally take control and stop the “poor me” perception that exists. It was a Hollywood break-up, and there are boatloads of them. Jen has indeed influenced the negative attacks about Brad and Angie because she enjoyed the public’s disapproval of them and did not put an end to it when she was interviewed early on. She did not foresee that any ongoing negative comment on Brad and Angie would inevitably entangle her as well. She did not have the wit to see the reason why so many other women, before her, remain silent is for their own benefit of privacy, scrutiny and freedom of the past.
OK, not gonna talk about the three in the triangle. Instead I’ll talk about George Clooney. I don’t think he’s a playboy. I do find him sad in the way he’s not settled into a long term commitment. But for myself, I happen to like having a family. There are some in this world who maybe don’t want to be tied down. So be it. If Jen’s a spinster, George is too, and so be it.
@ Lore: Apples and oranges. We’re not talking about selling tabloids. We’re talking about why JA seems to have so much trouble maintaining a relationship with a guy. Every man she’s been with since her divorce has dumped her. Not an enviable track record.
If one guy dumps you, the problem could very well be the guy. Two guys dump you, it could still be the guys. Three guys dump you… well, maybe it’s the guys. But four or more, the problem isn’t the guys — the problem is you.
I knew that Vogue article was going to blow up in her face. Aniston needs to fire Huvane ASAP. Every PR move he’s made since her divorce has backfired on her.
Careful with your analogies. From your own analysis, Angelina has a serious problem. Look at how many men dumped her before she had to entrap a loser like Pitt who could fall for her manipulations. Even her own father dumped her. She indeed had a serious problem if she had to resort to adult affairs and sex dens, oh and her brother too. At least Jen is not yet at that point.
Hot damn, Jennifer Aniston is SO not deserving of all this attention! 😆
Cheyenne: First how exactly do you know that Jennifer was dumped? Tabloids again I assume? I know that Vince and Paul have never spoken about their relationship with Jennifer so there is no way you know this information. Again please don’t post when you have no facts and are only being rude. So if a woman has been in a few relationships that have not worked out then it is her fault? Ever think that way about George or maybe Leo. Seems neither of them can “keep” a woman. Again a direct attack on women in general. Just because women don’t have relationships that work out doesn’t mean it is our fault? Get it?
And I don’t think that this blew up in her face. It showed that she is finally coming into her own and doing well. She has some strength. Good for her. About time she spoke up.
Jennifer didn’t invite the woman who raised her single-handedly to her wedding, and she expected the marriage to last???!! She got her karma. 🙄
Weren’t they set up on a blind date by their agents? Actually I remember reading around the time Brad proposed to Jennifer that she did the RULES to snare him.
@ Joe: Your championship of Aniston is admirable, but you’re tilting at windmills here. Brad Pitt dumped her, Vince Vaughn dumped her, Paul Sculfor dumped her, and John Mayer publicly dumped her. And the article CB based this thread on, from Macleans Magazine, is evidence that the Vogue article is backfiring all over her.
Aniston is a grown woman acting like a teenager. When a marriage is over, it’s over. Period. She should have refrained from any mention of either Pitt or Jolie and not allowed her friends to badmouth either of them in public. Had she done so, this whole silly triangle would never have happened. Ask yourself why she keeps it going.
What a great discussion!
The media created the fairy tale of Brad & Jen, Hollywood’s Golden Couple, and now is putting a lot of pressure on Jennifer to remarry. It’s interesting to compare this with the Nicole Kidman/Tom Cruise breakup, when Nicole talked openly about being devastated when Tom dumped her and waited 5 years before remarrying–and nobody called it a “pity party” or predicted lifelong spinsterhood. I don’t understand why people are so hard on Jennifer.
Our society puts moms on a pedestal and views single, childless women as objects of pity (thus the “pity party” myth). All a woman has to do is say how much she wants/loves kids and everyone thinks she’s great.
i found the comments for this post far more interesting than the maclean’s article. 😀
PJ: Nicole may have waiting five years before re-marrying, but she didn’t spend the interim coat-tailing her ex and his new wife, nor did she mention either of them except to congratulate them when Suri was born. She accepted the divorce and moved on. She handled a very messy situation with class and grace like the lady she is, without whining about “missing sensitivity chips” and people being “uncool”.
Perhaps the media expected too much from Aniston to begin with. As you said, they created the fairy tale of the Golden Couple, but not every fairy tale ends in happily ever after, and blaming the Wicked Witch for the debacle is ultimately an exercise in futility. People usually manage to create their own messes without any help from a third party.
it’s ridiculous and sexist to say the least to suggest she’s a “spinster.” Besides, last time I checked, spinster = never having been married. Yeesh.
You can’t compare Nicole Kidman to Aniston at all. Unfortunately, Aniston can’t act as well and seems to dwell in the past. Nicole has obviously moved on. I still don’t get why Aniston answered the Vogue reporter’s question about Jolie?? WHY on EARTH would you talk about her? She knows her tabloid image; why would you FEED the BEAST?
All she had to do was say, “oh that’s so yesterday” or whatever. Then, on Oprah, she backtracked: “I was asked a question and I answered it. I didn’t know it would be on the magazine cover”
and “I don’t go there.” I love how she always makes it seem like she was placed in that position (victim mode again). She is seriously full of it. I bet the truth is she answered it ’cause she knew it would get attention and she needed to promote her dog movie. She got what she wanted–we are talking about her once again. I feel sorry for her–it’s clear she hasn’t moved on
at all, and the tabloid image reflects
some of the truth. Now, that’s just sad.
Funnily enough PJ, I was thinking of that example earlier too. Nicole DID go through the whole poor sad unlucky in love phase. And to be honest when she was between flings she did encourage it, and was called out on it by some articles and readers letters in magazines like Heat.
I read plenty of interviews where she did the same dippy… sorry “wistful/sad” smile… I believe one day true love will come, sentimental guff, instead of I’m single and enjoying it. Hopefully something long-term will come soon but I’m too busy to be lonely. With Nicole, though she had enough films on the go that that could be passed off easily as the truth.
Quite possibly Jennifer is very busy producing rather than acting – if that is the case why can’t she get her gaggle of passive-aggressive “friends” to drop this information all over the tabloids instead of the “she’s devastated… again” bullsh1t?
The only real difference between the two I can see is that Tom was the very obvious villain of the piece, dumping her before the 10 years was up and seemingly keeping more of his money. He moved on to Penelope Cruz quickly but the main damage was done by then. With Aniston, it’s so much easier to blame Angelina – that scarlet hussy tempting him with her constant chattering.
The tabs and the public only eased up on Nicole because she got married again – thus proving the christawful assumption of the article.
Now that is depressing.
Poor Jen, even the LA Times is on her case:
“Quite possibly Jennifer is very busy producing rather than acting…”
Or, quite possibly and very realistically, she’s doing nothing of the sort. Producing (as distinct from executive producing) is probably one of the most time-consuming jobs in movie-making. You’re responsible for everything, the buck stops with you. If she were ‘very busy’ producing, don’t think it would leave too much time for sunbathing and holidaying and..er..being an A+ list actress.
But it’s a sweet idea, M!
Jen Aniston is the HOTTEST!!! she ROCKS!! 😀
Honestly, I can’t decide who is more sexist–this article or Aniston’s crazy fans.
Apparently, this article sees women without men as cannon fodder.(However, Jen running back to douchebag Mayer after he publically humiliates her doesn’t help things either. Saying you’ll never see “that man” Mayer behave like that again is just begging for more humiliation. She needs a clue.)
At the same time, her fans love her mostly because she is the beacon of mediocrity (nothing to be jealous of). You know all those comments about how “real” and “approachable” she is are code words for she’s average and doesn’t make me feel bad. She’s not particulalry talented, her personality is nothing out of the ordinary, and her style is blah. Right now, what she has going for her is the hair, a nice body, and a sweetheart image. IS that what women should aspire to these days? How pathetically backwards. Basically, it’s like telling women if you aspire to be special, then other women will find you intimidating, ignore you, or tear you apart.
What about Cate Blanchett, Charlize Theron, and so forth? These women are unique, interesting, talented, do not indulge in self-pity through the media, not famewhores, and I could go on and on. But, women who are actually special
make us feel bad about ourselves, so that’s why people like Aniston. SO SAD.
I was trying to be nice. 😛 She’s a perfectly nice, likeable woman, but I never feel there’s much substance to her. But if she’s happy that’s the main thing – not matter what the tabs, and some of her more misguided fans and detractors say 😉
And I forgot what the different levels of producers do. 😳
Does 😳 represent a person who’s about to vomit, or something else? Because I use it as a way to emphasize something that really grosses me out, but have noticed that others here usually use it in a completely different context. Just curious …
LOL! Coddie, it’s meant to be someone blushing because they’re embarrassed! 😉
Well, that’s what it’s used for in forums using the pHBB(?) format anyway 😐
I have seen some people use it for when they’re angry, but the grr 😡 or evil-annoyed face is better 👿
I think Jen said that she’s wanted kids and will have them in that Vanity Fair article to nip that rumor (that she’s never wanted kids and cares more about her career so that’s why Brad left) in the bud because it was getting so out of control at the time. But to be perfectly honest, I think she only wanted them if she was in the place for them (ie with someone she really loved, not someone who was merely eligible enough to father children). That’s exactly how I feel. If I’m married to a great man someday and the timing is right, then great, kids may follow. But are kids such a priority that I must find me some eligible sperm by 35 or my life is meaningless? HARDLY!
I think Jen dates fun guys that keep her on her toes, not young guys she wants to “change” to impress Angelina. Jesus, where do people come up with this craziness?
If I were Jen, I’d be so damn happy to have that ass of hers that I’d let the mags make up all the rumors and follow me around all they want just to see another picture of my perfect bum on the cover. haha.
Thanks, Mairead 😀
I guess the points I thought I was making so graphically have been watered down a bit. 😳
Jennifer has a charmed life. Her boyfriend John makes her feel young. He’s not marriage material. I hear that he’s “a freak” in the bedroom. On “Oprah” she said the divorce was old. She proud of Brad. It’s time to “let it go, people”.
jennifer lets be friends you not just a piece of ass take it easy with the baby we just won two million in a sweepstakes do you love more than one like i do?
Excellent! If I could write like this I would be well chuffed. The more I read articles of such quality as this (which is rare), the more I think there might be a future for the Net. Keep it up, as it were.
It is quite useful.Thanks very much for sharing.