No one pities poor childless George Clooney… so give Jennifer Aniston a break

HAS any womb faced more scrutiny than Jennifer Aniston’s?

Every time the poor woman enjoys a rather large lunch, the world’s press get together to speculate when the baby is due — maybe one day she will give birth to a burger and chips!

But seriously, I can’t even imagine the immense pressure she feels being under the world’s watchful, not to say pitying, eye all the time.

You know the thing: “Poor Jennifer Aniston. Even though she is one of the world’s most highly paid and successful megastars, happily married to a gorgeous guy, with a body to die for she must be miserable.”

Why? No kids, of course.

I guess that is why she felt the need to write an article challenging the notion that women are somehow incomplete, unsuccessful or unhappy if they’re not married with children.

“Yes, I may become a mother some day . . . but I’m not in pursuit of motherhood because I feel incomplete in some way,” she wrote.

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child . . .  That decision is ours and ours alone . . . We don’t need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own ‘happily ever after’ for ourselves.”

I couldn’t have put it better myself.

But isn’t it a shame that she actually felt the need to say this publicly?

And this only a couple of weeks after our new Prime Minister Theresa May felt obliged to make a public declaration about why she doesn’t have children (not to mention her then being unfairly and publicly undermined for the same reason).

Yes, it used to be the case that women who didn’t want to get married or have kids were going against the norm.

But we need to realise the norm has changed.

Basically, the world needs to wake up and smell the coffee.

Modern women are changing. Women in 2016 are more independent, more able to make choices and to set their sights on so many different ambitions.

The old clichés and roles for women are changing too, so we need to get used to it.

And people need to really examine this sense of suspicion about women who don’t have “natural” maternal urges, or women who choose not to have children.

Apart from anything else, at a time when women in their mid-40s are now almost twice as likely to be child-free as their parents’ generation, people who think that every woman “should” want to get married and have children are suffering, at best, from a serious lack of imagination.

First of all, it’s important to remember that it’s not necessarily a choice for some women, who try their hardest to become a mother to no avail.

But most importantly, we need to start accepting that some women do choose not to become mothers. And that’s OK.

Personally, I love being a mother and I could not live without my children.

Yes, it means I’ve spent my life juggling, but that was my choice — I never felt under pressure to have children, I just wanted them.

But sometimes, having a family doesn’t fit in with people’s dreams and plans, or it’s not a priority for some other reason.

Some women just don’t fancy it. Or they don’t meet the right partner. Or they feel they are here for a different reason than maternal sacrifice (because it has to be said that, as well as the gift that keeps on giving, motherhood does involve sacrifice).

And if that is the case then instead of judging women, we need to say, “Good for them!”

Yes, motherhood does make you a different person. It taught me patience and sacrifice and gave me unconditional love.

But has motherhood made me a better person? Or better at my job? Well, let’s just say I certainly don’t remember feeling I was missing out before I became one.

Do I view women who aren’t mothers differently? Yes I do — I think in some ways they are lucky.

They are much freer to pursue their own dreams and goals and, despite the progress that has been made for women, there’s certainly no doubt that for some women in certain careers, having children is seen as an obstacle that will hold them back.

And that is the struggle that many working mothers are still battling with.

I’m sorry to say that all women still face the same conundrum — if you are a woman who has a child and a career, you are viewed as selfish.

Childless woman pursuing a career, meanwhile, are viewed very suspiciously indeed and considered either unnatural or pitiable.

Meanwhile, of course, men just aren’t judged in the same way on whether they have kids or not.
Sure, we might speculate about why, but does anyone pity George Clooney for not having managed to reproduce?

Nope. George is just sexy, suave and ambitious — the way we like our stars to be.

As long as they are men, of course.

Posh kiss beats pole position

WASN’T it interesting how passionately the world was divided over a picture of Victoria Beckham kissing her daughter on the lips?
Although I do slightly wonder why she shared that photo with millions of people she does not know, I thought the uproar that followed was bizarre.

There’s nothing wrong with kissing your child on the lips.

I don’t know a mother that doesn’t do it, and it’s perfectly natural.

To be honest, I can’t see why it’s a big deal or why people are offended by it, think it is inappropriate or even a little odd.