--- description: And correctly defines "feminism" title: Jennifer Aniston: People Call Me 'Selfish' For Not Being a Mom image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cbbc34064d3c50a/69876ef8f887dc9823e8909f/180588974.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Jennifer Aniston: People Call Me 'Selfish' For Not Being a Mom  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 10:57 PM CUT  Actress Jennifer Aniston attends the premiere for "Life Of Crime" at Roy Thomson Hall on September 14, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. ( J. Countess--WireImage) Actress Jennifer Aniston attends the premiere for "Life Of Crime" at Roy Thomson Hall on September 14, 2013 in Toronto, Canada. ( J. Countess--WireImage)J. Countess—WireImage  by [Charlotte Alter](/author/charlotte-alter/)  ## Charlotte Alter Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Dec 15, 2014 10:57 PM CUT Even after years of the prying questions and condescending sympathy, it still bothers Jennifer Aniston when people ask her why she’s not a mom. “I don’t like \[the pressure\] that people put on me, on women—that you’ve failed yourself as a female because you haven’t procreated,” she told [Allure](http://www.allure.com/celebrity-trends/cover-shoot/2015/jennifer-aniston-interview#slide=3 "undefined") for their January issue. “I don’t think it’s fair. You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering—dogs, friends, friends’ children.” The actress, who has gotten critical praise for her role in the upcoming film [_Cake_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3442006/ "undefined"), explained that she finds the incessant commentary about her maternal status hurtful. “This continually is said about me: that I was so career-driven and focused on myself; that I don’t want to be a mother, and how selfish that is…Even saying it gets me a little tight in my throat.” Aniston also seemed well-prepared to answer the now-omnipresent questions about feminism–and why it’s such a complicated issue. “Because people overcomplicate it,” she said. “It’s simply believing in equality between men and women. Pretty basic.” \[[Allure](http://www.allure.com/celebrity-trends/cover-shoot/2015/jennifer-aniston-interview#slide=3 "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3634925/jennifer-aniston-mothering-feminism-allure/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3634925/jennifer-aniston-mothering-feminism-allure/"},"headline":"Jennifer Aniston: People Call Me 'Selfish' For Not Being a Mom","datePublished":"2014-12-15T22:57:31.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:28.816Z","description":"And correctly defines \"feminism\"","url":"https://time.com/3634925/jennifer-aniston-mothering-feminism-allure/","keywords":["Living","feminism","Parenting","Marriage","Divorce","motherhood","Friends","jennifer aniston"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cbbc34064d3c50a/69876ef8f887dc9823e8909f/180588974.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlotte Alter","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/charlotte-alter/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2cbbc34064d3c50a/69876ef8f887dc9823e8909f/180588974.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"\"Life Of Crime\" Premiere - Arrivals - 2013 Toronto International Film Festival","caption":"\"Life Of Crime\" Premiere - Arrivals - 2013 Toronto International Film Festival","creditText":"J. Countess—WireImage","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3634925/jennifer-aniston-mothering-feminism-allure/","name":"Jennifer Aniston: People Call Me 'Selfish' For Not Being a Mom"}}]}] ```