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"A lot of things have moved forward in the past five years in terms of women’s empowerment, but that thing remains sort of in the Dark Ages."
There has been a lot of growth and progress in society when it comes to women in the past several years, but there is still a long way to go. One area that isn't talked about, but is definitely one Scarlett Johansson has become passionate about, is pregnancy.
With the birth of her second child Cosmo this past August, with husband Colin Jost, Johansson has now experienced two pregnancies fully in the public eye as one of the biggest stars on the planet. She shares 7-year-old daughter Rose with ex-husband Romain Dauriac.
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View StoryWhat has amazed her both times is how the public eye intensifies and focuses even more tightly on women when they are pregnant. "I wanted to be able to have my own feelings about my changing body without other people also telling me how they saw me, whether it was positive or negative," the actress told Vanity Fair in a recent interview.
Of course, that's not always possible for any woman in any space, and particularly for women in the public eye. But Johansson was quick to point out that it wasn't just the general public or the media making her feel this way.
"I feel like a lot of things have moved forward in the past five years in terms of women’s empowerment, but that thing remains sort of in the Dark Ages," she noted. "So much judgment, it’s crazy."
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View StoryWhat the "Black Widow" star has come to believe is that people are actually putting a lot of their own "stuff" on pregnant woman, or more particularly, on the unborn child they carry. "Their hopes or their judgment or their desire, a lot of that is put on pregnant women," she explained.
"I would have a lot of people saying things to me immediately, like, 'How great, oh my God, that’s wonderful,'" she continued. "And while I was definitely excited to be pregnant in some ways, I also had a lot of not-great feelings about it."
On top of that, she had people within her inner circle, and even other friends who were mothers, projecting feelings onto her experience. "One friend, when I told her that I was pregnant -- she knew I was trying to get pregnant -- she was just like, 'Oh s**t. Great, but not great.' And I was like, 'You’re a true friend.'"
When it comes from her women friends, she noted, that's when it surprised her most. "You expect it from men, but from women, it’s like, 'Come on, girl, you’ve been through it,'" she said.
