CEBU, Philippines - Ever since her pregnancy with son Silas Randall Timberlake, Jessica Biel has felt more in tune with her body—but she understands not every woman has that same luxury.
“Now what happens?” she recalls of her mindset in the latest issue of Glamour magazine when she decided two years ago to have a child. “I’ve been on the pill for so long; how hard will it be to get pregnant?”
“Suddenly I realized I really didn’t know what’s going on inside my own body,” the 33-year-old new mom tells the publication. “It was shocking.”
As a result, Justin Timberlake’s missus teamed up with Saundra Pelletier, an activist and founder of the nonprofit health care organization Woman Care Global, to launch an online video series, which, according to Glamour, will cover “everything from puberty to contraception.” You can watch the videos at womancareglobal.org.
“More than half of our nation’s pregnancies are unplanned, and just 22 states require public schools to teach sex education,” Pelletier tells Glamour. “Jessica and I realized we can help change this.”
Adds Biel, “You have to have the courage to stand up for what you believe in.”
While the topics they’re discussing are often labeled taboo, Biel remembers her sense of embarrassment when she got her period in the fifth grade.
“I was in a school play, wearing a gray beard and this pad the size of a skateboard and thinking, What is happening to me?” she says. “We want girls to know what their body is going through so they don’t feel scared or ashamed or gross.”
Biel and Pelletier plan to “share girl stories, fears, and insecurities.”
The actress says, “The tone is informative but also goofy, smart, witty." (FREEMAN)