Scarlett Johanssen has some things to say when it comes to the way we treat women when they're pregnant.

The Black Widow actress sat down with Vanity Fair recently to discuss everything that's going on in her life right now, and when the interviewer asked about her experience in her most recent pregnancy in the public eye - she gave birth to a baby boy, Cosmo, with husband Colin Jost in August - she was more than ready with an answer.

"I've been so protective of both pregnancies, not wanting to feel scrutinized in the public eye. 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."

Johansson has already done this once before - she has a seven-year-old daughter, Rose, with her ex-husband, a journalist named Romain Dauriac - so this time, she became aware of patterns in how people were treating her differently.

"I realized when I was pregnant with my son, it's funny how much stuff people put on you when you're pregnant-their hopes or their judgment or their desire, a lot of that is put on pregnant women."

Part of those expectations seems to be the assumption that pregnancy is always a positive thing - which, a lot of the time, even if the baby was entirely planned, is not true. Pregnancy does a host of things to a woman's body and mind, some of which are literally irreversible, and even when pregnancies go well, they're exhausting - you're literally growing a whole person in a space where there were organs previously, and also carrying them at all times.

"I would have a lot of people saying things to me immediately, like, 'How great, oh my God, that's wonderful.' And while I was definitely excited to be pregnant in some ways, I also had a lot of not-great feelings about it, and that would be scrutinized by women that were close to me.

"You expect it from men, but from women, it's like, "Come on, girl, you've been through it."

'So wait,' you may be wondering, 'What should I say to my pregnant women friends?' We're not sure exactly, you know them better than we do, but ScarJo does have an example:

"One friend, when I told her that I was pregnant-she knew I was trying to get pregnant-she was just like, "Oh shit. Great, but not great." And I was like, "'You're a true friend.'"

She makes an excellent point - we've gotten to the point where women are allowed to express their thoughts and emotions about their bodies freely and openly, for the most part, but as soon as a woman becomes pregnant, it's like the idea of her saying she hates the way she looks or the way she feels right now is simply not allowed.

(Think about it: The first reaction anyone has when a pregnant woman says "I feel like a whale" or something is usually something like "Oh, but you're GLOWING!" It's a nice compliment, but it can be pretty grating being forced to act happy for others' comfort when you are, in fact, miserable.)

"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. So much judgment it's crazy."

Bottom line? Just give women - any and all women - the space they need to feel their feelings about their bodies and their experiences. And as far as compliments and opinions go: If you wouldn't say it to the not-pregnant version of this woman, don't say it to the pregnant one. (She's the same person.)

Tags: Scarlett Johansson Colin Jost