John-Jolie Pitt
Hayden Manders
You may not recognize the name John Jolie-Pitt, only because the media uses their birth name, Shiloh Jolie-Pitt when speaking about them. They are Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s oldest biological child. Jolie and Pitt do not have shame in the fact their child, designated female at birth, is interested in strictly “boy stuff”. Due to the fact that we don’t know which pronouns John prefers, it is best to use gender neutral pronouns (they/them) to refer to them. In as early as 2008, Pitt was telling people that they wanted to be called John. Jolie and Pitt out of respect for their child, let them dress the way they please, use the name that bests suits them, and let them wear their hair the way they want. The backlash from the media that Jolie and Pitt received was incredible.
Not only is John courageous in the sense they are not afraid being who they were meant to be, Jolie and Pitt are very courageous. Being open with the media and showing how they are raising their children is incredible and helpful, especially those who have children in the same position. John is proof that many children are born knowing who they are, but not many have the privilege of supportive parents such as Jolie and Pitt. The headline of this magazine is “SHILOH MANIPULATED BY HER MOM” and again the subheadline asks the question “Is she harming her daughter?” The most ironic thing about this headline is writing an article about this and “exposing” Jolie for “forcing” John to become a boy isn’t going to help anyones situation. Headlines like these are the reason behind our nation’s very widespread ignorance about trans people.
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The media assumed that because Jolie was allowing John to present the way they wanted, that Jolie was a forcing masculinity upon them. The media usually is very blatantly transphobic, which in this case was true. On the first magazine cover, the headline reads “Why is Angelina turning Shiloh into a boy?” In no way can a parent force their child into a gender other than the gender they were assigned at birth. The subheadline reads “Is it harming the 3 year old?” The only way a mother can damage a 3 year old who wants to present in a certain way is to restrict that. Jolie is doing a great job raising her child, giving them freedom to discover who they are in new and different ways.
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