Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, Cannes 2008 (Bella Naija)
Throwing it back nine years (?!) this week to Angelina Jolie’s pregnancy in 2008. She’s pictured here at the Cannes Film Festival premiere of her movie “Kung Fu Panda,” with the-partner (and now-ex-husband) Brad Pitt. At the time, Jolie was pregnant with twins.
Jolie gave birth to her twins, son Knox Leon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline, in July 2008.
Angelina Jolie and Jenny Shimizu (The Daily Mail UK)
Long before she become a well-known humanitarian with perfect bone structure and Mrs. Brad Pitt, Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie was kind of a wild child. But before wearing Billy Bob Thornton’s blood in a vial around her neck, she did something that (rightfully) now seems like no big deal.
Jolie began dating actress/model Jenny Shimizu on the set of their 1996 film “Foxfire.” Jolie claims that she fell in love with Shimizu “the first second [she] saw her,” and would’ve married Shimizu if she wasn’t already married to actor Jonny Lee Miller.
Reports put the definitive end of the relationship around 2005 (coincidentally the same year she starred in “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” opposite Pitt), but imagine an alternate universe where Jolie and Shimizu are the ultimate Hollywood bisexual power couple. Intriguing, right? Too bad it’ll only happen in our minds.
John Jolie-Pitt (Refinery 29)
Happy 2015! I hope everyone had a fun and relaxing holiday season.
Now, let’s get back to business. The business of sex and numbers.
Last month, actors Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt stepped out with their family for the premiere of Jolie’s new film (and directorial debut) “Unbroken.” Many media outlets commented on their eight-year-old daughter Shiloh wearing a tux to the event. Shiloh has been asked to be referred to as “John” and self-identifies as a boy. (Wonderfully supportive parents Jolie and Pitt have readily obliged.)
John has not publicly identified himself as transgender, and his parents have not identified him as such either.
But how many children might identify as, or fit the label of, transgender?
At the moment, there’s really no hard data answering this question. Either researchers aren’t delving into this topic, or they might not be using the term “transgender” when asking a child to self-identify.
But gender identity tends to be fixed early in life. A PDF on children’s transgender identity for parents from Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) San Francisco notes the following:
“Most people have a sense of their gender identity between ages two and four. If your child expresses a transgender identity since early childhood, it is unlikely they will change their mind as they age. Their sense of themselves will only deepen.”
This makes sense as it relates to John, as Jolie observing that he “wants to be a boy” in a 2010 “Vanity Fair” interview.
It’ll be interesting to watch John Jolie-Pitt grow up and how his gender identity changes or stays the same. No matter which happens, it’s great to see a notable example of a supportive family surrounding him. Hopefully, it’ll change and open some minds.
Sex & Stats: Where Numbers Come to Bang 