Should Shiloh Jolie-Pitt Be Called ‘John’ By The Media? 2015 Declared ‘The Year Of The Transgender Child’

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt continues to generate buzz by dressing like a boy, but should the media really be referring to Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s daughter by the name “John?”

Two recent write-ups argue that the 8-year-old should be referred to as John Jolie-Pitt, and they offer two very different reasons for encouraging Shiloh to stick with the male moniker. Alternet writer Rachel Pepper refers to Shiloh as John over and over again in a recent article that declares 2015 “the year of the transgender child.” Meanwhile AL.com writer Amanda Walker believes that southerners should support Jolie-Pitt’s decision to change her name to John because of the Battle of Shiloh. Walker points out that it was “the first battle of the Civil War that saw a large number of casualties.”

However, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt didn’t name their daughter after the Battle of Shiloh. According to The Daily Beast, their first biological child was given a moniker dreamed up by her grandparents decades ago.

“Angelina Jolie was almost born Shiloh Baptist Voight. The inspiration for the name was a truck her father, Jon Voight, and her mother, Marcheline Bertrand, were stuck behind while taking a drive through the woods.”

Marcheline decided against the name because it was “too Hebrew.”

Shiloh Jolie-Pitt didn’t change her name to John because her name is “too Hebrew,” or because 23,000 soldiers were killed in the Battle of Shiloh. And, as far as anyone knows, she didn’t change it because she’s transgender. However, Rachel Pepper claims that Shiloh is “out” in an article titled “10 things every parent of a transgender child needs to know.”

“Supported by celebrity parents who are known to be LGBT savvy, John Jolie-Pitt presents us with the very public manifestation of the new vanguard of transgender children: out, unapologetic, self-assured and supported by their families,” Pepper writes. “Thanks to kids like John Jolie-Pitt, and families who are willing to step forward in support, trans children will have many more role models this year.”

The John Jolie-Pitt name didn’t come from Shiloh coming out as a transgender child. As the Inquisitr previously reported, the reports about Shiloh wanting to be called John come from Angelina Jolie’s 2008 interview with Oprah Winfrey. Jolie told the talk show host a story about how Shiloh insisted on being referred to as John because she was a fan of the Peter Pan character of the same name. Angelina has never referred to Shiloh as John since that interview. She called her daughter by her birth name during an interview for the June, 2014, issue of Elle, and always uses female pronouns when talking about her child.

According to Hollywood Life, Angelina Jolie once told Reuters that she doesn’t agree with labeling or judging children based on how they outwardly express themselves.

“Society always has something to learn when it comes to the way we judge each other, label each other. We have far to go.”

It’s possible that Shiloh Jolie-Pitt is really a “trans kid,” as video vixen Amber Rose recently labeled her. However, it’s also possible that she’s not. Whatever the case may be, Angelina Jolie has never indicated that Shiloh still wants to be called John. Do you think media outlets need to stop referring to Angelina Jolie’s daughter as John Jolie-Pitt?

[Image credits: Getty via Racked, People via All Things Pop Culture]