Three-year-old Shiloh Jolie-Pitt, daughter of celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, made headlines this past month when she was photographed sporting a new, short haircut. Tabloids went wild with the news, and within a week many major celebrity magazines published entire articles devoted to Shiloh’s new haircut. Yet the media frenzy did not come simply from the haircut, but rather what the short haircut might imply about the gender identity of Shiloh. Shiloh had previously been photographed in outfits that caused the media to label her a tomboy, and her new haircut just added fuel to the fire. Life & Style magazine ran a front page story about the drama with the headline “Why is Angelina Turning Shiloh Into A Boy?” and US Weekly ran an article titled “Stylists Rate Shiloh’s Princess Charming Haircut” (Lifeandstylemag.com and UsMagazine.com).
While it may seem easy to dismiss the fact that a magazine would devote an entire article to stylist comments about a three-year-old’s haircut as silly, the reason behind this media frenzy is not so laughable. What is really behind this current media obsession with Shiloh is the fact that she does not fit the expected mold given to her when she was born. Because of her immensely famous and gorgeous parents, Shiloh’s birth was possibly one of the most anticipated births to date. She was predicted to be one of the most beautiful baby girls in the world. Yet, as she grew from a baby to a toddler, Shiloh didn’t take on her expected role of pampered Hollywood princess, dressing in girly pink clothing. As Irin Carmon of the feminist gossip website, Jezebel, sarcastically writes: “Doesn’t she realize she’s the crown princess in the fairy tale? She’s ruining it with that whole ‘wanting to be a boy’ thing!” (Jezebel.com). Even at three years old, Shiloh (or her parents) is breaking the gender stereotype of what it means to be a girl. Although the attention given towards her short haircut and tomboy clothing is exaggerated because of her famous parents, at the root of this attention is the fact that Shiloh does not easily fit into our constructed gender standards of girl or boy. Hence, this media attention about Shiloh’s haircut is an example of our society’s compulsion to put people into defining categories, and our society’s discomfort when one does not fit easily into said category.
In Sexing the Body Anne Fausto-Sterling traces the progression of how we think about gender and sex. She states that we see these as two distinct categories, and usually associate sex with nature, and gender with nurture. In other words, gender is something that can be learned or taught. She traces the spread of this belief to 1972 with the works of sexologists John Money and Anke Ehrhardt (Fausto-Sterling 3). Money and Ehrhardt argued that “sex refers to physical attributes and is anatomically and physiologically determined. Gender… is a psychological transformation of the self- the internal conviction that one is either male or female (gender identity) and the behavioral expressions of that conviction” (Fausto-Sterling 3). Because of this belief, it is now commonly held that our sex is something we are born with, but our gender is something that we acquire. The concept of gender is where the trouble with Shiloh is found. It is clear that her sex is female, but it is her gender that is in question.
The question arises of whether or not parents can, or should, teach their children how to adhere to gender norms. It is clear in the title of the Life&Style article, “Why is Angelina Turning Shiloh Into a Boy?” that the blame is put on Angelina for not teaching Shiloh the proper way to be a girl. Further blame is also placed on Brad Pitt as the result of what he said in an Oprah interview a year ago. While on Oprah, Brad Pitt talked about how Shiloh loved the movie Peter Pan and how she liked to be called by the names of the male characters: ‘“We've got to call her John," he told Oprah Winfrey, noting that when he started to ask, "Shi, do you want..." she would interrupt with "John. I'm John." Then, Brad continued, "I'll say, 'John, would you like some orange juice?' And she goes, 'No!'" (Life and Style Online). While this exchange seems pretty typical of a three-year-old, some critics believe that her parents shouldn’t be indulging Shiloh’s desire to be called John.
The question of whether Shiloh’s parents should indulge behavior like wanting to dress in boy’s clothes or wanting to be called boy’s names has experts split. Some, like parenting coach Karen Deerwester, believe that is very healthy and normal for a child to want to express him or herself in various ways, and the parents should support these choices: “Giving preschool-age children the freedom and flexibility to experiment with how they want to be seen in the world is a wonderful gift” (Life and Style online). Yet others, such as Glenn Stanton, director of Family Formation Studies at the conservative organization Focus on the Family, believe that Shiloh’s parents need to encourage and foster her to adhere to the female gender: ‘“Little girls have never been women before. They need help, they need guidance of what that looks like. It's important to teach our children that gender distinction is very healthy”’ (Life and Style Online). Using the theories found in Sexing the Body, it appears that Deerwester would be in agreement to seeing gender on a spectrum, whereas Stanton would be in agreement with the doctors who feel it is necessary to do intersex corrective surgeries as soon as possible because gender is learned and developed from a very young age (Fausto-Sterling).
The majority of the people in the Internet world criticized the magazine’s focus on Shiloh, with comments ranging from “Practical suggestion- my mom made me wear my hair short because I had seriously fine hair that would not stay in any barrette or ponytail. Sometimes it's not about your personality and all about how irritated your Mom is because you have tangled hair every night” to “The tabloids need to back off and let Shiloh be a child. It is sickens me to see the amount of gender bias in the US media. Children should not be singled out or ridiculed for refusing to adhere to gender norms” (Jezebel.com). The comments from people on the other side of the debate were equally, if not more, strongly worded. Some reactions to the Shiloh debate not only questioned her gender, but her sexuality. Alana Kelen, fashion stylist for VH1, was quoted as saying: “Shiloh is pushing the boundaries of a tomboy look and crossing over to cross-dresser territory” (Life and Style online). As seen in Sexing the Body, there is an underlying belief that if gender is not clearly defined, people assume that this also means a step towards deviant sexuality. Again, there is an emphasis on properly learning gender: “The development of masculinity, femininity, and inclination toward homo- or hetero- sexuality, nurture matters a great deal more than nature” (Fausto-Sterling 46). Thus, the concern about Shiloh is not only rooted in current presence of her short haircut, but also the long-term effect that the short haircut could have on her sexuality.
When society believes that a person should fall into distinct female and male gender categories, it is implied that there is a correct and incorrect way to be a girl. In Touch magazine featured a spread that epitomizes this exact belief. In the article, Shiloh is contrasted with Suri Cruise, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, in a variety of categories, including hair styles, dress, and accessories. The article is titled, “Shiloh & Suri have such different styles” (In Touch online). And while it is not explicitly stated, there is an implicit message that Suri, with her purses and high heels, is a prime example of how to be a girl, while Shiloh, with her camouflage pants and sword, is an example of the wrong way to be a girl. Even though Shiloh and Suri are still quite young, the attention paid to their dress at such a young age shows society’s belief that gender must be developed from birth.
While it is unsettling and almost shocking that tabloids today can make a story out of a three-year-old’s hairstyle, the underlying implied messages about gender and sexuality are not a product of the 21st century. As Fausto-Sterling writes, the construct of gender as nurtured is a belief that stems from theorists in the past. It is thought that gender must be developed, and if it is not done so properly, there can be long-term consequences for the child. The recent attention on Shiloh is the epitome of this belief. When Shiloh did not turn out to be the blonde hair, blue-eyed princess that was expected of her and instead preferred stereotypically boy attire, the inability to place her in a category felt confusing and uncomfortable. The media felt they needed to address this confusion by devoting articles to the issue that speculated about possible explanations, and contrasted her to a prime example of a very feminine girl her age. The attention about Shiloh shows that even in 2010, there is still a right and wrong way to be a girl.
Sources:
Sexing the Body by Anne Fausto-Sterling.
"Shiloh and Suri have such different styles" In Touch Magazine online. http://jezebel.com/5484790/this-week-in-tabloids-angelinas-rough-sex-with- ralph-fiennes--shilohs-harmful-haircut/gallery/
"Stylists rate Shiloh's 'Princess Charming' Haircut" US Weekly. http://www.usmagazine.com/momsbabies/news/stylists-rate-shilohs- princess-charming-haircut-2010252
"Why is Angelina Turning Shiloh into a boy?" Life and Style Magazine Online. http://www.lifeandstylemag.com/2010/03/large-1011-cover.html
"Why The Gossips Find Shiloh's 'Tomboy' Attire So Odious" Jezebel Online. http://jezebel.com/5480503/why-the-gossips-find-shilohs-tomboy-attire-so- odious
I found this "Newsflash" very interesting. My thought process followed along basically exactly what Emma laid out for us. However, I would like to add one more thing. My sister had a similar hair cut to Shiloh when she was growing up. However, there are no signs of any corruption of my sister's gender. I believe that a hair cut or a style choice made by a young child means very little in the long run. However, what could pose a very damaging threat to a young girl like Shiloh are these tabloids and internet blogs that allow the entire world to comment on every outfit Shiloh wears and the way her mom chooses to cut her hair. In ten years there is a decent chance that Shiloh will not even remember having her hair styled "like a boy's". However, unlike any of society's pressures like students like us have to deal with, Shiloh will have volumes and volumes of tabloids to deal with while she navigates her way through teenage years. The most scarring thing about her look and style will be the fact that the entire country feels that they have a right to judge it.
ReplyDeleteI never saw this article in the magazines, but it is crazy to think that so much publicity would be spent on a toddler! I think the media should let Shiloh be a kid! I think Emma hit the problem right on its head- our culture seems to be obsessed with fitting people into categories. If someone doesn't fit into the mold, they are automatically cast aside and labeled as "other." People often become uncomfortable around issues they don't understand, and I think the gender question is no different. Instead of criticizing Brad and Angelina's parenting styles, they should be praised for allowing Shiloh to express and explore her likes/dislikes. Besides, isn't that what parents are supposed to do? Aren't they supposed to teach us to become comfortable in our own skin?
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