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In doing so, she challenged the idea that sexuality must fit neatly into a single, rigid category. Jolie did not frame her experiences as confusion or rebellion. She described them as natural extensions of her capacity to love.
The Cultural Context
To understand the significance of Jolie’s openness, it’s important to remember the cultural climate of the late 1990s and early 2000s. While LGBTQ+ visibility was growing, it was still far from normalized. Many actors feared professional backlash if they came out, particularly those whose careers relied on romantic lead roles.