Why You Like Courtney Stodden

Yeah, don't pretend you don't.

Courtney Stodden came to fame as the world's favorite child bride. And then... she stayed there. Over and over again, I see people say things like, "I don't know why, but I'm fascinated!" or "I can't figure it out, but I kind of think I like her?"

Well, set your mind at rest, because I have the answer: We all like Courtney Stodden because she refuses to be pitied.

As of yet the only person I've seen actually live up to one
of those damn Marilyn poster quotes that's up in every
college dorm.

Getting married at such a young age meant that the media basically treated her as the victim of a gross old man (when they weren't mocking her, which confused the message somewhat). I'm not condoning her husband's actions, but I will point out that until a generation or two ago, it was actually fairly common for people to get married at 16 or even younger.

Courtney Stodden is many things (most of them outrageous), but a victim doesn't appear to be one of them. Her interviews are slightly bewildering and she seems to be voguing as she talks. Her website is full of photos with all the subtle sexiness of your average porn star. Her twitter consists of innuendo and cheerful retweets of celeb sites mocking her. She's unquestionably does not meet social expectations.

The world exerts a lot of pressure on women. It tells them to be sweet and smart and obliging and sexy and virginal and when we can't do all those things at once, we apologize.

Women apologize a lot. We apologize for seeming big-headed, for not looking pretty enough, for acting overly sexy, for seeming like a nerd, for caring what other people think about us, for not fulfilling our gender norms, or for fulfilling our gender norms too closely.

Courtney Stodden doesn't apologize. Ever.

Perez Hilton has 6 million + followers.
KrissyM222 has 13 followers.

She layers on makeup and dresses in tiny outfits and gets plastic surgery and isn't ashamed of any of it. She owns it. I've yet to hear of her doing anything harmful or cruel, like we see repeatedly from other young people in the spotlight. Courtney Stodden actually seems downright kind. And gracious.

This girl has 405 followers.

This girl has 46 followers.

Courtney Stodden didn't respond to criticism, as usual. Perhaps the
literary community could learn a thing or two...

Despite quite literally countless insults - and the media treating her simultaneously as a victim and an object of ridicule - I've never seen or even heard of her lashing out. How many people could say the same at 18? Fame doesn't seem to have gone to her head - on Twitter she responds to teenage girls with a handful of followers in the same breath as she responds to Perez Hilton.

Courtney Stodden dresses and acts far more sexual than most people are comfortable with... But does she really deserve to be mocked for that? Most decent people wouldn't feel comfortable mocking a tomboy who exclusively wore men's clothes. 

What you see with Courtney Stodden is, apparently, precisely what you get. And while I'm not personally a huge fan of her interests - namely, appearing sexy to men - it doesn't really matter. She's a free human being with an independent will; she doesn't need to please me. I think the world could use a few more women who do exactly what makes them happy without apologizing to the world for it.

Honestly, everything I've seen from Courtney Stodden indicates huge strength of character and just general decency. She's unwavering in her expression of herself, and uniformly kind to other people. Her tastes and interests aren't the same as mine, but that doesn't mean that she's not a strong person.

While I can't say that I'm hoping to see more 16 year olds marrying dudes in their 50s, in her own weird way, I think Courtney Stodden is the rare person strong enough to make decisions like that at a young age - or at least to deal with the consequences well. She certainly seems to know her own mind. So I can't say that I'm comfortable with her relationship... but I do like her.

How can you not?