Courtney Stodden Keeps It Rill

Courtney Stodden is a girl who is rilly, rilly rill. She made a video about a popular American pastime known as bullying. Americans now bully one another online.

The country singer turned child bride when she married Doug Hutchison of Lost. The wedding took place about two months before gay marriage would be passed in New York. The law in Las Vegas for straight couples to apply for a marriage license is that one must be 18 years of age. Stodden's mother signed the paperwork that allowed her child to be wed at 16.

The video (below) shows Stodden addressing recent criticism that has been made about her. Her video has gotten a larger number of thumbs down votes than Chris Crocker's "Leave Britney Alone" (or "Britney Spears Fan Cries"). His ratio of likes to dislikes is about 60-40. Her video has 4,076 dislikes to about 200 likes. What is it about Courtney Stodden that attracts acrimony?

The wedding took place about a month before gay marriage was passed in NY. Marital laws are slowly encompassing the diversity and sexuality that are changing our society. More couples today are allowed to gain rights and the social status of codified partnerships. Other laws prohibiting previously taboo behavior like statutory rape (or the union of a partner perceived as vulnerable with a partner perceived as predatory) are being questioned as more people are impacted by criminal sanctions.

What frightens me about Courtney is the backlash that happens when she attempts to defend her decisions. Granted, heated YouTube cameos are not going to help her career. She might also not be the most mature person to engage in a partnership with a much older man. Her mother's motives and defense of the "rillness" of her breasts are also questionable. As a result, Stodden's womanhood is questionable and the agents that defend its veracity are her parents (mostly her mother), her spouse and the public (thumbs up or down).

When Stodden addresses the criticism online, she addresses the critique and rating system of her public. But, the way she defends herself is still subscribed to her body. The realness of her body is in question. Its value is attributed to its potential use (here, she justifies it as valuable due to marriage [valued because of her religious background]). This value is won at the cost of demonizing women who choose or participate in pornography.

The impact of allowing more people to marry is that it doesn't seem to be changing traditional gender roles. These roles are being more heavily enforced upon young women and not just an extreme example like Courtney Stodden. Increased tolerance towards the institution of marriage is not helping young women who could be victimized by it. It is not questioning the aspects of gender that are unfair or unreasonable. In fact, Mz. Stodden's care shows that these issues about appearance, motivation and femininity are still there. People do not protect youth; they judge you and your body by adult standards. As some sects of society progress, we should question the future of marriage and how it impacts women.

Will some women, and then later men, be declared unfit for marriage based upon their sexuality/ age/ nontraditional appeal? Will it become more difficult to marry as its meaning changes?



PS Thanks @Morgan for sharing this video.