Courtney Gabrus is using her personal health journey to advocate for inclusion and empowerment of the disabled community – Yahoo Lifestyle

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Courtney Stodden, who first made headlines in 2011 when they married The Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison, is now opening up about the abuse they experienced at the hands of their ex-husband and from the media. At the time of their marriage, Hutchinson was 50 and Stodden was just 16, but given legal consent to marry him by their mother. Not much has been reported about Stodden in the last five years, but the former teen star delves deep into the traumatic effects that grooming and bullying have had in their life in a recent Daily Beast interview. Branded a teen bride, Stodden experienced widespread ridicule after marrying Hutchison. Anderson Cooper reportedly compared them to a stripper on CNN and Dr. Drew even examined their breasts with an ultrasound device in front of a live studio audience while they were still a minor to determine if they had any cosmetic work done. Stoddens divorce from Hutchison was finalized last year. But in the wake of the viral documentary Framing Britney Spears, which captured the cruelty Spears was treated with in the 2000s, the medias treatment of Stodden while they were married to an abusive man who was decades older than them as a child is now under the microscope. It took me a really long time to understand what grooming even meant, Stodden told The Daily Beast. But as I grew into a woman, I started realizing what happened to me I was over the relationship and wanted to move on, but when he left, I was terrified to be on my own. I didnt know how to be on my own. I still dont have a license. I depended so much on him and he knew that, so when he left it was almost a manipulative way of going, Okay, lets see if you can survive without me here.' And Stodden has, but not without their share of difficulties. Stodden recalls severe verbal abuse and gaslighting at the hands of Hutchison, realizing years later just how much of a master groomer he was. He told me everything a young girl would want to hear from somebody shes craving love from, and when I got married to him, he changed. And he knew he had me right where he wanted me, they said. And while being groomed, the media treated Stodden as the punchline at best. I have a lot of trauma from that entire chapter in my life, they said. And thats the time where youre developing your brains developing, youre becoming a woman. And as Im forming, I am being mocked, overtly sexualized, abused not only in my home, but internationally and it really did a number on my self-confidence and my sense of worthiness, which I struggle with today. Stoddens story recalls the experiences of many other teen stars. Recently, the media has been forced to reckon with its treatment of young celebs in the early-2000s, including Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, and Lindsay Lohan. While still underage, they were put in positions where they were pressured to be both hypersexual and role models for young girls; to be worldly, yet naive; to embody conflicting ends of a patriarchal spectrum that forgets that theyre children, but is simultaneously dismissive if they stand up for themselves. Only now is this culture of manipulation being thoroughly reexamined and seen for what it truly is. And while Stodden may have come forward, they still dont feel like theyre out of the woods. I still feel like Im stuck. Even though Im out of that relationship, I still feel heavy, they explained. I dont feel light. I dont feel like things are so much better. I hope that eventually Ill be able to find genuine happiness and shed the traumas of my past, but I just feel very pessimistic. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?Britney Spears Won't Ask To End ConservatorshipParis Hilton's Stop Being Poor Shirt Was FakeBritney Spears Conservatorship & Disability Rights

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Courtney Gabrus is using her personal health journey to advocate for inclusion and empowerment of the disabled community - Yahoo Lifestyle