real life

She started a website to find a partner. And it worked.

 

In 2011, we ran a post from a woman named Courtney Beck. Courtney was single, and in the market for a long-term partner. But, after coming out, she had realised that this was not as easy as she’d hoped it would be. Sick of waiting to be swept off her feet, she decided to take her love life into her own hands, beginning an online campaign to find someone to date her.

Two and a half years ago, she wrote:

Courtney Beck

There was a time when dating came easily for me. That was when I was at Uni, straight and had a massive amount of time on my hands. And then I came out, and realised that finding a girl was way harder than finding a boy!

You see I like a particular kind of girl, which in the gay world is known as a ‘femme’ or a ‘lipstick’. These girls are like spies, totally unrecognisable in a crowd because they look completely straight.

So how does one know if a straight looking girl is into other girls? You don’t. Which makes it really hard to know who to flirt with, and who not to flirt with. (Flirting with straight girls is not advisable as it often leads to rejection, but it has been hobby of mine in the past.)

Anyway, so I have a theory that there are hundreds, if not thousands of other girls out there like me, who are currently looking for feminine girls to date. But if you can’t pick them in the street, how do you go about finding them? It was at this point that the cogs in my mind started turning, and I knew I needed to come up with a plan.

I woke up one morning with only the warmth of my electric blanket, and an idea! Coming from a Marketing background, I was going to use everything I’d learnt about promoting products to start a campaign to find myself a girl! And so “Reasons to Date Courtney Beck” was born, a Tumblr about my search to find some amazing women to date. (And perhaps I would even find the one?!)

The actual idea behind “Reasons to Date Courtney Beck” is fairly self-explanatory; I am listing all of the reasons as to why you should consider dating me. Some of these reasons include that I: Brush my teeth twice a day, I work in Advertising, take a lot of pride in my appearance, enjoy a good social life, and have an excellent relationship with my family. I also like to think I’m quite entertaining, but you can decide on that if ever were to go out on a date.

Well, we have an update on Courtney’s story. Her campaign worked, and now Courtney lives with her girlfriend Jules, and Jules’ daughter, Bella.

Mamamia’s Editorial Director and Publisher Mia Freedman sat down with the three girls to talk about their modern family:

For those who can’t watch the video, here are some of the best bits.

Courtney on knowing that Jules was the one:

About four months in I received a really funny, beautifully written letter – no photo – and I actually bumped everyone else to respond to Jules.

Jules on introducing Bella to Courtney:

I think that Isabella had a pre-conceived idea that mummy would end up with a man. So, when I told her that Courtney was more than mummy’s friend, she was actually mummy’s girlfriend, her little face just went *startled expression* “I didn’t know you liked her that much.” And she had a couple of questions, but after that she was absolutely fine.

Bella on what she likes most about each of her mums:

I like telling jokes with Court because I find her fun and I think she’s got a really good sense of humour… I quite like doing art and craft with mum because I think she’s quite good at it and can give me really good tips.

When asked if marriage was on the cards, Courtney said: “I would love to marry Jules. For me, this is forever.”

And now we’re crying.

Share this post with anyone who says that kids shouldn’t be raised in same-sex households.