I was talking to a friend a few weeks back about the then-upcoming Britney Spears episode of Fox’s Glee, which aired on Sept. 28. I said something along the lines of: “I get that they want theme episodes, but why Britney Spears?”

You’d have thought I asked why Joseph Stalin has such a negative reputation.

But this is something that seriously confuses me and has done so for a few years now. Why do people —  in particular, women in our age bracket — still defend Spears so adamantly?

It’s not that I don’t understand some of the nostalgia toward her. When … Baby One More Time was released (in 1999, believe it or not), I was in fifth grade, which puts most people at this university anywhere from second to sixth grade. It’s basically the same reason why most people at this school look back fondly on TV shows such as Hey Arnold! — we were young, and it’s a nice memory.

I also understand that, unlike a TV show, Spears kind of grew up with us. She released subsequent albums in 2000, 2001 and 2003, which were prime years for our age group to do nothing but hang out in malls and listen to shitty music. So she owns a part of a many people’s youths that way as well.

But then, in 2004, well, she started going downhill. She met and married Kevin Federline, had a couple kids and then divorced the dude seemingly as fast as she met him.

And then, of course, 2007 brought upon us the infamous head-shaving incident. That’s when she lost a lot of people.

She wasn’t making music either, alienating fans who actually liked listening to her. It was also during this time that she started pulling an Oprah by gaining and losing weight frequently and, honestly, alienating many of her heterosexual male fans.

Sure, she put out Blackout in 2007 and Circus in 2008, but that was clearly not her best music, even with the aid of heavy Auto-Tune on her voice. And during that time — and as she still continues to do — Spears continued her crazy streak. Pictures of her questionable parenting style, seeming disdain of bras and constant hiring and engaging of new security guards are all off-putting.

I would think it must be disconcerting to her fans, who would have easy access to all this information.

So why? What is it about Spears that makes her so appealing to people our age?

And just so we’re all clear, I write this not to make people angry. I’m not just being a dick (for once), nor am I trying to forward my hidden agenda to make you all listen to The Gaslight Anthem instead of fading pop stars. I ask because I honestly don’t have an answer. I’ve thought about this for weeks, and I cannot for the life of me figure it out.

What about Christina Aguilera? Why is she not still this popular? I’m not saying I think she’s a better musician or anything, but let’s break it down. Aguilera made almost the exact same music for almost an identical amount of time; Aguilera was the more talented singer; Aguilera is still attractive all the time, and most importantly, she’s not crazy.

Or what about the Spice Girls? I would understand the Spice Girls. They were big when we were at the correct age, and they even went away for a while, which could have whet our appetite for a Spice World 2 or something. A woman my age defending them would make sense to me.

Yet it’s still Spears who gets time on the airwaves and on TMZ.

I like what Todd VanDerWerff, of The A.V. Club website, wrote when reviewing Glee‘s Britney episode after it aired: “I don’t have the fascination with [Spears’] music and her public persona that so many others in my generation do.

She’s just a pop star who had a hellish road for much of the last decade, then inexplicably became culturally relevant again.”

This is exactly how I feel. I remember when Spears was cool, when she was a sex symbol, and when her being at the MTV Video Music Awards was a big deal. I just know that now I’m somehow in the minority for thinking that Spears is way past the days when people should care about what she does.

Because I sure as hell don’t.

klucas@umdbk.com