I can help you with that - former conservative evangelical/fundie lite. I was raised my whole life to be a “pick-me.” Kind of my entire identity. I wasn’t “slutty,” (I did everything but penetrative sex), didn’t do drugs, I did the minimum of makeup and dressing so that I looked “good” but God forbid I looked vain. Fatphobic as all get out, too.

It was all based in fear. I was taught that I had to not be like other girls if I wanted to find a husband. I was deeply, deeply insecure, hard now to believe how insecure I was.

It was not a long leap for me to start reading stuff by these people. I’ve come a really long way from that time and when I see Mrs. MW, I think she’s either going to go deeper down this hole or have a moment of clarity and get out. I feel a lot of shame for ever having thought like that and I know that it feels like gripping a knife in your palm - you’re afraid of the pain if you ever let go of the destructive ideas so you grip harder.