A few years ago, beauty/fashion YouTuber Sarah Rocksdale made a really neat video explaining her atheism. I loved that she was talking about it to a fan base that wasn’t necessarily expecting it.
She hasn’t talked about the subject much since that time… until now. She recently posted a video give more details about how she was indoctrinated in her Pentecostal Christian religion, how she was sexually abused, and how those two things were intertwined.
It’s a powerful, heartbreaking story. But as she says, when she briefly raised the subject in the past, she heard from many people who had similar experiences. So maybe sharing her story in more detail will help others realize they’re not alone.
You can read a transcript here. This part stood out to me:
As a girl, growing up with the Christian religion, I didn’t feel empowered, I felt weak, small and again, very unintelligent. Feeling ashamed just for being a woman. Just being a female alone, you get the sense that your voice doesn’t matter. In 1 Timothy 2:12 it says, “Do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be kept quiet.” Then also in 1 Cor. 14:34 “Women should remain silent in churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says.”
How many women have been raised to be silent about the abuse they suffer?
Sarah was able to overcome that. She even talks about what helped her get through it all. Hopefully, others in the same situation can find a path forward, too.