Trigger warning for the following: religious abuse, sexism, homophobia, rape mention, cult-like behavior, sexualization of young girls, depression/suicide mention, religious guilt, isolation, and fat-shaming. Please let me know if I should add anything else.
For those of you who don’t have the time, spoons, attention span, etc. to watch the 55-minute video Bethany uploaded, here’s a summary: Bethany opens by saying that her DMs are open for anyone to come talk to her if they’re experiencing a similar situation to hers. If anyone wants me to link the social medias she listed please let me know.
Bethany and her siblings went through a lot of religious pressure as a child, with very sexist ideals. She was very sheltered and not allowed to make friends other than her siblings because they didn’t meet the standards of her parents (standards like no body hair, no earrings, no makeup, etc.). She and Cierra were forced to do all of the chores while their brothers did none.
She felt ashamed for being a woman and ashamed of her body. She was unable to express her opinions, or her personal likes and dislikes, especially clothing-wise. She feared that if she did she would be abandoned by her family - the only support system she had at the time.
She talks about how she disagrees with the homophobia, sexism, individuality, lack of cultural respect and respect for other religions that she was raised with in her heavily Christian household.
She talks about being terrified to talk to people in real life, and how her being so intensely sheltered growing up makes her feel unprepared to deal with the world as an adult now. She viewed marriage as her one escape as a child, a chance for freedom.
She briefly mentions molestation being involved but does not want to talk in-depth about it. Please respect her wishes.
She talks about how her body was heavily sexualized to the point of wearing even just jeans and a t-shirt was considered, in her words, slutty. Anything that showed that she had any sort of feminine figure was seen as whore-like, and she was constantly told that her body would be seen as an object of desire for simply existing in it. She has intense body issues because of it now. Near the end of the video she says that she was also called fat for gaining any weight. She says she’s been rediscovering herself recently, allowing herself to discover who she really is.
She also mentions how recently she’s been struggling with suicidal thoughts and depression because of these events, along with religious guilt because of her mental health struggles.
Bethany explains that she was trapped in an unhealthy long-distance relationship with her ex-fiance, who she had only met in person once for a week. She also mentions her new boyfriend and online friends who are a proper support system for her, who don’t require her to meet arbitrary standards.
She says her family sort of “disowned” Cierra, and that no one would talk to her, and that eventually she realized it was because she differed from their beliefs. This led her to ask if they would stop talking to her as well if she disagreed.
She says despite her deep connection to her brothers, especially Isaac, they both told her that yes, they would disown her as well.
Afterward, she reached out multiple times, only to be told that they wouldn’t hang around her as friends, only if she needed help with something or “to witness” (if anyone understands what she means by this please let me know. She uses it multiple times during her video).
She says a little more at the end but that’s essentially the key points of the video.
[End of Summary]
Here are some personal opinions of mine about this situation. This is just me talking about my own personal feelings, so feel free to skip it.
