I Was a Child Bride: Dr. Tamara MC on the Language of Manipulation (Part 1)

This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. When she was only 12-years-old, Dr. Tamara MC had a secret wedding ceremony in the middle of the night. Shrouded in pitch black and with no one present but her new husband, a much older man who could supposedly guide her to the kingdoms of knowledge and heaven, this night further cemented Tamara’s place in a highly abusive religious cult. Above all else, men wielding black leather whips forced females to surrender their “nafs”—the Arabic word for “self.” As she put it in an article for Mother Well Mag, the girls in that cult “didn’t know where [their] bodies stopped and the perpetrators' bodies began.” Now, Tamara has earned a Ph. D. in Applied Linguistics, specifically studying how language can be used to manipulate vulnerable populations. She advocates against gender-based violence and has written prolifically about the nightmarish experiences that punctuated her youth, d0ing as much as she humanly can to prevent this from happening as frequently in the future.  Dr. Tamara's Website Dr. Tamara's Twitter Dr. Tamara's Instagram Dr. Tamara's Facebook Please note, this series includes details of sexual abuse. Listener discretion is strongly advised. If you, or someone who know, is a survivor of sexual assault, abuse, grooming, child abuse, or human trafficking, RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Hotline offers support at 800.656.HOPE (4673). Also… Hear Ye, Hear Ye: The views and opinions expressed on A Little Bit Culty do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the podcast. Any content provided by our guests, bloggers, sponsors or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, group, club, organization, business individual, anyone or anything. Nobody’s mad at you, just don’t be a culty fuckwad. Other Links: Check out our lovely sponsors Join ‘A Little Bit Culty’ on Patreon Get poppin’ fresh ALBC Swag Support the pod and smash this link Cult awareness and recovery resources CREDITS:  Executive Producers: Sarah Edmondson & Anthony Ames Production Partner: Citizens of Sound Producer: Will Retherford Senior Producer: Jess Tardy Writer: Mathias Rosenzweig Theme Song: “Cultivated” by Jon Bryant co-written with Nygel Asselin Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices