god, Sex, and Rich People - Mattie Jo Cowsert

C/W - rape, sexual trauma
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Today I spoke with Mattie Jo Cowsert, an author and actress who grew up believing in and committed to Jesus, but ultimately deconverted as the truth claims of Christianity fell apart.
We touched on many topics, including:
• Reflecting on how deeply entrenched evangelicalism was in her family history and identity.
• Thinking through the ways purity culture objectified women, often treating their bodies as commodities for male approval and determining their value based on their purity and marital status.
• Critiquing gender role expectations that ultimately suppress individuality and self-expression.
• Overcoming the fear of eternal damnation, which had been a primary reason she'd kept believing for so long.
• Understanding that sexual ignorance harms people by leaving them unprepared for healthy, empowered sexual experiences.
• Identifying the binary thinking of evangelicalism that presented the world in rigid absolutes, leaving little room for nuance or individuality.
• Experiencing cognitive dissonance as she met people from diverse backgrounds, shattering the homogeneous narratives she'd grown up with.
• Confronting the idea that an all-loving God would condemn people based on narrow and exclusionary criteria.
• How she empowered herself as she defined her own sexual ethics and reclaimed her body and desires.
• Unpacking how deeply her self-esteem was tied to evangelical doctrines that portrayed her as inherently sinful apart from a god.
• Appreciating the process of self-reflection and the gradual unlearning of harmful religious teachings.
• Learning to view casual relationships with care and respect, moving beyond reductive binaries like "just sex" vs. "making love."
• Advocating for a values-driven, autonomous approach to life.
• The importance of patience and self-compassion during the deconstruction process.
Many thanks to Mattie Jo for sharing her story!
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Connect with Mattie!
www.mattiejoco...
Blog: www.mattiejoco...
YT: @MattieJoCowsert
IG: @mattiecowsert
Buy Mattie's book!
www.amazon.com...
--- What happens when an Evangelical pastor's daughter moves from Branson, Missouri to New York City? A collapse ​of identity that begins a journey of figuring our faith, fucking, and the 1%. With humor and raw honesty, God, Sex, and Rich People follows Mattie Jo as she takes off her purity ring, navigates public transportation, and tries to have good sex without hating herself. From dating her doorman, to sex with a pop star, and living with millionaires, watch Mattie Jo hilariously fumble and find her footing as she redefines her sexuality and spirituality in the city that never sleeps (and never stops sleeping around).
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--Tim
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Ending music by Kazuya / Eyal Raz, "Friends"
artlist.io/roy...
• Friends
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