Sarah Fletcher is the author of the poetry collection “Plus Ultra.” This op-ed was adapted from an article in UnHerd.

I was 18 when I met my first pickup artist. It was my first year of university and I was at a Halloween house party, dressed as a magician’s assistant. The host had a Joy Division poster, which I complimented. He laughed. “A lot of girls pretend to like these bands because they want to get with me. What’s your favorite song on ‘Unknown Pleasures’?”