I think u/Vulptex was pretty close to the reason being socially based; the gender cult is the first cult to catch on autistic people are beginner mode to get into a cult/hate group, because they want nothing more than to have friends and a place in this world where they belong. If you're a cult, they're easy to get with that since it's just "ingratiate yourself into someone's life, make them have those things, then by the time you introduce the crazy shit in there, you're their friend and they'll fight for you just because of that."