Somehow the Duggars earned yet another magazine cover. I’m convinced this is a situation similar to when Teen Mom or The Bachelor/ette’s scandals earn covers. TV execs are doing deals to promote these shows. I could be wrong, the Duggars might move copies. We certainly talk about them enough.
Newly pregnant newlywed Jill Duggar and her engaged sister, Jessa, share the cover of US Weekly with the title “Our Rules for Love & Sex.” That’s a misnomer, they’re revealing their dad Jim-Bob’s rules for just about everything including celebrating major holidays, visiting places where people might not be fully covered in clothing, and listening to music. Of course the Duggar kids are also not allowed to hug anyone full on unless they’re married to them. We’ve already discussed that. Here are some of the rules, as explained by E! Online:
Parents Are CC’d on Texts: Yes, at 20 years old your mom and dad may be peeping your text messages. Once Ben Seewald jokingly wrote to fiancée Jessa, “Give me a ring.” Jim Bob’s reply? “No ring yet.” Oh, and his response was complete with smiley face emoticon. On the bright side…at least they don’t have to worry about naked selfies?
Dates Are Chaperoned: Parents accompany their children on dates in order to maintain their “accountability.” It “keeps things from going in the wrong direction,” explains Jim Bob. Likewise, the girls are comfortable with their parents’ presence, noting that being alone with men puts them in grave “moral danger.”
No Chest-to-Chest Contact Until Wedding Day: Side hugs are the preferred method of PDA in order to prevent any further temptation. And boy, do the Duggars sure love their side hugs!
Don’t Drink Alcohol: In the eyes of the Duggars, booze is a buzz kill. At a past event, Jill and Jessa accidentally sipped spiked punch. Jessa’s reaction? “Disgusting!”
They’re not allowed to listen to the radio: Michelle explains that dancing encourages “sensual” feelings while Jessa warns that modern day music is “promoting sex, drugs, all that type of stuff.” Instead, the family chooses to play gospel together.
They’re not allowed to celebrate Halloween: According to the Duggars, magic and witches are “part of a demonic realm God wants us to stay away from.” No hocus pocus here!
They’re not allowed to go to the beach: While there is Duggar-approved swimwear available for purchase, other beachgoers prove to be problematic for the religious clan. “It’s just too hard for the guys to try and keep their eyes averted,” Michelle explains.
So that’s a small glimpse into what it’s like growing up in a cult. Also forbidden in the Duggar household: science! The Duggar kids all believe the earth is just 6,000 years old and they’ll tell you about it with a straight face. Jessa and Jinger Duggar recently took a trip to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. Jessa Instagrammed a photo from the “museum” that claims that dinosaurs roamed the earth about 4,300 years ago (in reality they died out 65 million years ago). She wrote “If there really was a worldwide flood (as the Bible speaks of), what would the evidence be? Billions of dead things buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth. And that’s exactly what we find. Billions of dead things buried in rock layers, laid down by water, all over the earth. An Evolutionist and a Creationist will look at the same thing, but come to different conclusions because of their different starting points.”
Haha, NO. Just to go off for a second… you can in no way equate those two things. Scientists look at all the data, including carbon dating, and are willing to change their hypotheses based on new data. Scientists strive not to jump to conclusions based on pre-formed ideas. Science is open to revising beliefs based on new objective findings, unlike religious beliefs, which are subjective, based on relatively little if no evidence and unchanging. I would feel sorry for these kids if they weren’t trying to spread this ridiculous belief system.
Also, Jessa tweeted a photo quote against atheism that reveals a profound lack of understanding of natural selection.
But look, they’re so purty and pure! God made this.
My forehead just broke my desk.
America really loves extremes. From Kordashians to Duddars.
And they hate both! I find it ridiculous, every individual thinks they have the absolute truth all the time and you can’t make them see another point of view.
Ha! Good one, Jaderu!
This guy is really obsessed with sex. Constantly thinking about it, and projecting it onto everything.
And then going at it at home.
EW!!! Gross … and right.
If you say that he is obsessed with sex and constantly thinking about it, then that means there are individuals in this world that are that way. Which proves him correct. hahah
Can’t roll my eyes enough.
Im gonna church hug my bf and hope those sensual feelings start emanating out of him ASAPTUALLY
i can’t wait for The Duggars 2.5 gay children they probably statistically have by now since they are into Ignorant Nation Building
+1 to everything you said!
I’ve always wondered how many of their children are actually gay? Maybe one will break out and write a tell all memoir. But 19 kids, there’s no way they don’t have a gay child or two. Not that it’s a bad thing, since I’m a girl who likes girls myself…too bad the older ones are taken! LOL. (I am 24).
@val
If there is one (and I think there very well might be, statistically) s/he will probably not even realise it until they’re married and have a million kids. It’s not like being with a person of the same sex is presented to this children as a viable option. They probably think it’s an illness.
Sadly, if one of them (or more) is gay, they would probably never feel they could acknowledge it without being demonized or shunned. I could see them committing suicide rather than being able to break away from the family and live their lives with honesty. Most will probably marry some girl that the parents approve of and have kids and just try to ignore those desires, which is sad because they will never feel free to be who they are. They will have been taught it’s sinful and an abomination and will feel ashamed and hate themselves more than likely. Very sad.
My rule: no Duggars on my TV screen.
I have this rule as well; no Duggars because I’m not promoting their evil agenda. i will watch the Kartrashians before I watch the Duggars, THAT’S how disturbing I find them.
The Duggars disgust me as much as the guy who has multiple wives,both men sound like control freaks. I am a Christian and I had no problem controlling myself as a teenager. My parents were reasonable and actually gave us the independence to freely make mistakes and learn from them. The Dugger’s kids are actually the type to go postal if they have a bad day due to the prison like restrictions.
I really wish people would stop associating the majority of Christians with the Duggers. The Duggers are in the extreme minority when it comes to Christianity. Once again,television highlights the extremes, I guess it makes for good ratings.
+1. I LOATHE the Kardashians but I will watch a KUWTK marathon before I watch these wack jobs.
@Steph – The thing you said about his control over them affects me the most. Never watched their show, but he must think he is a little king, and obviously has issues with his telling everyone what they can and can’t do. So depressing. I would go nuts if someone didn’t give me just a little bit of space and privacy. Further, I have heard that people who go for cult-like, obsessive religion had a chaotic childhood, and look to the strict religion as way to find structure in their lives. I wonder what the dad’s childhood was like?
Ugh. So all men and women are sex crazed maniacs who can’t be exposed to ANYTHING lest they give in to their carnal desires.
Exactly. These people are obsessed with sex. I don’t really think about sex when I see people in their bathing suits, I just think “oh, there are people dressed properly for swimming in the ocean!”.And even if a person caught my eye and looked sexy to me it’s just a passing thought, not some obsessive intrusion on my brain that causes me to go crazy.
I used to date a guy in an overly-religious household. Those people were also obsessed with sex. Something about this fear or sex leads to an obsession with it. Gross.
I clearly don’t think about sex as much as they do. I could be drunk on a beach in a bikini and not be thinking about it. With all these demons and sex crazed fools it’s a wonder they leave the house!
Same here. In fact, usually the first thought I have when seeing people in bathing suits is that we all come in different shapes and sizes, or “Hey, that’s bathing suit’s really cute!”
The rest of us have seen people in bathing suits all of our lives, so it’s no big deal to see someone on the beach wearing a bikini or a speedo. For the Duggars, though, who have only seen other people completely covered up, I can imagine it would be a very big deal.
They relate everything to sex because they’re not allowed to even think about it.
We’re exposed to it enough to make us “numb” (I mean that in a good way). That’s why we can watch people dressed in shorts and tank-tops and not think of shagging them, while these general prudes can’t and they blame everything on clothing.
yeah, I was going to say “they’re obsessed with it because they try so hard to avoid it”.
tell yourself not to think of the word “poop” for the next 20 minutes. it will be all you think of.
It brings new meaning to “I’m gonna go play gospel”
Well, that is a pretty big symptom of sexual repression so can you really blame them? They’re too busy trying to tamp down any and all primal urges and thoughts it never occurred to them that they’ve created an obsession with the very thing they’re trying to control.
And if they’d ever been to the beach they’d realize that many of the people there aren’t, ah, very titillating regardless of their state of undress.
Amen, the beach is not full of sexiness like in the movies.
This is really the same concept behind other religious thought that says women are responsible for men’s lust and/or inappropriate behavior because they (women) dare to show skin, their hair, wear tight clothes, etc. It’s suggestive of a total lack of control (or responsibility) that can be remedied only by extreme cover-up and denial of natural urges and human behavior. I watched a video just yesterday of a woman in a predominantly Muslim country where she was shamed by a man for not properly covering her face, and she was told she was a “bad woman” because showing herself would lead to impropriety on a man’s part (which is basically the same as “you wore that tight skirt” = “you shouldn’t be surprised that you were raped”). Very dangerous thought processes, indeed.
Thank You for the Ned Flanders. I knew Jim Bob reminded me of someone.
I’d rather hang out with Ned, really though.
Yup, me too.
To be fair, Ned has a smoking body & that sexy pornography stache!
Yes, except I think Ned Flanders, the cartoon character, shows more intelligence than Jim Bob.
I’d take Ned-diddly-ed over a Duggar any day of the week. Jim Bob is like Ned’s even more uptight, fundamentalist older brother, lol.
Jim Bob Duggar makes Flanders look pretty liberal, in my opinion.
That museum is like 10 minutes away from me, and every time I pass by the exit I am surprised that yes, it truly does exist.
Carbon dating isn’t mentioned anywhere in the New Testament, so it’s obviously a lie propagated by millions of demonic members of the scientific community….
And musicians. Don’t forget the evil musicians.
@Lucy2. The other things make me angry. But their refusal of music and dancing makes me sad.
Yes, those evil, evil musicians;)
I live nearby too. My sisters and our spouses went once just to see what it was like. Out of our group of 7 there were three engineers and two microbiologists; all of us at various levels of religious devoutness. Our brains hurt at the bad science on every display. They also referred to Voltaire as the “infidel philosopher” and had a truly depressing hallway with a montage depicting how “wrong” homosexuality was. It just made me sad, and even more sad that there were tons of kids in there being taught that this was all fact.
The only positive? Their displays were shockingly high quality and there was a petting zoo. They sadly have a lot of money backing this place.
I saw photographs of the interior of this place, and will give them props for just one thing: their Adam and Eve looked Semitic not Anglo-Saxon.
I should really watch the Simpsons again. That’s funny
I am a teacher (a literature one) and I firmly believe in education, you can’t know on how many levels this family makes me furious. I think they are decent people but all the media attention around them is just WRONG.
they’re holding up a “heart” that is rotted and dying.
how appropriate.
😀
Wow what a fun life.
Good Lord, these people terrify me. Peripherally related, RawStory ran an article called “Escape from Duggarville” a few days ago. The story is the account of one woman’s literal escape from the Quiverfull lifestyle, and describes the ways in which she was psychologically abused by her religion and those around her. Pretty scary stuff. I feel so bad for the Duggar children, even if many are in adulthood now. They had/have no chance at a discovering their own idea of fulfilling emotional, sexual, or (most importantly) intellectual existences. Their parents made sure of that.
Do you have a link?
No Longer Quivering is a great blog by a woman who escaped this cult.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/nolongerquivering/
Here I believe that’s what Franciss was referencing
Slate covered the Vyckie Garrison’s speech to the American Atheists National convention today too http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/09/22/vyckie_garrison_on_escaping_quiverfull.html
Frightening stuff. I dont know why Quiverfull’s dont get more negative coverage like Scientology – they are equally as terrible and brainwash children.
That’s so stupid!!! I expect the no drugs sex and rock and roll crap. But science? Everything about this cult makes me crazy. I guess you’re supposed to walk around like you’ve had a lobotomy. Don’t use your brain, pump out kids and be a lap dog to your husband. This is absurd. GAGH!! I can’t with these people.
Exactly. And we as a culture need to stop celebrating them and giving them platforms from which to spew their ignorance, misogyny, and (in the case of certain new husbands) bigotry.
Puke
So pissed off the toddler started crying – I was looking forward to a jolly good side hug tonight.
HA! Good one Charlotte:)
I love how the article is tagged “stupid”..
What a bunch of nuts.
Yes, because when I go to the Ballet I immediately start thinking “sex”. *Rolls eyes*.
I hate that people try and defend them by saying “Well at least they’re not in jail or doing drugs” and while this is true….don’t you think its sad that these kids aren’t really allowed to have a thought of their own? That they are adults but still have to be supervised? That they are being sheltered from experiencing so much?
The kids are being emotionally abused. There’s no way to be in a cult and not be.
Haha! Great Simpsons clip.
My husband and I were at a goodwill not too long ago. We found a book for children explaining how dinosaurs really aren’t millions of years long gone. He being a geologist and still very much into fossils/dinosaurs got outraged. We wrote a letter to the publisher and for the 1st and last time (hopefully) burned a book.
End of the day you can believe what you want. You shouldn’t restrict others by baning them from having the tools to decide for themselves though. Ugh. This family shouldn’t be getting magazine covers or attention. Or atleast not until we see 1 of the children on that show I Escaped A Cult.
Off topic, but your book story reminded me of this ignorant take on another subject, written for kids. The reader reviews are priceless:
http://www.amazon.com/My-Parents-Open-Carry-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00MG1WD5G/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1411653885&sr=8-4&keywords=second+amendment+kids+book
Oh my god thank you for this, Esmom. I’m laughing hysterically at the comments.
@FLORC-that is just mind-boggling. Sad actually.
I laughed so hard at the comments on the book review that I am wiping tears off my face, (with the safety on, of course)……..
That was amaze balls. Thanks for the laugh.
OMG those are genius.
Thank you SO MUCH for this – hysterical!
Sometimes, I really love people. I don’t know those book reviewers, but they made me smile!
What’s not to ridicule? The characters look like they were drawn by a 12-year-old with delusions of talent, the father’s name is “Dick Strong” AND he has a pornstache that would impress Ron Jeremy.
Well no wonder the boys stare… if they’ve never seen a woman in a bathing suit, and they’ve already his the teenage years, damn right they’re going to look at the foreign thing prancing around. Perhaps if they weren’t on such a (weird) tight leash the sons wouldn’t have such a hard time dealing with the public and all those shameful woman bodies.
I don’t understand these people.
You’re not supposed to. You’re supposed to follow and just believe.
Also, this family is really full of trust, no? How heartwarming.
Lol. It’s called faith, okitt. Don’t try to understand, just belieeeeeeeeve!
Last night my BF and I smoked a bowl, drank two bottles of wine and had a lot of sex while listening to Jimi Hendrix. I’m pretty sure that automatically DQs me from Duggardom.
However, I’d love to get stoned and go to the Creation Museum. I bet that would be funny.
TOC – my kind of a night. lol. and i feel good about the fact that freaks like them would disqualify me from membership.
damn, TOK, I wanna party with YOU, cowboy!
It sounds like the hangover was well worth it, TOK!
I think a giggly trip through the creationist museum would be the only way I could tolerate it.
I. Am. On. The. FLOOR!!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
They have 20 kids. There has to be at least one that will break out of this suffocation of their spirit and demand for strict adherence to mama, daddy, and their religion’s rules for the rest of their life
And, statistically, with 20 kids, it’s likely at least one (maybe two) is gay. wonder how that will go over.
With a trip to the get straight camp, I’m sure.
or some oh-so-effectve and not at all damaging “conversion therapy”.
I would never wish for any of their children to be gay, imagine what they would do to this poor child.
A Cousin of my Husband is gay, the parents are living in a cult like the Duggars, and when their Son came out to them at the Age of 13 that he felt different, they abused and tortured him in endless Therapies and Conviction Camps and at home till he turned 20. One other poor Soul in one of this Horror Camps managed to get away and took him with himself. This poor Boys get a lot of help by “normal” Christians and Ben managed to contact the Family of his Mother, us. We took him and in the past six years since then he slowly managed to feel loved again and like a normal human beeing he also fell in love , he now has an sweet und loving Boyfriend. His clearly demented Mother still lives in the Cult of her Husband.
THEY F::::ing torture gay children, so lets hope for the children they are not gay.
I know nothing about this family, they sound so extreme. What is their religion?
I grew up not celebrating Halloween (I still don’t) and having chaperoned dates as well. The rest seems ridiculous but to each their own, I guess. I have very specific beliefs as well, and I would hate if someone called me stupid because of them.
There are plenty of beliefs out there that would warrant being called out for being stupid. The Duggars’ have a list longer than my arm. IMO, they should be totally pointed and laughed at for believing, for example, virgins have babies, burning bushes give instructions, dead people come back to life, people walk on water and turn water into wine, and on and on. Do they have the right to believe it? Of course. Are they stupid for believing it? Hell yes.
they’re part of the quiverfull cult – they’re christian extremists.
if to each was own, that would not be a problem – adults should be able to believe what they want if they’re not harming others. but their belief system is extremely hierarchical and patriarchal, and very, very misogynistic, homophobic, and just generally intolerant. they’re also anti-science and anti-education.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/09/22/vyckie_garrison_on_escaping_quiverfull.html
and they push their beliefs to the political arena.
live and let live, sure…but when you try to force others to live by YOUR rules, I will push back.
Yes I definitely do not share the same beliefs as these people do but to paint a broad brush on others as stupid is wrong. I would never get on a public forum and denigrate Islam, Judaism,Christianity or Buddhism.
I do feel the Duggars are extreme in their beliefs like you said.
I would never raise sons or daughters in this day and age without educating them and teaching them independence and life skills. I couldn’t imagine what Mrs. Duggar would’ve done if her husband died leaving her nineteen children.
Trillion- The stories from the Bible that you mention are ones that I believe. I guess I’m stupid as well lol.
AG-Thanks for answering my question. I’ve never heard of the Quiverfull cult, so the link you posted was very informative. I’m sad to see that they have such harmful beliefs 😔
I’m not going to call you stupid. Likely, you’re farrrrr from the Duggars ‘level’ of religion. You always seem super nice in your posts, as well. When I was dating my husband we were not allowed to do a lot of things because his parents were sooo along the lines of the “well we didn’t do it when we were dating”. When I was a few hours away in University, he was not ‘allowed’ to come stay over with me even though the long distance thing was hard on us both, and we’d been dating for 5-6 years or more at that point.
And I’d have been a lot more understanding of that line of thinking if his younger sister didn’t get to go stay at a dudes apartment she had only been dating for a couple of days when she was even younger.
I have no real qualms with religion (minus extremists and extremely narrow minded) – I just hate the way the Duggars are. They’re in the harmful realm of cult following claiming to be religion.
They also believe though that world is literally only over 2000 years old. They refuse to believe that world is over 65 million years old despite scientific proof. They are ignorant. Not too mention that they will keep getting pregnant or trying to get pregnant despite any complications they might have. And chaperoned dates might be fine if your a teenager, but I personally find it ridiculous that these women are ADULTS and still have to be supervised at all times.
🙂
yes, it’s disheartening. hopefully at least some of their kids will feel free to, you know, be free at some point.
Honestly, I’d rather the Duggar’s than the Kardashian’s…..but that’s just me.
Well those are such extremes.
Hell No!
I rather the Kardashian clan any day. They get to have a career, go and experience university and do whatever shit they do. We may hate on them but give me a break at least they are not sheltered and aren’t living in a bubble! The Kardashian mother may be insufferable but I rather her as a mother than a effing Duggar mother. I pity the children. These people live in a cult. The girls do not have a career unless you call yourself an housewife.
It is sickening!
and with the K clan, you know what you’re getting. they don’t try to hid what they really are.
the duggars hide their bigotry and misogyny behind religion. (and bad hair.)
I’m with you Justy. I will pick the K’s over the Duggars any day.
Still, lesser of two evils, but at least they have choices, even if Kris is orchestrating the big picture.
I see them both as cults, but in different ways. The K cult is less invasive than the D cult, but just as harmful. Making girls grow up to be sexual objects with no intelligence is almost just as bad to me as making them grow up the D way. Almost.
I’d take the Kardashians over the Duggars, but I don’t think Kris’ kids necessarily get to do what they want. I think it’s about capitalizing on the family name (the Jenner girls, too) and making momma more money. I think she sees Rob as the disappointment for not living up to her level of expectation. Totally different extremes, but the Duggars are more dangerous IMO.
It will be interesting to see how Jim Bob and Michelle’s relationship changes now that Michelle is nearing the end of her child bearing years. Jim Bob is all about big families. Will he turn to a younger woman ? People like this who go to great lengths to show the world to be such church going people with high morals, usually have the most to hide
well, he could certainly find a biblical precedent in Abraham…
No straight man spends this much time obsessing about hair – Ole JimBob is a Queen.
Michelle D. will NEVER admit that her baby-bearin’ days are over. Jim Boob will eventually have to buy her one or two “Reborn” dolls. She will be seen with the dolls’ legs dangling from a frayed Breast Friend. And Boob will HAVE to pretend that the dolls are real, because otherwise he’d go broke bailing her out of the county lock-up every time she absconded with someone’s REAL newborn.
I’ve always found it extremely creepy how invested Jim Bob seems to be in his children’s sexual lives. That kind of control comes across as a kind of fetish to me. Ugh.
There is just something creepy… about a father that is reading all his adult daughters correspondence. As brain washed as those girls are… does he really think one of the girls are going to escape his arrange marriages?
What has always struck me odd about ole Jim Bob and Michelle. Is that neither of them were raised anything like this. As in, knee deep in the crazy extreme religious home. They both had very normal middle of the road childhoods.
Back in that first season… when I was fascinated with these folks. Michelle’s had a lunch/dinner with her sisters. And there was a lot of side eyeing… they had for Jim Bob. Jim Bob did not like Michelle having any contact with her sisters. Alone. I just got a bad vibe off him from the start.
Now I do have to disclose. I live in Texas. Where I attended Baptist schools for high school and College. I have seen a lot of strong arm tactics, with men like Jim Bob. Up close.
There are some weird behavior from the extreme’s believers. And I saw girls I knew get sucked into this kind of life with men…. who needed to own their families. Control every thing that goes on.
Most of the wife’s are not allowed to leave the house, without the husbands approval. And normally are not allow to have their own car. Nor are they really allow to have any outside influences. Especially a female friend who is not living in the same situation. With their own crazy ass husband.
And that is how I have always seen this Duggar Clan. As private property of Jim Bob. I bet he is one scary dude, if you ever get to see what is under that mask, he wears so well.
it’s all very sad. they are totally treated like property, switching hands from father to husband. that’s religious extremism for you. all about as close as total control as possible – otherwise the women might start thinking for themselves, and who knows what THE will bring about. it’s disheartening to think that these kids never had the chance.
interesting what you said about the parents not growing up in the cult. i wonder what made them turn to it.
My response to @NewWester above would’ve been better suited here. It seems to me that the Duggars’ lifestyle has been constructed to serve no real greater cause than Jim Bob’s desires, even though he’s convinced them otherwise.
Jim Bob didn’t want his wife to have any contact with her sisters? That’s a classic sign of an abuser. Has he allowed her to have contact with any of her other family members, say her parents?
It brings to mind the character Trinity from the series “Dexter’…I only saw him as a dumbass – now see evil behind the howdy-doody mask……
What a life, be sheltered from everything and keep pumping out babies until your body just can’t anymore. Yeah that’s normal. And no Halloween? No bite size candies, no parties, no costumes, no jack-o-lanterns, no Charlie Brown? Because that’s all just too evil. These people are demented.
no harry potter either
everyone should have a little harry potter in their lives
I worked as a preschool teacher for several years, and many of the children were from Baptist and Pentecostal families. They were not allowed to participate in any Halloween activities, and had to stay back at the center during trunk or treat and the Halloween parades. Several parents said we should be disgusted for having Halloween decorations and Halloween activities since we were the YMCA and had Christian in our name. I always thought it was a bit silly. I also had a coworker tell another that she was basically going to hell for liking Harry Potter because God didn’t support witchcraft.
Lisa
Damn right about Harry Potter!
Not only is the series pure joy,and a great imagination-expander, it’s also a perfect medium for young minds to ponder great questions such as goodness, fair play, and self-sacrifice.
I dunno with these people…..I keep saying it, but I don’t understand how this setup isn’t illegal, in so many ways.
My religious mom hated it when I read Harry Potter as an adult, but she watched the “Lord of the Rings” series. That was okay b/c it represented the battle between good and evil according to her male pastor. If Harry Potter dosen’t have a battle between good and evil, I don’t know what does, but what do I, a lowly female really know?
I know! Halloween is SO much fun – so many great memories from my childhood thanks to Halloween. I was that teenager who was still going out trick or treating when I was much too old for it lol. And now as an adult I love having my own home to hand out treats to the kids (of course I have to buy the candy days in advance, because I’ll eat it all to myself before then lol).
These Duggars. Missing out on so much. Basically missing out on the chance to develop into the people who they really are, not who their sicko father wants them to be.
I worked in a Preschool and even though the owners were Christian,they still had Halloween activities for the kids. I did though have a co-worker though who took that day off because Halloween was against her beliefs.
So basically the whole thing boils down to a lack of trust. Can’t trust your kids to make good choices if they’re alone with a person of the opposite sex. Can’t trust your kids with conflicting scientific or moral information because they might choose wrong. It all reeks of such control and suspicion constantly. The poor kids are so warped they really can’t tell how bad it is.
Yup – I tend to think if you’re a good parent, you’d raise kids that you could trust to tell the difference between right and wrong, and hopefully follow the guidelines you’ve given them. They clearly don’t, and therefore must be overbearing and invasive in their kids’ lives, even when they’re adults. It’s sad, and I feel bad for all of those kids being forced into that lifestyle, with no option of knowing anything else.
Jeebus, these are WOMEN. Why in Great Pumpkin hell is DADDY so overly involved in every facet of their private lives? Boy, I almost pity the fools that married them. Their wives will be checking with Daddy on every decision made in their marriage, too.
Halloween is actually a big issue for many fundamentalists. It’s pretty much the reason that most schools don’t have Halloween parades, etc…anymore like I remember experiencing in the late ’70s/early ’80s. So if they believe in the left’s ‘war on Christmas’, well they definitely have a war on Halloween and spoil the fun for the rest. When my husband was stationed in Germany, the Squadron turned the building into a Haunted House and we made a ton of money every year. But there was always someone (albeit very few) who complained about using that holiday to make money–even though that money went towards making the Christmas/holiday party free for everyone! I worked the Haunted House with my hubby every year and it remains one of my favorite military-life memories. I get where people come from with it but I wish they could just see beyond the ‘serious’ and embrace the goofy and crazy side of the holiday.
“Halloween is actually a big issue for many fundamentalists”
My boss’s late mom was fundamentalist, so no Halloween for she or her siblings, since it was an ‘evil’ holiday. And initially, no Halloween for her daughter and son. But daughter liked the costumes and candy so some compromises were made. And boss had a long standing dislike of Harry Potter because of witches and magic. But her daughter read them and loved them and finally convinced her mom to read them. And she loved them (and has conveniently forgotten that she thought they might be evil books). So she’s a fundamentalist, but she’s adaptable and trusts her kids. I don’t think she knows about the Duggars but I think they might be a little conservative even for her.
These people are fuc%ed!!
Ok, Are these two sisters on the magazine cover or is one the mother? I think I already know the answer!! lol Seriously why are these two poor young ladies being styled like they are pushing their 40s or something.
Go away horrible family!
Dancing is illegal?! These girls need to watch Footloose!
I used to be fascinated by this show. It amazed me that any family could manage 19 children. Of course it didn’t take long to figure out that Jana, Jill, Jessa and Jinger are raising the young ones while Michelle lurks about taking pregnancy tests and contemplating how wrong it is for women to get an education and work outside the home (yes, she said that).
Now that the older girls and courting I find myself completely sickened by this bunch. As everyone else has said – they are obsessed by sex and any kind of physical contact. The girls are treated like slaves and the boys are sent out into the world with little education and no social skills.
They’re fanatics. I wouldn’t be surprised if JB didn’t have the girls wearing chastity belts and burqas before long.
This (Duggar Family dynamic) happens a lot where I live. I live around a lot of Apostolic Lutheran families, that have at least 8,9, 10 kids–my mom worked with a woman who was from one of those families in the local nursing home. A lot of the women–if they do go past HS, they become nurse’s aides, etc–do stuff like working in nursing homes ONLY until they get married. Then they get married.
But anyway, my mom’s friend told her that when it came to the kids (because my mom couldn’t understand it either)–they were each paired up with a baby, and when the baby would wake up and get hungry, it was THEIR job to take the baby to the parents, etc. Which I think is wrong. If you’re gonna have a bunch of kids, then it should be the parents who get up and take care of the baby. There’s nothing wrong with a sibling changing a diaper once in a while, or keeping an eye on the baby for a little bit–but nothing like the Duggars do.
I’ve only known one family that had as many as the Duggars, where the parents did their jobs i.e. didn’t make the kids raise the younger ones.
I think they are right about modern music. Most popular song last summer: “girl I’ll give you something big enough to tear your a$$ in two.” Binge drinking vulgar culture on college campus – I wouldn’t want my 17 yr old there, boy or girl.
Everyone needs to calm down. Every family is a cult, we have our own rules for conduct and most have deal breakers like drugs and violence that will get you excommunicated. I grew up in an actual cult/commune with thousands of others. Recently there was a ” documentary” about it that completely white washed the cult/community and it made me sick. We had a leader/guru who was a total nutcase who did awful things yet he is still idolized. What’s my point? I would trade my experience with the duggars in a heartbeat. I wasn’t sheltered or protected as a child and it was rough. I would argue that kids need a safe bubble to thrive. The fact is women and girls are treated as prey and still need to be protected by society until we evolve.
Are you kidding me? Just because your family was a cult doesn’t mean everyone’s was! Mine wasn’t! Also, the duggar’s religion is no better, when you’re taught only to obey from a young age that makes you PERFECTLY groomed for abuse to happen. Child abuse runs rampant in these types of communities because children are raised never to question their elders and to be compliant. Faithmobile, you are a fool.
“when you’re taught only to obey from a young age that makes you PERFECTLY groomed for abuse to happen. Child abuse runs rampant in these types of communities because children are raised never to question their elders and to be compliant.”
Well said, @Anony
Really? There are religious extremists encouraging (and committing) violence and bloodshed all over the world, calling on their “supporters” in Western countries to do the same, several nations have elevated risk levels in place, and people are being arrested every day (in Australia and the UK most recently) on suspicions of being affiliated with extremism and/or being on the path toward carrying out some heinous attack, and THIS is the kind of religious extremism and backwardness that people are freaking out about??? The kind that really has no bearing on anyone outside the Duggar’s circle of ignorance or, at the very least, certainly poses no threat to anyone’s actual life. THIS is what gets people’s panties in a bunch?
Why are we only allowed to be outraged at one type of religious extremism? Why can’t we be outraged about them all? All are harmful; even if it is to varying degrees. Your point is silly, don’t get mad about this religion when their are worse ones. Why? Because we only have a certain amount of outrage to go around? Should we neglect local homeless because there are homeless in other countries who have it worse? Or can we not have the compassion to try and help both? I do not understand people like you who think emotions are some sort of limited resource that can only be applied to the most deserving cause.
Wow, thanks for calling concern about widespread ignorance and torture silly. NOWHERE did I say there can’t/shouldn’t be outrage in general or at more than one instance of ignorance; my point was that the degree of outrage expressed at these people (the Duggars) is something that one would normally expect to see against people who are, I don’t know, KILLING others? Don’t put words in my mouth. My point was very clear.
Chances of me being a victim of an Isil attack : 0
Chances of me being impacted by legislation in America supported, funded and encouraged by these nut bags: 100%
Based on your argument, women in America need to sit down and shut up because they have it so good compared to women in Muslim countries.
My being upset by one thing doesn’t mean I can not be upset by other things. My brain is big enough to understand more than one thing at a time.
Ummm, ok. Another commenter putting words in my mouth, but sure. Ya got my point exactly 😉
SooLoo, you are comparing apples and oranges. Not all religious nutters need to be compared to each other. Isis and the Duggars have nothing in common. An organized terrorist organization and a nut bag family do not compare on any level.
Geo Political issues and idiots on the cover of US weekly are too different to compare.
“The kind that really has no bearing on anyone outside the Duggar’s circle of ignorance or, at the very least, certainly poses no threat to anyone’s actual life.”
uh, no. they push their extremist view into the political arena. That ABSOLUTELY has bearing on those outside their circle of ignorance and DOES pose a threat to others’ lives.
and as Anony said, one can be outraged at more than one thing at a time. people’s brains can handle it. well, not everyone’s, clearly…
Also, child abuse is rampant in these communities. And there have been several deaths. In my opinion, bringing up a child in total submission to you without allowing them to grow as their own person is an extremely serious issue. Brain washing girls into believing that they are worth less than men, taking complete control over their lives… Yeah, that’s worth some serious anger. I recently read a book that a commenter on here mentioned called I Fired God, which is an account of a woman’s experience growing up in one of these households. It was horrific. There is a reason sexual abuse is rampant, if you deny teenagers any sexual outlet there is a likelihood they’ll abuse their siblings. Especially when their siblings are taught to be submissive. This cult is abusing thousands of women and children, that isn’t serious enough for some people? I’m sure not all of the quiverfull families foster extreme abuse, but the environment provides a perfect place for it to go unquestioned and unreported. This issue is worth tremendous anger!
Exactly. They have tons of children and that is how they spread their influence. It’s birthing an army for God, and eventually they get into positions of power like politics and try to make the way they believe law.
Plus the sexual abuse is heartbreaking and the girls have no where to turn because they are so isolated and filled with fear from all that they have been told and raised to believe.
The wedding invite – they made sure to include where they’re registered
https://m.facebook.com/Jessaandben?_rdr
We had friends that did that too. I found it ultra tacky – especially when a charger for a video game system was included on the list haha
So, Harry Potter is out then? Shame cause Emma Watson is someone they should be listening to.
I have a question. How do you go from side hugging being the only intimacy you know, to having sex on your wedding night so you can start making babies right away? I would have been horrified if that was my situation. There’s a reason why we move up intimacy levels when we’re young.
This will only make the rebellion that much sweeter! Eating candy corn in my bikini while listening to AC/DC!!!
This cracked me up, LOL Jim Bob would have a coronary.
@faithmobile: I’m sorry that you were in a cult.
However: “Every family is a cult, we have our own rules for conduct “. No. Looking at the various definitions of cult, my family certainly wasn’t one, and I’m pretty sure most families aren’t.
“I would argue that kids need a safe bubble to thrive. The fact is women and girls are treated as prey and still need to be protected by society until we evolve. ” But what the quiverfull movement, or any movement that treats children or women this way, isn’t providing a safe bubble OR protecting them. I’d say it’s controlling and oppression.
@SooLoo: “Really? There are religious extremists encouraging (and committing) violence and bloodshed all over the world… and THIS is the kind of religious extremism and backwardness that people are freaking out about??? The kind that really has no bearing on anyone outside the Duggar’s circle of ignorance or, at the very least, certainly poses no threat to anyone’s actual life. THIS is what gets people’s panties in a bunch? ”
This is a gossip site, so it’s highly unlikely that ISIS is going to be a topic of a post here. Your comment also indicates the belief that we can’t be worried about both, should that be our choice.
I live in a conservative part of the Midwest, and people with very conservative beliefs not completely out of line with the Duggars make a lot of local policy. And as already mentioned in earlier comments, the Duggars aren’t just living their lifestyle, they’re also trying to influence policy/politics.
You may worry about ISIS, but for me, politics/violence is local, and I’m much more concerned about the “Christian” conservatives and their influence on my life than I am about being targeted by ISIS.
I never said there couldn’t/shouldn’t be worry about both, cr. And obviously I’m not expecting heavy-hitting, deeply sobering news like the ISIS crisis on this kind of website; my comment was more toward the general outrage people here are expressing over the Duggars’ choice of lifestyle and their beliefs, putting the seriousness of whatever offense their lives causes on par with the outrage that should be expressed over the much more critical issue of people dying and being tortured. And your last line just proves my point – you’re honestly equating your worry about “Christians” in local government with what ISIS/extremist Muslims are doing around the world? Sure, ISIS may seem “out there” and not really an issue that hits home because it isn’t directly affecting your day-to-day life, but you cannot be serious that any kind of repercussion of “Christian” policy-making on a general scale in the US matches the issues that arise at the hands of other extremists. It’s just mind-boggling that every story about these people is simply an opportunity to “make fun of them crazy Christian folk and their wacky beliefs”, when the reality of what else is going on in the world as a result of other beliefs is so much more serious and dangerous.
“I never said there couldn’t/shouldn’t be worry about both, cr.”You implied it, though.
You’re focused on extremist Muslims, and violence against Christians. Fine, that exists, and is horrible. But you act is if that’s the only way it is.
Maybe because I’ve studied history and genocide and other ‘happy’ subjects I’m well aware that it’s not only extremists Muslims who commit atrocities. Not now, and not throughout history.
So be upset, and worried, about ISIS. But the odds of them being an actual threat to you are pretty nil. The odds of politicians using that threat of ISIS (or whatever boogeyman is current) to further their political aims (and they won’t be democratic aims) are much more likely.
Pardon my barging in Sooloo
Just wanted to suggest that regarding some, potentially combustible topics, we unconsciously put in place an outrage threshold, to prevent a debate escslating into a more global conflict, as we see here. So we can rant and rage about this family and their beliefs and be totally appalled….within this CB ‘room’ and its topic.
If we were in the pub, and not responding to a specific item, then of course the chat would rapidly include the far greater crimes of international fundamentalism.
But threads here would be in ten volumes if ALL aspects of any topic were discussed, so we rage within limits, while fully aware that worse things happen at sea.
Please listen to Scott Lively push for the passage of the kill the gays bill in Uganda.
That is exactly what these ignorant cults add to the world.
Grifters!
I think the patriarchal control JimBob wields over his family is nothing short of abuse. He needs to keep is d**k in his pants and stay off his wife. I hope he grows a vagina.
And on Halloween when Michelle dresses up as the Incredible Hulk and don’s a strap on…oh wait thats that Kardashians…back to playing gospel.
I find it really interesting that they have all of these rules and look at mainstream society with such disdain (movies, television, music, and apparently the beach?) but they have no problem cashing in on it all. They’re on the cover of USWeekly!!!! The kids can’t read a science book, but they can have twitter and instagram?
Somehow I imagine if a store near them had a magazine with a young actress on the cover and the words “LOVE AND SEX!” blaring across it, they’d be protesting the magazine, the store, and and the county laws on decency. Think of the children!
A store in their town applied for a liquor permit, and Michelle successfully lobbied the Alcoholic Beverage Control board to deny it, by saying that the proximity of alcohol to her darling children was unacceptable since her family believes alcohol is a sin.
Not just that but the hypocrisy! They say they leave how many babies they have up to God and they don’t believe in higher education for their children but when they needed medical intervention to save their last baby who was born dangerously premature, they had no problem making use of the education of those with medical and scientific knowledge instead of leaving it up to God. If everyone raised their kids like the Duggars, there would be no doctors or scientists. They can’t do anything that isn’t completely immersed in the Bible and their Faith – the kids can’t read any secular books. They don’t join clubs or sports teams or have any choices when it comes to college or what they want to do with their life. They clearly have no trust in their kids to do the right thing without constant supervision. They can’t even go grocery shopping without an “accountability partner” and frankly, I think Jim Bob and Michelle are overly concerned with sex…like not allowing a front-hug because that could lead to sexual feelings. Ditto for dancing, wearing bathing suits from THIS century, etc. They say the way they court allows the girls to really get to know the men who are courting them but how deeply can they really get to know them when everything they do is chaperoned and spied upon. They are never allowed to be alone or talk about any dangerous subjects. And they say it’s the kids who are choosing those courtship rules which is baloney. Those kids have no choices and they are so sheltered and supervised that they don’t even know what else is out there.
Why are they in a magazine that has stories about unwed teen moms,scantily dressed Celebs, etc.
The Duggar’s live in a way that works for them. They’re not asking anyone to live the same way, but are simply sharing their lives. It’s clear that people are intrigued or there would be no magazine sales or TV ratings to justify them being in the public eye.
It’s a shame that so many people judge and react so hatefully towards their lifestyle choice, but not the lifestyle choices of some others that are deemed more politically correct.
Please give an example of a celebrity family who is not judged.
Also Michelles robocalls linking TG people with pedophiles opens her up to being scrutinized.
I don’t hate on them. I hate on the Kardashians. I don’t think the Duggars are bad people. I just feel bad for the kids with no breathing room as they go into adulthood.
It’s that they are pushing this on their children who never get to see who they are outside the confines of daddy and mama’s dogma.
Also, they lived in a cramped little house with tons of kids until the show with little room to even wash clothes. Once a few more kids came, it would have been a nightmare. But then they found a career to live the lifestyle. TV, the evil TV they don’t believe in. Then he finally had the money to complete and build that huge home he had the property for, and it was furnished by the show all in one fell swoop. They get free trips. They sell any story they have to magazines like US or People all the while saying the secular world is basically evil while cashing in on it right and left. I bet a lot of those Quiverfuls, or whatever they are called, hate these phonies who are making all of this money off of the very things they despise.
I don’t care how they live with the mom popping out 20 kids and leaving so much of the raising to the oldest and also pretending on the show like they are the Brady Bunch, all easy peasie. It’s more the kids I wonder about and feel for, being taught to go from mom to husband and start having babies asap. They will be taught to be submissive to their husbands and just cook and have babies. And what if that husband isn’t all he should be? What then? It’s not that the girls don’t have personalities. They do. I like the girls. It’s that they have no options really if their marriages aren’t happy. You stay and be the good wife and keep having more babies. The boys I guess will be little Papa Duggar mini mes.
“The Duggar’s live in a way that works for them. They’re not asking anyone to live the same way, but are simply sharing their lives”
So why go into the political arena then like they did when they back that equally nutty Rick Santorum in 2012 if they are not asking people to live the same way? Rick Santorum may not be of the same denomination but he has spouted the same bigoted, religious driven crap as them and wanted to make most of his beliefs law.
If that’s not trying to get people to live the same way as them then I don’t know what is.
“They’re not asking anyone to live the same way”
but they are. they’re pushing their religious morals/rules onto others through the political arena, which is not just ASKING others to live like they do, but seeking to make it THE LAW to live like they do.
and that’s why some people have a problem with them.
Exactly. Not that long ago there was a post about the mom trying to stop a civil rights bill, designed to prevent discrimination, from being passed.
I watch the Duggars almost every day at 1pm, not because I agree with them but because its when my daughter naps and I like to gawk at it before starting random chores around the house. I dont know how these girls are ever supposed to have sexual feelings, even alone! They are constantly surrounded by kids and the little ones even sleep in their beds (lest Michelle lose out on beauty sleep) and with their dates chaperoned and texts monitored, how are they ever supposed to have sexual chemistry past the basic “Im attracted to you physically”?
I mean, even texting without nudes would be a small step in creating a romantic union before having sex. It’s just so sad to me that they will marry guys who they have never even been alone with, let alone had sexual contact with in ANY way.
ALSO! It is extremely skeevy that they arent allowed at the damn beach. Do they not expect their teen sons to be interested in womens bodies? Literally the only girls they will ever see in casual clothes in their sisters? Weird.
This was my question! How on earth can they be expected to go from literally no intimate contact of any kind one day, and the next day, the day they get married, having sexual intercourse? Because you know they expect them to start procreating IMMEDIATELY.
As bad as Jim Bob is,, Michelle is even worse, with her dead-flounder eyes and squeaky baby voice. Guess what, Michelle: they already MADE “Bride Of Chucky”, so you can stop auditioning any time.
Devout? More like deranged.
This family is just an abusive self-contained cult, and members of the much larger cult known as the Quiverfull movement. If anyone thinks they are living a healthy lifestyle, or are raising their kids “right”, I suggest you do some reading about what the Quiverfull movement teaches.
Yeah, I’m hoping that the people commenting that their lifestyle is fine, just different, and why shouldn’t they be able to have different beliefs, have never read anything about how they actually live. Ignorance of it I’ll accept, but true tolerance of this bullshit? 🙁
I guess this magazine will be a no go for the family too, because..bikini.
I just decided to have a couple more kids myself. We just can’t leave the planet to those people. I was totally comfortable with my only child, but the poor guy will need some backup.
I have never watched this show and I only know of this family from this website! But have they ever done anything to harm anyone? Do their children appear malnourished or stunted or messed up in any way? Those aren’t rhetorical questions either, Im well curious!
Define “harm.” The children are denied formal education (extremely biblical homeschool only), college, freedom to dress how they want. The girls are raised to believe their job in life is procreation and keep a home. That’s it. No jobs outside of women’s work, including and up to midwifery.
Malnourished? No. Stunted? Sure. They aren’t allowed solo contact with anyone outside the church or of the opposite sex. The girls and boys are encouraged to shut down sexual urges until marriage. The girls believe their heart belongs to daddy prior to marriage. They are taught that science is a liberal agenda and take the bible almost literally. The children are exposed to other cultures only within the realm of very conservative evangelicalism. The older daughters are expected to raise the younger kids from dawn to dusk, leaving little to no free time or alone time.
No one is being beaten or starved but are they allowing their children to learn and experience the world appropriately? No. It’s an extremely stunted, sex obsessed, immature, controlling, male centric cult like existence and not something to praise.
They are raised to believe that women are subordinate to men, that they can’t make free choices in life, that a woman’s main (only?) purpose is to bear one child after the other and to shun anyone who doesn’t share their warped view of the world. How is that NOT messed up?
I know that some Christians have different opinions on whether or not it’s appropriate for them to celebrate Halloween. Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t celebrate it.
I don’t know how the Duggars have such a hold on their adult family members. Is it a case of an adult kid putting on a front for their parents because they love them, want their approval, and are financially dependent upon them, or have they fully internalized the beliefs of this cult? I wonder if anyone will ever rebel.
I still don’t understand how Jessa is allowed to wear 5 lbs of makeup.
Halloween and the beach are two of my absolute favorite things so I’d be screwed as a Duggar chile. And “dancing encourages “sensual” feelings”? Footloose, much?
I want to see Michelle go on wife swap. Something extreme like switch with a bathing suite model mom or something.
One major question I have is wtf is Jim Bob’s job? How much money does he make? So curious.
I REALLY, REALLY want one of these kids to grow up and write a tell all! Please baby Jesus!! 🙏
Does anyone else think this show is not real? Like maybe they’re not even really all siblings?
Lol It’s real you can go to youtube and see them when it called 14 kids and Pregnant.They have been on six years.
Michelle makes me so angry. The stars forbid her daughters are allowed to own their sexuality! They are made to feel they are not their own, but a possession for their future husband.
You know what? screw this. I’m not going to go into a long winded tirade concerning this back-woods, simpleton family.
I dearly, truly hope that one day, every single one of those daughters finally pull themselves out of this complete mindf*ck and embrace their sexuality, embrace their individualism. Take control over their own lives and decisions pertaining to their future, with or without a man.
And for their sons to not follow in the path of that they are the leaders and decision makers but rather, that their mate is their equal and fully support her in her choices.
Just wait for the special episode where Jim Bob and Michelle have a complete apocalyptic meltdown when one of their children finally comes out of the closet.
I’m always amused by the “no modern music” rule a lot of these fundamentalist groups have. Sure, modern music can get pretty explicit, but I don’t know people get the idea the older stuff was any cleaner. It just hid the underlying message under a bunch of euphemisms.
The Duggar gals would surely benefit from Alberta Hunter and Denise Lasalle’s music.
When people start spouting off about Halloween being anything more than a celebration of the final harvest of the year, an excuse to dress up and go door to door for candy, or a good night to watch tons of horror flicks, it makes me stabby. There is no war on Christmas. But the one on Halloween has been raging for decades, and all because some idiots will believe whatever they’ve been force fed by other, similar idiots. Primitive man may have been trying to hide from spirits by dressing up, but we accept now that a) ghosts aren’t real or b) they are real, and they are here 365 days of the year. No need to dress up to avoid them, either way.
The Mr. Flanders screencaps really made this article, for me. LOL
Good job TLC for bringing us a wholesome family show about a CULT. Honestly how can people refute science, instinct and common sense in this day and age. Also I’ll bet the sweet little ladies have had more than side hugs. What Jim bob (all the eye rolls) fails to understand is that the more strict you are with teenagers the better they get at hiding things.