Another day, another Duggar controversy.
Fortunately, this one is far more innocuous than the various scandals involving Josh Duggar.
But while today’s dispute may not rank among the family’s biggest public image crises, it still serves as a reminder of the Duggars’ troubling attitude toward women.
Jim Bob and Michelle posted the above photo to their Facebook page over the weekend, and as with just about everything the Duggars do, their was immediate disagreement between fans and detractors.
Many pointed out that the children weren’t wearing helmets in the photo.
“No helmets? Serious falls can occur in dirt roads as well,” wrote one follower.
“Looks great! Looks like they forgot their helmets though,” commented another.
Other Facebook users voiced a different safety concern, pointing out that there may be good reason why the girls in the photo are standing beside their bikes instead of riding them.
“Normally I’d agree that they’d be fine without helmets if some weren’t also riding in flip flops and a dress. I think those long dresses are more of a hazard than the lack of helmets,” reads one comment.
“I’m more concerned about a long dress hindering their ability to petal, and the material getting stuck or wound up in the chain,” wrote another critic.
The reason, of course, that the girls are wearing such unusual attire for an afternoon of bike riding is that the Duggars religious beliefs require them to dress that way.
The family belongs to the controversial Quiverfull movement, which teaches that women are to dress in a fashion that will not entice the men they encounter.
This means lots of layers, thick fabric, and floor-length skirts, even in childhood.
The dress code has been a source of controversy recently, thanks to an upcoming event at which Jessa Duggar will teach young women how to “cover up” properly.
Jessa, of course, was molested by Josh Duggar as a child.
Homeschool teaching materials circulated by the Quiverfull movement and published by Gawker in 2015 show that children are taught from a young age that women are to blame for sexual assaults if they dress in what leaders consider a provocative fashion.
Michelle Duggar revealed that she designed the family’s very specific dress code (floor-length denim skirts, atrocious hair) after receiving a message from God shortly after marrying Jim Bob.
“After I was born again and became a Christian, I really began to cover up,” Michelle wrote in a blog post on the family’s website.
“I felt like the Lord was saying to me, you know what, you probably shouldn’t be wearing that. It’s a little bit low cut, or a little bit too high, you know.”
Yes, the family has some very strange and very strong beliefs when it comes to attire.
Fortunately, there are indications that not all of Michelle’s daughters share her incredibly old fashioned ideas regarding clothing.
Last month, Jinger Duggar was photographed wearing shorts in bold defiance of her mother’s dress code.
It’s not much, but it’s a bare-legged step in the right direction.
