Did Jinger Duggar start a miniature revolution within the Duggar clan?
Jinger Duggar is a regular firebrand — if by “firebrand” you mean “someone who wears normal human clothing when she wants to.” Jinger has worn pants and she’s even worn shorts, with the photos causing scandal among fans of the Duggars.
Well Jenni Duggar turned 10 last week, and the photo is stirring up controversy with the show’s fans.
It’s no secret that members of the Duggar fertility cult and those who share their particular vein of fundamentalist beliefs view women as, essentially, property.
Girls are property of their fathers, who exercise total control over them, until they hand over the reigns to the young woman’s husband.
The husband, at that point, becomes the master of her life.
It’s pretty awful.
Part of the control exercised is over the woman’s body, treating her as property that needs to stay in its packaging or whatever.
Duggar girls are forced to be part of what’s called modesty culture, where showing things like their shoulders or parts of their thighs or, heavens forbid, cleavage is tantamount to apostasy.
It’s important to note that the problem is that they’re forced to do so.
Women can choose to cover up as much or as little as they like, whether they’re wearing a bikini or a niqab.
The Duggar girls were never given a choice. Jim Bob’s word was law.
It’s no wonder that Josh Duggar refuses to accept responsibility for molesting his sisters and those other girls.
In the Duggar household, women’s bodies are sinful flesh that’s irresistible when seen.
Jinger Duggar, however, appears to have escaped … sort of.
Jinger Duggar went off and married Jeremy Vuolo.
Jeremy Vuolo is definitely a conservative and seems like a perfect fit for the Duggar subculture.
Seriously — recently Jeremy Vuolo said that Trump has divine authority, so … yikes.
(Technically his sermon may have just been less an endorsement and more about reinforcing divine authority in governmental leadership positions, which is a view that fell out of favor centuries ago)
However, it seems that Jeremy is a little (well, a lot) more lenient than Jim Bob when it comes to wardrobe choices, because Jinger has been spotted wearing shorts and pants instead of dressing like it’s colonial times.
Jinger’s even bared her arms, those limbs of sinful flesh that will surely ensnare all men who gaze upon her.
But now it’s a photo from the birthday party of a different Duggar girl that’s causing a stir.
Jenni Duggar turned 10 and she and her friends went to a place where they can do, like, minigolf and that sort of thing.
But you’ll notice that people can clearly see the knees of one of those girls.
“Who’s the girl wearing the shirts shorts?” one fan commented, seemingly aghast that a Duggar girl would be in this girl’s company.
Most fans concluded that the girl was one of Jenni Duggar’s friends, but still — the Duggars are in insular bunch.
(After all, exposure to different people and different ideas might give the children dangerous notions about freedom and self-determination)
Some fans who might be fans of modesty culture were frustrated by the responses:
“I guess some people don’t know what modesty looks like so sad some of these comments.”
Not everyone who participates in that subculture enforces the rules upon little girls.
Others might enforce them upon minors but not care so much once their children become adults.
Furthermore, it may be that the Duggars are fine if Jenni’s in that girl’s company, so long as Jenni is dressed “properly.”
