I agree that from my perspective it seems like fundie culture is changing, and has changed a lot in the last decade or so. And as many have pointed out, I think it's mainly to present it in a prettier, more relatable package to have a wider appeal.

It makes me wonder, though, whether there will soon be another backlash that will make some fundie groups dive back into the isolationism that characterized them in the 1990s-early 2000s. At that time, it was a point of pride for many fundies that they stood out from the rest of society - that they were visibly and defiantly different in ways that many no longer are. We often see that many fundies get a self-righteous pleasure in obviously not "belonging" to modern society. That kind of clear difference also feeds their persecution complex.

I could see this gradual trend of assimilating into the larger culture pushing some subsets farther away, and I wonder if there is going to be an ongoing cycle of isolationism-assimilation-isolationism, etc.

I don't really have any backup for that, but I'm not convinced this is a permanent shift in culture.

1 hour ago, Cleopatra7 said:

Mormons also have a very WASPy aesthetic, which is probably very appealing to those Protestant fundamentalists who still get nervous at media that show superficial diversity.

Do you mean white suburban or WASPy? Cause most Utah Mormons aren't at all like your stereotypical New England WASP. The tryndy names, the fast fashion, the huge families, and over sentimentality is very out of place among traditional old mainline types. 

The average WASP would have a heart attack at a Mormon no-RSVP free-for-all wedding reception. My snooty East Coast ass had enough trouble adjusting to my Mormon's friend's wedding when I was a bridesmaid in it. 

14 hours ago, princessmahina said:

”you sure there’s no meat?”

*eye roll* “bacon grease doesn’t count as meat.”

yes, ma’am, it does 🙄🤢

To be fair, I can see how a lifelong meat eater not exposed to many vegetarians wouldn't think much about the ingredients in the cooking process and just look to see if there's visible chunks of meat in the finished product. My Irish grandmother would have 100% done this without trying to be difficult.

However, the "I will sneak meat into your food on purpose" people are weird and I've never understood what their problem is. (And I'm saying this as a meat eater.) 

Or acting as if every dish that is vegan is automatically disgusting. I was once tasked with bringing a vegetable to my extended family's picnic so I made an edamame/bean dish that was vegan so it could sit out in the sun with no worries. When I informed my aunt that it didn't need to go in the fridge for this reason, the entire room recoiled. Again, I was tasked with a freaking vegetable dish!

For the vegetarians/vegans, what do you do about your iron levels? When I experimented with it, my iron dropped precipitously and I was tired all the time (and my period was a mess). I was eating a balanced diet as well, not just mainlining Oreos. 

On 12/6/2019 at 8:15 AM, lumpentheologie said:

I could never go home for Easter in college but many of us who stayed hunted for cans of beer in the library. 😂

Wineries in my area have begun to do adult Easter egg hunts, with slips of paper redeemable for beer flights/meals/manicures in the eggs. They're really fun! (But a bit embarrassing when a woman is complaining to her friend about not getting anything and you and your friend have to walk by with your stuffed bucket and your chin holding your additional eggs in place... Never said I wasn't competitive.  )

And yes, if you're wondering, the starting call at an adult Easter egg hunt is the same Saving Private Ryan level every-man-for-himself pandemonium as it is at a kids' Easter egg hunt. Including a couple people crying with empty buckets in the back because they "weren't ready."

It irks me that one of those images is an Orthodox woman, when this chick probably wouldn't even consider her a "real" Christian.