And the Duggar daughters' bedroom...

[AlexIsAwake]

I'm trying to figure out some plausible reason as to why either the girls themselves or their parents would want a pic of young JB in their room. I would think if it was to remind them he was watching, then it would be a picture of adult JB....maybe they use a young JB in order to remind the girls he was once closer to their age and can relate to them? Or, as someone else said, because he "has their hearts" until they get married. These are the only reasons I can come up with, and either way, it's very strange indeed! Then again, there's not much about these folks that isn't strange. Par for the course here.

[BoomerLynn]

I'm not too surprised about the JB picture in the girls' bedroom. Lots of teens have pictures of their boyfriends in their rooms. And until the girls are married, Gothard say this is his role in their life.

Now I am going to go throw up.

This is just so beyond creepy. This idea of worshipping Daddy that Gothard seems to instill in these young girls borders on (hell it even crosses the border) emotional incest. It's very disturbing. It's one thing to be close with your father. I was very close with mine and it broke my heart when he passed away last month. Our relationship was never like Jim Bob's relationship with his daughters is. My dad made sure I knew how to be independent. I was free to disagree with him and make my own choices. I had very few rules as a teenager because he (and my mom ) trusted me and I knew if I got in over my head in any situation all I had to do was call and he would be there. As I became an adult he offered his advice but ultimately my decisions were my own. I dated and went out, partied a little, made mistakes and learned from them. I have lived my life on my own but he was still very much of it. This is what a healthy relationship with one's father looks like. I feel sad that the Duggar girls, and all the other girls raised this way, will never know this. They will never know what it is like to achieve something completely independently and have their father look at them with pride. All they will ever know is having Daddy watching over their shoulder and controlling their every move, and eventually passing them onto a husband who will do the same. It makes me sick.

[nolongerIFBx]

yes, to remind them they are always being watched. some people have jesus in a frame they have jim bob. the issue for me is-I wonder if they feel creeped out and embarrassed dad or a picture of him at least effectively seeing them naked or in panties.

They may not be allowed to change clothes in their room. Though it would cause quite a pile up at the bathrooms door, it is possible that they change clothes in private. This is one of those differences between IFBx that I grew up in and ATI.We weren't allowed to be naked in front of anyone so we had to change clothes in the bathroom if we shared a room whereas Mary (Raising Ruth) talks about having so little privacy that she had to find somewhere to hide if she wanted to shave her legs (I think I am recalling the right former fundie for this story!). Don't know where the Duggars fall on the nakedness in front of family/same sex spectrum.

[lizziesmom]

To me that's just sad. Besides having no life and no ability to define themselves outside of their family, they can't even get their own private space? Personal property? Stuff that just belongs to one person? :|

As someone who really values privacy and individuality it is doubly sad to me that the Duggars discourage this at every opportunity. Not only discourage, but apparently preach that those values are ebil and bad. :naughty:

[lilah]

I think I count enough beds for everyone except Josie. The bunk bed has two little beds underneath

The next video that was on autoplay was Jordyn going to the dentist. Apparently Michelle needs a buddy to take one child to the Dentist because Jessa ended up in charge of wrangling Jordyn at the dentist and Michelle was nowhere to be found.

Yeah, "different" is one word to describe it. Other words include:

1. Weird

2. Strange

3. Odd

4. The creepiest thing on the motherfucking planet

Maybe the Duggar girls should be set up with the Arndt boys. They can worship their respective parents while they have sweet, sweet fellowship.

And now I'm off to take a shower, Silkwood style.

The Adrnt boys are verging on too old (at least the oldest few are in their thirties) and have no career prospects (doubt the family business could support mulitple households) but you know they'd love a chance to be on a real tv show vs their

[freethemall]

I don't get the whole point about this series of room tours of the house, didn't we get a version of this a long time ago, and have had them explain different rooms in the house on the show a bajillion times? I realize one or two details but be different and the curls might be less crunchy, it just seems super repetitive.

[ukool23]

What do they have to talk about "until the wee hours of the morning?" Their experiences are primarily shared so it's not like they are telling the others about the things they have been doing. Hopefully they are planning their escape.

That was my thought. They dont have 'outside' friends, boyfriends or work to talk about??!

[Green Glass]

I feel so sorry for the introverts in that family. I can't imagine NEVER having a private moment, never being able to spend time away from the ~20 members of my immediate family and whoever else happens to be around. I personally need a lot of alone time and having to live like that would be absolutely awful. I guess since they've never had their own space and alone time, they don't really know what they're missing, but still.

And the picture of Jim Bob is so creepy :\

[EmmieJ]

I just watched the boys' room video as well and I can't imagine the funk coming out of a room shared by 9 boys, most of whom are just entering teenage-hood. I teach middle school and even the cleanest, most hygienic boys (and girls) can often have an...aroma.

Whew!!! I've got just one son, and he has his own room. It's cleaned weekly, but I know what you mean about a certain funk that you can't avoid. I sure wouldn't want to deal with that x 9.

The photograph of a young JimBob in the girls' room is just plain creepy - but par for the Duggar course. I hope they turn that picture face down whenever the cameras aren't on. Better yet, black out a couple of his front teeth and draw a mustache on it too.

How narcissistic must you be, to "decorate" your childrens' rooms with a photograph of yourself in your younger days? Combine that with the girls wearing their hair long and curly because that's the way their dad likes it, grown women still living at home so they can cook the meals, do the laundry, and raise the younger children - and it's got incestual implications all over it.

[Jinderella]

I think I count enough beds for everyone except Josie. The bunk bed has two little beds underneath

Ok, I probably keep missing a bed. I see a bunkbed (Joy Anna), two very very small beds underneath (must be Josie and Jordyn), a single bed next to it (Jinger), a single bed (Jessa) and a small double (Jana) in the alcove and a small double (Jill) in between Jana's bed and the piano. The other walls have two bathroom doors and the door to the hall. Where is the bunkbed for Johannah and Jennifer situated?

[homeschoolmomma1]

As a sheltered girl who didn't know a lot about the birds and the bees I still found pleasure in touching myself. Only thing was I HAD MY OWN ROOM. I feel so bad for these girls. It isn't sinful or wrong to discover your own body! I am sorry those kids never wanted to share all one room and if they did that is just weird

[gustava]

Does anyone else question the safety factor in showing the girls' bedroom? And the boys.

[MamaJunebug]

I couldn't watch much of the dentist video but I did rewind to confirm that Michelle whines, as she's going to the SUV, "Mommy, mommy, mommy" -- evidently mimicking what she felt was a cacophony of bothersome young voices vying for her attention. As if? Has anyone actually ever heard a Duggarling call for "mommy"? I don't watch the show but I distinctly remember people saying that the boy who got lost in the airport was crying for "Dill!" (Jill) when he was eventually found. Not "mommy mommy mommy" -- "Dill."

[Lillybee]

I couldn't watch much of the dentist video but I did rewind to confirm that Michelle whines, as she's going to the SUV, "Mommy, mommy, mommy" -- evidently mimicking what she felt was a cacophony of bothersome young voices vying for her attention. As if? Has anyone actually ever heard a Duggarling call for "mommy"? I don't watch the show but I distinctly remember people saying that the boy who got lost in the airport was crying for "Dill!" (Jill) when he was eventually found. Not "mommy mommy mommy" -- "Dill."

I noticed that, too and thought that it was quite nasty of Mullet.

[patsymae]

Super mom couldn't take one kid to the dentist without a J-slave?

[feministing]

I also come from a family where privacy doesn't exist (i.e. there is no such thing as knocking) but at least I have my own room (I'm the eldest - it's a perk!) I really feel for them on a really deep level because I need alone time to recharge. My family was also super-obsessed with accountability, but at least they let me leave the house on my own... and still I find them stifling. I can't imagine how horrible it would be for me to be in their shoes.

While I understand that Michelle probably feels like she already paid her dues so she is entitled to relaxation, but honestly? If she were a normal parent, she'd have been done raising her kids by now - Josh, Jana and Jill would already have left and cleft ages ago, and there wouldn't be more after that. THAT'S HOW YOU CAN RELAX. And is it really THAT HARD to take one kid to the dentist without a buddy? What a piece of shit!

Also, they don't want to leave it up to God - if they did, they wouldn't be actively trying or desiring to have more children. They want to create an army for Jesus. Period. End of story. It's Gothard's way of making more money - more kids = more money on his materials.

The fact that these kids have literally no control over their own lives, that "big brother" (or young dad) is watching you, is just devastating.

I have a theory about the portrait of Jim Bob... maybe it's meant as a cockblock? Like, if the girls ever feel like masturbating, they see their dad and get right out of the mood? Just a though.

[Lillybee]

I felt sorry for Jill when she said that if some of her sisters were in the bedroom, she would look for an empty office or CLOSET to find a place to study. She does seem dedicated to becoming a midwife.

[DarkAnts]

I wonder if Joy chooses to sleep on the top bunk bed. It may provide her with a sense of privacy even if she has not actual privacy.

[Feberin]

Do we know Joy sleeps on the bunkbed? I would assume it would be Johanna up top and Jordyn and Josie underneath then Jenny would share with her buddy Jill since she seems very attached. The rest of the girls would sleep alone in their original beds.

[DarkAnts]

Do we know Joy sleeps on the bunkbed? I would assume it would be Johanna up top and Jordyn and Josie underneath then Jenny would share with her buddy Jill since she seems very attached. The rest of the girls would sleep alone in their original beds.

She was sleeping on the top bunk during the coffee shop episode.

[gardenvarietycitizen]

Jill is looking more modern and 'normal' in the way she's dressed in that video, and more articulate than in the usual THs. Studying (seemingly of her own volition), a Gothard-approved plan to do midwifery in Latin America, can string a sentence together... My money's on her to be the one who escapes.

Also, just watched the tour of the boys' room. They have no nightstands or furniture in there! It looks more like a hostel bunk room than a bedroom that people live in every day. Maybe it's to make them more 'manly'?!

I'm surprised that the girls' room doesn't seem to have any desks in it? Endless beds, and the one girl was studying while sitting on the bed, but I can't imagine having a room without a desk of my own in it.

I mean, as a kid I didn't have much personal space either but I had a desk (with drawers and shelves built in it) and it was MINE. MY stuff in it.

I like the tree on the wall.

[Maia68]

If I were Joy, I would sleep on the top bunk for whatever little bit of privacy it offered me. I've always valued time to myself and hated times when I've had to share a room(or worse yet, a bed, except for with someone I actually wanted to have sex with) it bothered me when rolling over was the only sense of privacy I could get; I can't imagine rolling over and seeing several more girls.

I also hated when others kept talking when I wanted to sleep. They don't seem to do anything interesting hardly, and they do it all together. I 'm in the group that wants to know what the hell they have left to talk about at bed time.

The whole Boob and Michelle's control thing is just sick: we're not going to let you enjoy what we brag about doing. I'm so ready for one or more of these kids to put them in their places.

[Miggy]

If I were Joy, I would sleep on the top bunk for whatever little bit of privacy it offered me. I've always valued time to myself and hated times when I've had to share a room(or worse yet, a bed, except for with someone I actually wanted to have sex with) it bothered me when rolling over was the only sense of privacy I could get; I can't imagine rolling over and seeing several more girls.

I also hated when others kept talking when I wanted to sleep. They don't seem to do anything interesting hardly, and they do it all together. I 'm in the group that wants to know what the hell they have left to talk about at bed time.

The whole Boob and Michelle's control thing is just sick: we're not going to let you enjoy what we brag about doing. I'm so ready for one or more of these kids to put them in their places.

Never mind just at bedtime - what do they talk about full stop. Michelle has said they all sit around as a family in the evening and talk about their days. What? When you spend the whole together you then sit around and talk about it together? I don't understand.

I find it hilarious when members of my family come home from the same activity and, one at a time, tell me exactly the same stories. (Yesterday it was four versions of the story about a lady who was singing the national anthem and mucked the words up.) The difference between my family and the Duggars is that we come home and tell the person WHO WASN'T THERE!

[clarinetpower]

"You know, today, I was opening an industrial sized can of green beans, and the can opener kept popping off!"

"Oh, wow, Jill! That's HILARIOUS. So funny! It popped off!"

"Yeah! Like, twice. 2 times. Just popped off. The green bean can. It was so funny."

"So funny. Ha ha. Funny."

"I know. Yeah. Funny stuff."

/Scene

[feministing]

Never mind just at bedtime - what do they talk about full stop. Michelle has said they all sit around as a family in the evening and talk about their days. What? When you spend the whole together you then sit around and talk about it together? I don't understand.

I find it hilarious when members of my family come home from the same activity and, one at a time, tell me exactly the same stories. (Yesterday it was four versions of the story about a lady who was singing the national anthem and mucked the words up.) The difference between my family and the Duggars is that we come home and tell the person WHO WASN'T THERE!

I mean, the compound is pretty big. It's not like all 22 people are in the same room all the time. Maybe something funny happened while Jana was cooking dinner with Jinger? They'd tell Jessa who wasn't there... Similar deal. Just because they're in the same house doesn't mean they do everything together - I can imagine they split into groups