What's up with the rural obsession?

[2xx1xy1JD]

Lori's going on today about how Godly women should find a bit of earth and garden, and do creative crafts.

Since it's a departure from telling women to submit to asshole husbands and inflict pain on their children, I won't do my usual snark. Instead, I'm genuinely baffled. What is this coming from? I don't think Lori made it up herself, so I suspect that there's some fundie back-to-the-land thing. If so, what's it all about?

Lori and Ken aren't homesteaders. It's clear from the pics of her home that she lives in the burbs, with neighbors close by. I live next to an Italian neighborhood so I do know some people who grow tomatoes and other veggies in their yards and can homemade sauce, but that really doesn't sound like something that Lori would do. Ken's a consultant - hardly a live-off-the-land, manual labor type. For people like them, who live in cities or suburbs, gardening is actually a luxury hobby. To have a garden, you need to have land. Do Godly women not live in apartments ever?

I'm also not seeing how the Bible verses she quoted actually support this country fantasy. 2 days ago, she held up Sarah as a model of submissive Biblical womanhood. Well, if you actually read Genesis and get out a map, you can see that these people were somewhat nomadic. They had tents and animals, not houses and gardens. When they finally did settle down a bit, it was in Beersheba - which is by the northern edge of the Negev desert. Without irrigation, she wasn't planting a neat garden.

Actual women who do farm work don't sit around the house all day. They work, and work hard. Their husbands don't commute to office jobs in the city.

I don't see any reference to creative crafts in those biblical verses at all. Proverbs 31 talks about making clothes, but that's to clothe the household and sell to others as a business.

The only people I know IRL with this sort of ideological rural fetish are socialists.

[jerkit]

I think the homesteading trend is really popular among fundies and lori the monster is trying to appeal to her adoring fans.

Also, of course godly women don't live in apartments. That lack of space is not conducive to having a brood of tiny monsters.

[Chowder Head]

maybe it relates to some fundies thinking the ideal time was the 50's with victory gardens?

[NotALoserLikeYou]

It also has to do with the fundie belief the government is out to get them, so they need to go create their own self sustaining farm, to protect their guns and to protect their kids from urban and pop culture influences.

[ILoveJellybeans]

I think its because there is less people around. There is no neighbours to wonder why the kids have unexplained bruises, or hear a toddler screaming as they are beaten for hours because they wouldn't pick their toys up or another little toddler thing that kids do as they realise they have opinions. Its also more isolating-no exposure to non fundie influences, nobody the kids can turn to if they need help. Theres nobody to question why there are 10 kids in a two bedroom house.

[lilwriter85]

I think the homesteading trend is really popular among fundies and lori the monster is trying to appeal to her adoring fans.

Also, of course godly women don't live in apartments. That lack of space is not conducive to having a brood of tiny monsters.

Bingo. She knows that some of her readers are rural fundies. If Lori has done any gardening, it has probably been small scale stuff. My parents live in a rural community. The land they live on was homestead by my maternal grandparents and then passed onto my parents. They do quite a bit of gardening in the summers and it is hard work and I can't imagine Lori keeping with the stuff my parents do. I'm not knocking on people who do small gardens. But when Lori does blog entries like that, she pisses me off.

[RachelB]

I'm with ILJ here-- I think they both idealize small-town life and realize that if they lived in a small town, rather than out in the actual sticks, everyone would be in their business. They would not enjoy a neighbor saying, "So what makes the local school not good enough for your kids?," any more than I would enjoy a neighbor saying, "So when are you getting married?"

[Coconut Flan]

Lori's gardening is done by the gardeners. I'm not complaining or bad mouthing her when I say that as my gardening is also. I do a few vegetables in pots and that's probably the extent of Lori's gardening if she even does that.

It makes her article either more hilarious or more irritating though.

[Curious]

Being a cynical sort, I'm starting to wonder if Lori's blog has taken a hit since Ken's visit here. She appears from an outsider looking in point of view to be doing things that are designed to bring in eyeballs to her site.

[GeoBQn]

I think the "back to nature" trend isn't just among fundies. This is one of those things where crunchy liberals and fundies intersect. Fundies do it to be "more godly" and avoid worldly influences, while liberals do it to help the environment and avoid the influence of big corporations. The book Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity is an interesting look at why college-educated women in their 20's and 30's (of all political and religious persuasions) are suddenly turning to homesteading and DIY hobbies.

[usmcmom]

Being a cynical sort, I'm starting to wonder if Lori's blog has taken a hit since Ken's visit here. She appears from an outsider looking in point of view to be doing things that are designed to bring in eyeballs to her site.

Yeah, Ken came here to "defend" his wife and we all saw how well that went. I wonder if they are still friends with Cabinet Man.

[Phoebe]

Being a cynical sort, I'm starting to wonder if Lori's blog has taken a hit since Ken's visit here. She appears from an outsider looking in point of view to be doing things that are designed to bring in eyeballs to her site.

It's almost like she's employing Goggle Tactics or something... :lol:

Edited cause HTML eludes me

[MamaJunebug]

maybe it relates to some fundies thinking the ideal time was the 50's with victory gardens?

No biggie, but victory gardens were part of the '40s, when much food produced on larger farms was directed to the troops. Everyday people at home got ration coupons for sugar, gasoline and ... I forget what. My aunt still had some, the frugal thing hadn't used up her allotment somehow. Wow.

I noticed that the Servenclan's dad's church website has a banner photo of a church surrounded by fields o'amber waves o'grain, as does NCFIC's.. I think the idea is that when you're rural, you have all this land buffering you from the baddies of the world. And I used to kind of envy the Servens, when Rebecca did the blog - it sure looked like they were out in the middle of nowhere.

Actually, they're on like 2 acres and can see several houses from their front porch; and the church where they hold services in smackdab in the middle of a smallish town in NE Missouri. But the image is out there, and that's what's important.

(Scott Brown does seem to have some serious land surrounding his house, but I'm pretty sure the church he leads meets in a town in North Carolina, not out in the boonies, much as he'd like us to think so. Image, image, image.)

[gardenvarietycitizen]

I think the "back to nature" trend isn't just among fundies. This is one of those things where crunchy liberals and fundies intersect. Fundies do it to be "more godly" and avoid worldly influences, while liberals do it to help the environment and avoid the influence of big corporations. The book Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity is an interesting look at why college-educated women in their 20's and 30's (of all political and religious persuasions) are suddenly turning to homesteading and DIY hobbies.

"Crunchy cons" (as in "conservatives") have long been a thing, yeah.

One other appeal to it for fundies who are really into the "family is always together 24/7" thing is the idea that both parents are always home, either farming/clearing brush or whatever OR running a simple home business. No one has to work for any other master, etc.

It's not always a realistic dream...

[Lisa]

Homeward Bound: Why Women Are Embracing the New Domesticity - great book! I recommend it also.

Gardening is my big hobby, and I got into it because of how home-grown tomatoes taste. That said, it can be expensive and sometimes pests or disease wipe out your whole crop. We sometimes joke that our (delicious) tomatoes are more expensive than truffles, pound for pound. To actually save money you have to garden on a pretty big scale and preserve your food. There's an element of fantasy in the back-to-the-land/urban homesteading movement, as well as an element of paranoia and survivalism. A lot of Titus 2 bloggers talk about how a woman should be enriching the family by saving rather than working, but they usually get it all wrong and waste their money and time. I'm thinking of Lady Lydia spending a small fortune on gaudy chintz and poor-quality fleece every year so she can have a closet full of dresses and capes. Home sewing! So economical!

[Miss M]

I live on a farm, and actually farm, with my 72 year old Mother, and I can tell you every day is NOT sunshine and roses as a matter of fact most days aren't. To hot, to cold, livestock sick, well pump goes out, raccoon in the hen house that has to be trapped and killed, one acre (yup it is big) garden going great guns then wake up to half of it eaten over night by Asian Beetles, trapping mice out of the strawberry patch before they eat them all, voles eating half the potatoes, or a late spring like now when we don't even have anything in the garden yet, farm living ain't for the faint at heart like Lori!!

[Lisa]

I live on a farm, and actually farm, with my 72 year old Mother, and I can tell you every day is NOT sunshine and roses as a matter of fact most days aren't. To hot, to cold, livestock sick, well pump goes out, raccoon in the hen house that has to be trapped and killed, one acre (yup it is big) garden going great guns then wake up to half of it eaten over night by Asian Beetles, trapping mice out of the strawberry patch before they eat them all, voles eating half the potatoes, or a late spring like now when we don't even have anything in the garden yet, farm living ain't for the faint at heart like Lori!!

So you don't just swan around in a long dress and floppy hat singing to your crops? Color me disappointed! ;)

[Miss M]

I guess I wasn't done, here is some more, ruined a batch of Goat Milk Feta, there goes this weeks farmer's market profit, feed it to the pigs though, so there is some pay back eventually. The neighbor "row crop" farmer who over sprays and doesn't account for wind drift and kills all your grapes and half your tomatoes. Tractor won't start to move hay, or the ground under the door is heaved up and you can't get the tractor out in the winter, so you lug hay to the cows. Heater on the water tank for the cows goes out, freezes, cows bawling their heads off...and on and on, but you know what, being the 6th generation to live on this farm, I can tell your right now, I do more in a day than Lori Alexander does in a Month!!

[Miss M]

So you don't just swan around in a long dress and floppy hat singing to your crops? Color me disappointed! ;)

Would you be really disappointed if I tell you I don't even own a dress not even a flowy gauzy skirt, I do have a floppy hat though, cause skin cancer sucks!!

[Lisa]

Would you be really disappointed if I tell you I don't even own a dress not even a flowy gauzy skirt, I do have a floppy hat though, cause skin cancer sucks!!

Hmmm. I'm confused. Maybe if you were a little more godly the farm would take care of itself and you could focus on dressing like a lady.

(Just to be clear, as I'm new to the forum, the above in no way reflects my opinion... or reality.)

[Curious]

It's almost like she's employing Goggle Tactics or something... :lol:

Edited cause HTML eludes me

It's good they learned something from Ken's time here. :google-tactics: She might get even more visitors if she knocked off the stupid all text align center that I keep saying is a big no-no and have even provided links explaining why.

[dairyfreelife]

i think a number of fundies are just not good with people which is why they become fundies in the first place. it gives you a reason to hide away from the world. There are times I think about wanting to live off the land and be away from everyone...but I'm realistic that it's not possible and it's not healthy.

As for gardening...please. My family has had gardens and canned foods for generations in large and small spaces. I wonder if she's ever canned anything. I doubt it or she'd probably change her love for it since it involves a lot of time and energy. It's so cute when spoiled rich people like to turn what is normal or everyday work for most people across the globe into a hobby.

[RachelB]

It's good they learned something from Ken's time here. :google-tactics: She might get even more visitors if she knocked off the stupid all text align center that I keep saying is a big no-no and have even provided links explaining why.

There's a Google Tactics smiley now? What a wonderful world.

[HoneyBunny]

It's good they learned something from Ken's time here. :google-tactics: She might get even more visitors if she knocked off the stupid all text align center that I keep saying is a big no-no and have even provided links explaining why.

That's why her blog should be more appropriately titled "Never Learning" or "Always Preaching".

[terranova]

My parents were in the middle of their hippy-self-sufficiency-live-off-the-land faze when I came along. Mum just figured she could strap me to her back and go out and harvest the garden. They were very isolated, had no help, Mum, in hindsight believes she had PPD, I didn't sleep, screamed all the time, they were constantly broke and their marriage suffered. They stuck it out for 6 years before selling up and moving to London (from rural NZ). Not my idea of a good life in the country.