Jana's future

[Eatingintheprayercloset]

If she doesn't end up with someone from ATI headquarters, I will be very surprised. Many of us want Jana to escape because she is meek and get's taken advantage of by her mega family, but she might be the biggest Kool-Aid drinker of the bunch. Her best friends inlcude Priscilla Waller and Michael Bates......both ATI heavyweights. It would suck to see Jana marry TFDW 2.0 but I honestly never see her leaving fundamentalism, even if a few Duggar kids eventually turn more secular. She can also end up with a right-wing politician? Though I would have pegged Jessa as a politician wife. Maybe Jessa-Blessa can support BenBob by becoming a news commentator for Fox News :twisted: ?

[MatthewDuggar]

Maybe Jessa-Blessa can support BenBob by becoming a news commentator for Fox News :twisted: ?

Sadly, I think that's a bit too far reaching. I can barely see her being a guest host on the View.

[VelociRapture]

If this guy exists and we figure out who it is, the FJ collective will kick his behind to you know where.

I'd rather she remain single than wind up marrying someone who doesn't return her feelings or who has feelings for someone else. Nothing wrong with being true to your feelings, even if it means slighting FJ favorite Jana. Everyone deserves a chance at happiness, including Fundies. :)

[CaptainFunderpants]

I think Joy threatening to get Jana actually says more about J'Chelle than it does either of them.

There've been a number of responses from various kids over the years that come down to "I'm telling Jana!"

On the Michael being one of her besties -Brandon seems like an okay guy from an ATI standpoint, so maybe Michael will put it on his heart to try and reach out and find someone good for Jana. Happy Wife, Happy Life as they say.

[PracticeMakesProgress]

If she doesn't end up with someone from ATI headquarters, I will be very surprised. Many of us want Jana to escape because she is meek and get's taken advantage of by her mega family, but she might be the biggest Kool-Aid drinker of the bunch. Her best friends inlcude Priscilla Waller and Michael Bates......both ATI heavyweights. It would suck to see Jana marry TFDW 2.0 but I honestly never see her leaving fundamentalism, even if a few Duggar kids eventually turn more secular. She can also end up with a right-wing politician? Though I would have pegged Jessa as a politician wife. Maybe Jessa-Blessa can support BenBob by becoming a news commentator for Fox News :twisted: ?

Like any one of the 56 eligible Staddon five-head brothers? Go get 'em, Jana!!

[EmainMacha]

I'm not sure Jana is as sweet as she's portrayed. In the episode where Joy was trying to get the little ones to practice a song, she threatened to get Jana if they didn't obey. That struck a nerve with me and the little ones.

This really stood out to me. And, if as seems to be the case, Jana is essentially a surrogate mum for her siblings, wouldn't she have involved with blanket training etc?

Of course Jana will have done as she was 'trained' to do but still...maybe not as sweet as all that.

[RosyDaisy]

I'm not saying Jana beats the shit out of the littles or uses corporal punishment at all. I just think she's a tough, strict, firm disciplinarian and knows how to make them instantly obey. That goes against the "keeping sweet" personality we think Jana has. This is just speculation on my part.

[singsingsing]

I think right now Jana is a blank slate that people can project whatever they want onto. We don't actually know much about her personality, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, or actions.

[ShepherdontheRock]

I think right now Jana is a blank slate that people can project whatever they want onto. We don't actually know much about her personality, thoughts, beliefs, opinions, or actions.

Just so you know, I thought of Blank Space.

Jana's a blank space, baby

And she'll right your name

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

It irks me that Jana isn't allowed to even go to Crown College. She's probably the most competent female of the group. She is extremely responsible and can take care of kids better than most moms likely. I don't think she should get married yet, she should try to ride it out and hopefully she'll get to go to school. She may feel responsible for the little kids, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them have even called her "mom". Maybe she is completely content though staying at home.

Is she not allowed to go, or does she not want to go? Maybe she doesn't want to go there, or to any school. I don't think it's fair to assume that she's not allowed to go just because she hasn't. I've never once hear her ever mention anything that sounded like she wanted any form of higher education beyond what she already received.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

How do we know she wants to go to College and is being denied the opportunity?

Additionally, how does possibly being the most competent caregiver mean she would do well in or want to go to college?

I've said this a lot about all these kids, but mostly Jana - we know incredibly little about who they actually are and what they really want out of life. For all we know Jana could be a genius who desperately wants to earn a higher education and is being denied it - or she could be a terrible student who has no motivation to pursue more education. She could be desperate to marry or desperate to stay single. She could be silently dying on the inside because of all the responsibility pushed onto her or she could love every second of caring for her family. She could be staying put in order to protect her siblings from their evil parents or she could absolutely love punishing the little kids because she thinks they're brats.

Now, I don't think Jana is a cruel person at all. Quite the opposite. But my point is none of us can know for sure until Jana decides to open her mouth and flat out state what she thinks. . . and that isn't going to happen until she is engaged or married because she likely won't have access to personal social media accounts until then.

Personally, I wouldn't be shocked to find out that she not only drank the Kool-Aid, but flat out chugged it like a Frat Boy at a Kegger. And I'm not looking forward to the day she gets married - there are tons of people who expect her to run the second the ring is on her finger and they would be more than happy to turn on Jana if she chooses not to. It happened with Jessa and Jill - it will not surprise me at all to see people turn on Jana, Jinger, Joy, or any of the other kids eventually as well.

Though, to be fair, those two enjoyed less leeway from people here before they married - Jill because people found her annoying and Jessa because. . . well. . . she's Jessa :lol:

Note: Please know this wasn't directed just at you, but to the thread as a whole. Your thoughts about Jana wanting to go to college just got me thinking. :)

I never expect Jana to run. If she's the one who breaks free, I will genuinely be surprised. Like completely and totally taken aback. Jana, to me, seems like the exact fundie daughter every fundie hopes they have, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she gets married and starts popping out kids as quickly as possible. If it wasn't for her devotion to the faith, I would almost expect her to be pregnant before the wedding actually happened, just so she could get a jump on the soldiers for Jesus crusade.

I'm not sure why Jana's not married, though I'm sure a lot of it probably has to do with lofty expectations of her "god chosen man." Jana doesn't seem like the type who would just settle for the first somewhat godly man to walk through the door. A Derick or Ben probably wouldn't cut it for her. She may even have her sights set on some fundie royalty or a boy who's busy working at HQ right now. But I don't think she's going to settle for fundie-lite. I think, when she gets married, she's going to marry a guy every single person on this board is going to hate for her because of how fundie he is.

Also, Jana is a very private person who is very good at staying out of the limelight. It's very possible that she's been having some sort of long distance, potentially long term courtship with a guy, not unlike Michael and Brandon, or Jill and Derick while he was in Nepal.

[St.Clara]

This really stood out to me. And, if as seems to be the case, Jana is essentially a surrogate mum for her siblings, wouldn't she have involved with blanket training etc?

Of course Jana will have done as she was 'trained' to do but still...maybe not as sweet as all that.

I hate to say it but Jana must have been involved in the blanket training as well as in the corporal punishment of the younger ones. Considering the family as well as her position in it, this was absolutely inevitable, imo. She might not have felt well with it and she might have tried to do it as little as possible but that´s it. She was strongly expected to deliver certain results that she could not attain without using the instruments available to her. Besides, she was told that what she was doing was for the best of her siblings, she was a kid herself and there was nobody in her life who could have given her different ideas.

About the pressure:

I visited my parents’ house sometime in May this year, and my sister Hannah, age 11, was standing at the stove. I asked where mom was, and was told that mom had been shopping for the past four hours. My brothers were working, and my eleven-year-old sister was left to feed and supervise her six younger siblings, and clean the entire house. Hannah beamed proudly as she told me about her work: she’d cooked, cleaned, watched the kids.

It was the first time in my life that this situation seemed like too high an expectation for an 11-year-old girl. It was what I was raised with. It had been normal.

The only thing Hannah didn’t have time for was the dishes. [...]

Mom got home an hour later. Hannah beamed with pride, waiting for a compliment on how well she’d done. Mom’s eyes went straight for the dishes, piled all around the sink. Hannah had cooked, babysat, swept all the floors, and the other counters and tabletops were clean. The dishes were her one oversight.

My mom started yelling, and I watched my little sister crumple. I felt a twinge of familiarity. I had received the same treatment at her age, and taken it with the guilt I was supposed to feel, and tried to perform better. I became a master of homemaking over the next several years.

cynthiajeub.com/2014/10/how-a-logical-girl-talked-herself-into-fundamentalism-part-3/

About the family dynamics:

I grew up in a family very like the Duggars, except that we had half a dozen fewer children. We older children were expected to help raise the younger children. My parents followed the same parenting manuals as the Duggars, and those manuals advised placing the older children in authority over the younger ones—requiring the younger children to obey their older siblings, and giving those older siblings the authority to use corporal punishment. As a result, I grew up spanking my younger siblings. In fact, the rule was that any individual sibling could spank any other sibling who was at least three children down the line from them.

And yes, this meant the seven-year-old could spank the toddler. […]

When people look at big families like the Duggars or like my family—families with neat and tidy well-dressed smiling stair-stepped children—they probably don’t realize that things can go all Lord of the Flies in a heartbeat. I mean, think about it—you have a large number of children with an even larger number of individual sibling-sibling relationships, and then on top of that are placed systems of authority that weave through the siblings, combined with the vicissitudes of favorites. How could things not descend into ugliness from time to time?

patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2015/06/how-being-an-older-sibling-in-a-big-family-is-like-being-a-polygamous-sister-wife.html

And, last but not least, about the godliness of punishment:

I don’t know exactly when it happened, but at some point early on my mom handed me the rod. She told me I was to spank my younger siblings if they misbehaved or broke any rules and she was not in the room. The rule was that I could spank any sibling at least three children younger than me. This meant that at ten I could spank my five-year-old sibling, and all those younger than him.

This breaks my heart because now, years and years later, my younger siblings tell me they saw me as a bully, that they resented me, that I “lorded it over them.†I may have been all that, and I definitely was far from perfect. Perhaps having this sort of power over them brought out the worst in me. But I was ten, twelve, or fourteen, and at the core I did what I did because my parents handed me the rod and told me to do so. [...]

I was told that loving parents – or, er, siblings – discipline their children, and that the only way to make a child into a happy, healthy adult is to spank him. I was taught that children must have their wills broken and must be forced to submit. [...]

Why was I made to be an authority figure to my siblings instead of a sister? My heart breaks because I inflicted pain on them. It hurts worse that I never questioned these things, never asked why, never said no. But what did I, at ten, twelve, or fourteen, know? What did I understand? I had never seen anything different from what my parents taught and modeled at home. My parents handed me the rod and told me to spank. And I regret it with all my heart. And now, all I can say is I am so so sorry.

patheos.com/blogs/lovejoyfeminism/2012/03/giving-the-child-the-rod-2.html

[Eatingintheprayercloset]

Is she not allowed to go, or does she not want to go? Maybe she doesn't want to go there, or to any school. I don't think it's fair to assume that she's not allowed to go just because she hasn't. I've never once hear her ever mention anything that sounded like she wanted any form of higher education beyond what she already received.

I think people assume Jana wants to go to college because she isn't married and the desire to get higher education MUST be the reason. Honestly, Jana hasn't shown she wants anything to do with school. Even when she was practicing being a doula, it seemed half-hearted and she would rather be anywhere else. People assume Jana would be the higher education type because she isn't as ditzy as Jill, but I've met many people who are naturally smart but have no desire to go to college/university. Jana is actually in an okay position for a fundie daughter. She'll probably marry soon and have a few kids. Right now these are her "single years" with less responsibility since Josie is now a little kid and not a baby.

[MatthewDuggar]

On one episode she flat our said in a TH that she didn't really care for it and eluded to doing it only because she had to be a "partner" for Jill.

As sad and distant as she often seems to be, I think she enjoys caring for her siblings. Granted, she was forced into it. I don't think she's ever expressed any interest on the show about going to college. She plays the harp, is a concert pianist, she's been to Indonesia and Central America on mission-cations. She can cook and care for babies. Whomever she ends up marrying, I hope they appreciate her.

[CaptainFunderpants]

I think people assume Jana wants to go to college because she isn't married and the desire to get higher education MUST be the reason. Honestly, Jana hasn't shown she wants anything to do with school. Even when she was practicing being a doula, it seemed half-hearted and she would rather be anywhere else. People assume Jana would be the higher education type because she isn't as ditzy as Jill, but I've met many people who are naturally smart but have no desire to go to college/university. Jana is actually in an okay position for a fundie daughter. She'll probably marry soon and have a few kids. Right now these are her "single years" with less responsibility since Josie is now a little kid and not a baby.

People seem to assume that because Jana said that evolution makes sense, that she must desire higher ed. There have to be at least some fundamentalists with the wherewithal to go "oh, evolution is true because God did it." Does fundamentalist inherently equal YEC? No.

[Ellimenopy]

People seem to assume that because Jana said that evolution makes sense, that she must desire higher ed. There have to be at least some fundamentalists with the wherewithal to go "oh, evolution is true because God did it." Does fundamentalist inherently equal YEC? No.

Not really that she desires higher ed. Mainly that there are plenty of ex-fundies whose questioning began at evolution and an "innocent" interest in science. If you can grasp evolution, then you can reason, and if you can reason, there's a hope that you can get out. It's still projecting, but not directly to "she wants to go to college." Just more, "she's still got a spark left in her." You know?

[MoonFace]

So, should Jana decide that she wants to court and get married, who is available in her age range?

I can't imagine her wanting to get involved with another teenager and helping to raise her husband.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

So, should Jana decide that she wants to court and get married, who is available in her age range?

I can't imagine her wanting to get involved with another teenager and helping to raise her husband.

Honestly, knowing what little I know about the ATI culture, I can safely assume there are A LOT of SAHSs and single boys involved in HQ, just like there are a ridiculous number of SAHDs and single girls at HQ. But, no matter what, she's going to be raising her husband. ATI doesn't really put out any kind of self-sufficient adult.

[princessmahina]

Jana's a tough one to figure out. Whoever she marries, I hope it's someone like Chad, and not a Waller man. I would hate to see another woman end up with a Pecan Thief.

[Kira]

Jana can't find a man :liar: - I can think of a lot of reasons it would be hard to find a man in fundieland. That could be a new topic to discuss.

JB&M need Jana to raise their kids- We have witnessed women not being allowed to court for this reason. I think the Duggars have more options than other fundie families. I don't think the need Jana(wishful thinking? :| ) Aso, I can't imagine Jim Bob not allowing Jana to court. I think JB and Michelle want their kids to get married so that they can have 2000 grandchildren( they talked abou this last season, the "multiplication process(?)")

Jana is limiting the number of children she'll have- Maybe, but many fundie women who get married at 25+ are quiverfull.

Jana raised her siblings, why would she want her own quiver?- Raising siblings doesn't seem to be a deterrent in fundieland.

I'm not surprised Jana is single. The Jessas and Alyssas get married first. The women who seem like they would make the perfect fundie wife are always last :shrug:

She could have a guy waiting at ATI just like her best friends Michaela and Priscilla. They were both married in their mid/late 20s.

[MisUndrstd]

I think if Jana stays single so will JD. I don't mean that in a uber creepy gross out way. I think JD has some kind of special connection because of the twin thing. I think JD is actually waiting to see what Jana does before he makes any kind of leap, so to speak. I think JD feels as though if Jana stays single he should be the one to look after her and support her monetarily. I don't think we will see a JD courtship until we get a Jana courtship. But look at Jana, she is beautiful, probably has a lot of young men interested, yet she wants none of it. She probably sits around at Fundie functions and listens to the women babble on about being pregnant and chasing after little children day in day out, while the fundie husbands listen to their fundie wives prattle on with disinterest and a bored look on their face. Seriously, who wants that? I really think if Jana decides to stay single, JD will decide to stay single with her. I can see them at the house that JD bought watching Netflix and ordering pizza.. content, happy, full as a tick laughing about how they dodged a bullet. In the long term I think we are going to find out that JD is the biggest sacrificial lamb of the family, he'll give up a meek, obedient wife and a shit load of kids to make sure Jana is happy and comfortable. I can really see JD moving up the ranks here and becoming an FJ favorite.

[JenniferJuniper]

I think if Jana stays single so will JD. I don't mean that in a uber creepy gross out way. I think JD has some kind of special connection because of the twin thing. I think JD is actually waiting to see what Jana does before he makes any kind of leap, so to speak. I think JD feels as though if Jana stays single he should be the one to look after her and support her monetarily. I don't think we will see a JD courtship until we get a Jana courtship. But look at Jana, she is beautiful, probably has a lot of young men interested, yet she wants none of it. She probably sits around at Fundie functions and listens to the women babble on about being pregnant and chasing after little children day in day out, while the fundie husbands listen to their fundie wives prattle on with disinterest and a bored look on their face. Seriously, who wants that? I really think if Jana decides to stay single, JD will decide to stay single with her. I can see them at the house that JD bought watching Netflix and ordering pizza.. content, happy, full as a tick laughing about how they dodged a bullet. In the long term I think we are going to find out that JD is the biggest sacrificial lamb of the family, he'll give up a meek, obedient wife and a shit load of kids to make sure Jana is happy and comfortable. I can really see JD moving up the ranks here and becoming an FJ favorite.

Maybe it's just me, but I don't sense any particular closeness between Jana and JD, certainly nothing like between the boy twins. One of them said awhile back that they used to be much closer. I'm guessing they were split up at or around puberty, especially after their creepy older brother made all boys appear to be potential predators.

[MisUndrstd]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't sense any particular closeness between Jana and JD, certainly nothing like between the boy twins. One of them said awhile back that they used to be much closer. I'm guessing they were split up at or around puberty, especially after their creepy older brother made all boys appear to be potential predators.

I can see what you mean by how on TV Jana/JD don't seem all that close. But my mom was a part of a boy/girl twinship and although when they got older pre-teen to teenaged years they appeared to be separate a lot in photographs I have (my mom in photos with her sisters or female cousins rather then with my uncle). Then of course both my mom and her twin married and had very separate lives but when my uncle died it devastated my mom, much more so than it devastated the other siblings in my mom's family. I had never seen my mom take something so hard then when she lost her "twin". So although many twins go on to have very separate lives I tend to believe that the connection from birth is still something that stays strong even though they may not seem like they are all that close.

[nastyhobbitses]

Maybe it's just me, but I don't sense any particular closeness between Jana and JD, certainly nothing like between the boy twins. One of them said awhile back that they used to be much closer. I'm guessing they were split up at or around puberty, especially after their creepy older brother made all boys appear to be potential predators.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was the case. Obviously they're individuals and even without Josh's fuckery they probably wouldn't be joined at the hip at this stage in the game, but I could definitely see JD and Jana being close as kids, and then no longer being allowed to spend much time together. I'm sure they care a lot about each other and may have a more special relationship than they'd have with their other siblings, but between being separate people and the Duggars' fucked up family dynamics, they don't have the stereotypical super-close twins relationship that most people would expect.

[chris]

I think if Jana stays single so will JD. I don't mean that in a uber creepy gross out way. I think JD has some kind of special connection because of the twin thing. I think JD is actually waiting to see what Jana does before he makes any kind of leap, so to speak. I think JD feels as though if Jana stays single he should be the one to look after her and support her monetarily. I don't think we will see a JD courtship until we get a Jana courtship. But look at Jana, she is beautiful, probably has a lot of young men interested, yet she wants none of it. She probably sits around at Fundie functions and listens to the women babble on about being pregnant and chasing after little children day in day out, while the fundie husbands listen to their fundie wives prattle on with disinterest and a bored look on their face. Seriously, who wants that? I really think if Jana decides to stay single, JD will decide to stay single with her. I can see them at the house that JD bought watching Netflix and ordering pizza.. content, happy, full as a tick laughing about how they dodged a bullet. In the long term I think we are going to find out that JD is the biggest sacrificial lamb of the family, he'll give up a meek, obedient wife and a shit load of kids to make sure Jana is happy and comfortable. I can really see JD moving up the ranks here and becoming an FJ favorite.

I can see John David staying single as a way to watch out for Jana..but I can also see him doing the same if he got married first.

But then, I can't help wondering why Jana keeps (supposedly) rejecting guy's advances. Are fundie guys really that bad?