Jana Duggar: Courting or hype?

[Mothership]

I have a new theory about Jana after watching the new show and the 8 min.blurb for the next episode.

Here goes:  We've been wrong about Cinderjana all along.  She's really been passive-aggressively in charge of a lot.  For example, Jill was a controlling bitch in their TH moments.  Jana realized that Jill was an idiot and let her blather on and on (remember the first special when Jill couldn't even do the math that 10 boys were twice as many as 5 girls?).  Jana is sitting back now gloating at Jill  having done her daughterly duty and married the guy daddy chose for her--dull Derek and now she's on the mission-cation with her true role as a brood mare just like J'shelle as she shleps all over that dangerous CA.

What if Jana had figured out J'shelle as an 8 year old.  She knew that her mother's only goal and abilty was to spurt out babies,so Jana took charge.  Jessa says that Jana used to fix their hair and tell them what to wear.  We know that Jana really does know how to cook and apparently she knows how to surf the internet and figure out other things (like changing out light switches). Would be interested to know if the kids had to choose J'shelle or Jana-which would they choose?

And, as for Jessa, she's got to really be gloating that Jessa who loves to say that she challenged Jana's authority as a child, but guess what Jessa, you're the one stuck with the man-child husband and Jill must really love saying "Spurgeon" because she's really thinking "How's it feel to lose that battle Jessa and to have almost bled to death just to have your son called Spurgeon because your husband, who's apparently allergic to everything  claimed his headship role and named him"

And, now we've got Jana saying she wants a husband who gets his hands dirty--in other words not some wanna be politician like her father and Joshley.   That felt like a big FU to both of them.

Probably all wrong, but this theory makes me smile.

 

[RoseWilder]

14 hours ago, LawsonBatesEgo said:

I think it is easy to root for Jana and Jinger since they haven't appeared on social media and given us a reality check of how much KoolAid they have drunk and how awful their beliefs are and how much they are happy to grift. If Jana was married instead of Jessa, we'd be rooting for Jessa to find a hot husband and take her away from the cult. 

I like to think Jana and Jinger are a bit better, but I am fully prepared to be disappointed one day when they court and get social media accounts. 

With the exception of Josh, who annoyed me from the minute he first appeared on my screen, I've liked (or not been horrified by) all of the Duggar offspring, until I looked at their social media accounts. Jill was doing a good job of not being offensive for awhile, and then she created her wedding registry and starting grifting hardcore. 

You would think that people who have been in the public eye as long as the Duggars have would be a little bit better at playing the PR game by now. But they're so bad at it. 

[Sundaymorning]

@Mothership I think you could be onto something. Not in the drastic way like you described, but who knows what is really going on behind the closed doors of the Duggar family, and maybe Jana did figure out that it was indeed not a very good idea to get married so soon to a pushover that Daddy chose for her?

Yes, now Jill and Jessa are the "stars" since they got married and have already started breeding. But it would be interesting to see how things are going to be in 10-15 years. I think if Jana plays her cards right, she could have a way better life than her sisters.

[GreenTea]

6 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

When it comes to multiples, it's very possible for Jana since she's a twin herself.

If there is a history of twins in her family (not just her mother having twins, a longer history) then being a twin does raise the chances, but twins usually skip a generation.

Random Fun Fact: "Older" women (over 35) do have more multiple births because they release more eggs.   

[ClaraOswin]

It's not exactly "having twins in the family" that increases your chances. It's whether or not hyperovulation runs in your family. Basically if your female relatives have had fraternal twins.

Also, the more children you have...the higher your chance, I think.

[LawsonBatesEgo]

2 minutes ago, Sundaymorning said:

@Mothership I think you could be onto something. Not in the drastic way like you described, but who knows what is really going on behind the closed doors of the Duggar family, and maybe Jana did figure out that it was indeed not a very good idea to get married so soon to a pushover that Daddy chose for her?

Yes, now Jill and Jessa are the "stars" since they got married and have already started breeding. But it would be interesting to see how things are going to be in 10-15 years. I think if Jana plays her cards right, she could have a way better life than her sisters.

I also think @Mothership could be onto something, even if it is not quite to the same extreme. 

I think it could well be a situation where Jill and especially Jessa see themselves as having won this battle.....but it will be ultimately Jana who wins the 'war' and ends up having a much better life. 

Look at Jessa. She basically married the first guy that came along that was cute enough, christian enough and easy enough to be "whipped" in order to get out of the TTH. Right now, she no doubt thinks she won.....she is out of the house and gets to have sex, is the "star" of the TV show and doesn't have to share a room with her 6-10 year old sisters anymore. But I wonder if she is going to be feeling quite so pleased with herself in 10 years time when she has five kids with horrible names she can't stand and another on the way and her man child husband finally realised what he got himself into and that he was used as her ticket out and and doesn't quite worship the ground she walks on anymore. And she also would have used a lot of her money raising her kids, Bin probably still won't have any kind of real job and Jessa will still have exactly 0 employment experiences or skills so she might just be trapped in a crappy marriage.   

Jana might be sick of the TTH too, but might just have realised that it is better to wait it out a little longer and find the right guy to marry rather than "settling" like Jessa did. Being older, she'll likely be able to marry an older and more mature guy (can we clone her a Chad Paine?) in a better position to provide for a family without relying on Daddy in Law, rather than a 19 year old backwards baseball cap wearing Xtian fratboy. 

Jill and Jessa are now back to dealing with babies, while other than helping with Meredith a bit, Jana's 'kids' are all teenagers and school aged now. And being 26, even if she jumps into a courtship tomorrow and they gets engaged and marries in summer next year, she's still not going to have her first baby until sometime in 2018, at which point she'll already be 28. By that age, Jill and Jessa could easily have 3 babies, maybe even 4 if they have a multiple birth. 

So while it might look like Jill and Jessa have 'won' by having their televised weddings that took them out of the TTH while CinderJana slaved over the bridesmaids dresses, I do agree that in 20 years, it might be Jana who 'wins'. 

[EmCatlyn]

7 hours ago, ClaraOswin said:

Wait...that can't be an exact quote...the helpmeet part? Seriously??

I thought helpmeet was some term people at FJ came up with. I never looked into the origins of it.

"Helpmeet" comes from the KJV version of Genesis, where God decides to create Eve.  It is really two words "help" meaning helper and "meet" meaning suitable.  God creates woman as a suitable helper for man.  The word has come to mean assistant, companion or spouse.

 

[Apricot]

@Mothership Great post!  I actually love that theory.  I guess only time will tell!

[Yogi]

Someone upthread mentioned that Jana is 26??? She seems like a 16 year old to me. Good Lord it is terrible what they have done keeping that family so sheltered. 

[quiverofdoubt]

I like @Mothership's theory too. Jana strikes me as intelligent- there is something going on with her for sure. She often gets this "i know something you don't know" look on her face and to her  eyes. Like she has a long term plan going on, and is just playing the game.  I personally think she can be a bit of a handful- perhaps jb hasn't been trying to find her a husband as a way to punish her (after all, doesn't every one want the promised gothard life??). But jana doesn't see it as a punishment at all, and is quietly waiting it out until she can get out on her own terms.  there have been rumors in the past that jana has been punished for having "doubts" and that she's been tomato staked even as an adult. No idea the validity.  But there does seem to be something more going on with her.

First borns are statistically taller, have higher iq's, more type a personalities and tend to be more of the go getter of the family. (stats, not how it plays out in every house of course.) I think the gifts of the first born skipped josh and went to jana.   Add in that she's been the boss/mom of her sisters, and then brothers, then more sisters, her whole life. She's taken on a leadership role, and a management role. Maybe jb and michelle consider it a way to control her/punish her by piling on more workload, but I think she takes advantage of that work and uses it as her only means of control/decision making.  I can see 10 year old jana thinking "OK, i have to get my sisters hair brushed and get them dressed. Fine. I get to decide what they look like today".  I think that role has not only kept her a lot more sharp than most of her sisters, who do more than pay lip service to the submissive role, but also allowed her a lot of control inside the tth.  In that house if you want to know what's going on, where something is, whose belongings are whose, what grade level or subject a certain kid is working on, you go to jana not michelle.  

I have to wonder if Michelle ever feels like her authority is threatened by that. Especially if she  sees a howler or lost girl be more responsive, obedient, or loving towards jana than they are with her.

[AnnaRuk09]

1 hour ago, quiverofdoubt said:

First borns are statistically taller, have higher iq's, more type a personalities and tend to be more of the go getter of the family. 

Now that you mention it, I wonder how tall she is. In the pics of her along with her sisters, she seems to be the shortest one by a pretty good amount. Even when compared to Joy, Joy seems to be a little taller than Jana. I would guess somwhere around my height, 5'2-ish. I wonder if it's officially stated somwhere?

[Eatingintheprayercloset]

So TLC posted a bunch of pictures from the Counting On promo shoot of Jana (it's on the Counting On FB). Why are they whoring her out so much? They mentioned she's going to be on tomorrow's episode. I wonder if the extra pimping is because there will be a courting announcement either during or after the episode? 

[Bad Wolf]

She might be on the show because of the Cinderjana complaints. See, she's not stuck in tne house watching the kids, she goes grocery shopping and makes fall feasts.

[SilverBeach]

I cannot believe that Jana has had the level of strategic thinking and planning regarding her future as has been attributed to her.

Jana once gave a tearful experience about being forced to give up a prized possession (jewelry box I think) to a bratty little sister who kept messing with it.  Jana revealed a sensitive nature totally at odds with living in that zoo. Those crud parents of hers respected neither her personhood or her privacy. In my opinion, she has carved out a niche for herself that allows her to live in the TTH without going batshit crazy. That's all.

And none of them that are full on fundy twenty years from now will be winners. That goes for all the males and females.

[AnnaRuk09]

44 minutes ago, Eatingintheprayercloset said:

So TLC posted a bunch of pictures from the Counting On promo shoot of Jana (it's on the Counting On FB). Why are they whoring her out so much? They mentioned she's going to be on tomorrow's episode. I wonder if the extra pimping is because there will be a courting announcement either during or after the episode? 

That's what they want you to think. TLC are money whores. 

[CorruptionInc.]

1 hour ago, AnnaRuk09 said:

That's what they want you to think. TLC are money whores. 

Also they want people to keep watching.

"Ooh Jana is on - that poor thing, I wonder if she's courting? Better watch the next episode in case!" - Leghumpers

[Ramen Amen]

I think Jill is the tallest of the girls. 

Meanwhile, J'chelle seems to be shrinking at an alarming rate. 

[ClaraOswin]

3 hours ago, Eatingintheprayercloset said:

So TLC posted a bunch of pictures from the Counting On promo shoot of Jana (it's on the Counting On FB). Why are they whoring her out so much? They mentioned she's going to be on tomorrow's episode. I wonder if the extra pimping is because there will be a courting announcement either during or after the episode? 

Why are half of the pictures just her shrugging? So strange.

2 hours ago, Bad Wolf said:

She might be on the show because of the Cinderjana complaints. See, she's not stuck in tne house watching the kids, she goes grocery shopping and makes fall feasts.

I think you hit the nail on the head.

[quiverofdoubt]

1 hour ago, Piano gal said:

I think Jill is the tallest of the girls. 

Meanwhile, J'chelle seems to be shrinking at an alarming rate. 

All of those pregnancies really screw with your body. I hope she's getting screened for osteoporosis.  I'm guessing 19 pregnancies, and breastfeeding for all those combined years has really depleted her system of nutrients. You can't just multivitamin out of that. I'd hope she'd consult with a doctor and a nutritionist/dietician and figure out what damage has been done, and how to reverse it.

but she won't.  cause jesus.

[DuggarWatch]

3 minutes ago, quiverofdoubt said:

All of those pregnancies really screw with your body. I hope she's getting screened for osteoporosis.  I'm guessing 19 pregnancies, and breastfeeding for all those combined years has really depleted her system of nutrients. You can't just multivitamin out of that. I'd hope she'd consult with a doctor and a nutritionist/dietician and figure out what damage has been done, and how to reverse it.

but she won't.  cause jesus.

Jim Bob should go with her to the doctor.  In last week's TLC episode, he looked pregnant.  

The only thing I liked about that episode is that Michelle wasn't allowed to say one word!

[NeverAFundie]

The Internet, which is never wrong, tells me that JB is 5' 11", Jill is 5' 5", and Jessa is 5' 6".  No info for Jana, although she looks on par with Jill and Jessa in wedding photos from Jill's wedding.

[19 cats and counting]

2 hours ago, Piano gal said:

I think Jill is the tallest of the girls. 

Meanwhile, J'chelle seems to be shrinking at an alarming rate. 

On the WTF Fundie Families tumblr there's a comment from Amy that she, Grandma Duggar, and Michelle are all 5'2. 

[cranky_kong]

Well according to this video, when Jana was 15 she was 5"4

 

 

[AnnaRuk09]

14 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

On the WTF Fundie Families tumblr there's a comment from Amy that she, Grandma Duggar, and Michelle are all 5'2. 

In this picture, Amy, Jinger, and Jana all appear to be around the same height. 

[chris]

2 minutes ago, AnnaRuk09 said:

In this picture, Amy, Jinger, and Jana all appear to be around the same height. 

How high are the heels on Amy's boots though?