Let's Snark On The Book Beautiful Girlhood

[debrand]

I own the book, Beautiful Girlhood and I thought it would be fun to include particularly snark worthy quotes.

If you own this book and quote from it, try to say what chapter you use.

This is a quote from chapter one. In this chapter, girls entering adulthood are compared to a opening flower bud.

"

I should be a pessimist indeed, if I did not encourage you in the radiant dreams and fair hopes that now brighten your skies and make your path light. But girlhood is not without danger. The rose may be blighted and never come to perfection, even though the bud burst open with the fairest promise; and the girl with the brightest prospects and hopes of womanhood may fail to reach her goal if she is touched with the blight of sin. Her god-given inheritance is a pure and beautiful maturity full of usefulness; but there is that which would ruthlessly rob her of it. We guard our bud laden rose vines lest they be trampled upon, and we guard our precious daughters lest they be robbed of that unsullied purity which is their own"

Notice the fear tactics. If the girl makes a mistake or does wrong, she will be like a blighted rose. Roses don't get over come blight and I suppose, contrary to the bible, a woman can't overcome sin. Also, girls need to be guarded and protected

[clibbyjo]

My daughter is a green belt/ blue stripe in tae kwon do. She can guard her own purity until SHE chooses someone worthy of her. And she doesn't like roses all that much anyway.:)

[Koala]

that is vile

[Austin]

Oh, yes. . . it's all about the hymen, young ladies. The vaunted hymen. Oh, did you think your brains or talents matter? No, no - it's all hymen all the time.

[mirele]

Is this one of those books that's out of copyright and which has been reprinted for profit by various people? I see it mentioned in different editions when I do a Google search.

[Confused_by_religion]

I own the book, Beautiful Girlhood and I thought it would be fun to include particularly snark worthy quotes.

If you own this book and quote from it, try to say what chapter you use.

This is a quote from chapter one. In this chapter, girls entering adulthood are compared to a opening flower bud.

"

Notice the fear tactics. If the girl makes a mistake or does wrong, she will be like a blighted rose. Roses don't get over come blight and I suppose, contrary to the bible, a woman can't overcome sin. Also, girls need to be guarded and protected

I can't deal with that kind of purple prose. Can you imagine what sort of person comes up with that sort of pseudo-Victorian babble? "...bud laden rose vines lest they be trampled upon..." Who TALKS like that in real life?

[oscar]

This book is available for free online:

library.timelesstruths.org/texts/Beautiful_Girlhood/

[liltwinstar]

Ick - I read this book many times, and it is, indeed, vile. I don't have it any more though.

Basically the message is "be sweet, stay in your place (the home), and be obedient."

[Burris]

I've owned this book. Confused_by_religion is right: The thing is purple prose from end to end. It's an early form of the unrealistic idealism that exists within the fundie girl culture now.

[debrand]

In the second chapter there is a lot of praise of motherhood.

More quotes on purity from the second chapter.

"

Womenhood stands for all that is pure and clean and noble. She who does not make the world better for having lived in it has failed to be all that a woman should be

"I can have no better wish and prayer for you that you may arrive in due time to the glorious state of womanhood with hearts pure and hands clean."

[debrand]

I've owned this book. Confused_by_religion is right: The thing is purple prose from end to end. It's an early form of the unrealistic idealism that exists within the fundie girl culture now.

The writing is abysmal and so saccharine sweet that it's vomit inducing. When I was a fundie, I bought it for my girls and instantly hated it. Luckily, I didn't throw it out because now I can make fun of it to my heart's content. :D

This book is probably the reason why some fundie girls have such an odd manner of writing.

[Confused_by_religion]

Hahaha. "Motherhood" and "hands clean" seem to be mutually exclusive to me. What about...changing the baby, washing the dishes, washing the diapers, burping the baby, etc. etc.

[Freed]

I'll have to look at my copy when I get home (I'm at teh evul college now). My mom bought it to try to convince me to be more feminine. Considering that at that point, I wanted to be a cowboy, spy, or soldier, it obviously never worked. :) I hated it. The writing physically hurts now.

[mystweaver]

I am so disappointed that I got rid of all of these books. If only I had the foresight to realize I would join a snark forum.

Incidentally, I think Beautiful Girlhood was tossed a few weeks ago (without realizing it). Lesigh.

[Joykins]

But girlhood is not without danger. The rose may be blighted and never come to perfection, even though the bud burst open with the fairest promise; and the girl with the brightest prospects and hopes of womanhood may fail to reach her goal if she is touched with the blight of sin. Her god-given inheritance is a pure and beautiful maturity full of usefulness; but there is that which would ruthlessly rob her of it. We guard our bud laden rose vines lest they be trampled upon, and we guard our precious daughters lest they be robbed of that unsullied purity which is their own"

Oh, yes. . . it's all about the hymen, young ladies. The vaunted hymen. Oh, did you think your brains or talents matter? No, no - it's all hymen all the time.

Close.

The rose vine is the entrance to the vagina, it is guarded by thorns, ready to prick any prick that dare attempt to enter. The bud, of course, is the clitoris. The bud may be touched, carefully, without engaging any thorns, thus preserving purity through years of being diddled in the back of cars. Any Christian girl worth her salt knows this.

[LilMissMetaphor]

It sounds like a tagline for feminine hygiene products. Have a beautiful girlhood with Always. TM.

[acutexenophobia]

Close.

The rose vine is the entrance to the vagina, it is guarded by thorns, ready to prick any prick that dare attempt to enter. The bud, of course, is the clitoris. The bud may be touched, carefully, without engaging any thorns, thus preserving purity through years of being diddled in the back of cars. Any Christian girl worth her salt knows this.

all of this makes me think of is this:

[debrand]

Close.

The rose vine is the entrance to the vagina, it is guarded by thorns, ready to prick any prick that dare attempt to enter. The bud, of course, is the clitoris. The bud may be touched, carefully, without engaging any thorns, thus preserving purity through years of being diddled in the back of cars. Any Christian girl worth her salt knows this.

When I was a teen, I had a friend who was open about performing blow jobs but was adament about not getting her hymen broken before her wedding night. That was when I began to question the point in worshipping a thin sheet of skin.

Back to the book. Quotes from chapter four

I've written before that I thinkt that one of the more beautiful concepts of Christianity is that everyone can start fresh. Fundies-and the writer of this book-obviously discount much of Christianity when it comes to female purity.

"

Bad character grows without effort. Just to be careless and indifferent to consequences may be the cause of downfall in one who would like to be noble. They who fall have been weak, for good character is strong. Choose well as the days go by. Build for all time not just present pleasure. What you are building will bring you praise and satisfaction all your life, or it will be your curse and disgrace.'

It isn't that I don't think that the choices made during adolescents can't have consequences. If an individual goofs off and doesn't do well in school, he might have to wait on college or get a low paying job. In general though, most people can overcome bad choices-unless you are doing something illegal. The quote above makes it sound as if one bad mistake would cause a person to be ruined for life. This book explains why some of the fundie kids act like any impropriety will ruin them.

This next part was just funny in a dirty way. It caused me to snort.

Keep your measuring rod at hand and use it without stint. Reject all that falls short, no matter how pleasant it may look.

[Trynn]

Oh, yes. . . it's all about the hymen, young ladies. The vaunted hymen. Oh, did you think your brains or talents matter? No, no - it's all hymen all the time.

Then I pity the poor fundie girls who were perhaps born without one, or somehow had it broken in childhood during an accident.

[Joykins]

When I was a teen, I had a friend who was open about performing blow jobs but was adament about not getting her hymen broken before her wedding night. That was when I began to question the point in worshipping a thin sheet of skin.

It's not that there's no such thing as a hymen, but I never noticed mine getting broken ever and I've had children. So I looked into it. Virginity--in the never having had PIV sex sense-- and having an unbroken hymen are not at all the same thing, in fact a hymen isn't even a reliable indicator of it or anything for that matter.

[Austin]

It's not that there's no such thing as a hymen, but I never noticed mine getting broken ever and I've had children. So I looked into it. Virginity--in the never having had PIV sex sense-- and having an unbroken hymen are not at all the same thing.

Well, you and I (and other FJers) know that, but that's not how fundies and a lot of others see it. Some people don't want their daughters to get a gyn exam because it would introduce a speculum, etc. into the vagina before their wedding night - which is a no-no. There are a lot of people who are staunchly against unmarried women using tampons for the same reason.

It really is about the hymen to a lot of these types.

[Joykins]

Well, you and I (and other FJers) know that, but that's not how fundies and a lot of others see it. Some people don't want their daughters to get a gyn exam because it would introduce a speculum, etc. into the vagina before their wedding night - which is a no-no. There are a lot of people who are staunchly against unmarried women using tampons for the same reason.

It really is about the hymen to a lot of these types.

This is true and I also wonder how many women and girls have been unfairly maligned and perhaps killed (see Deut. 22) when despite being a virgin when married they are found not to have a substantial enough hymen.

[debrand]

It's not that there's no such thing as a hymen, but I never noticed mine getting broken ever and I've had children. So I looked into it. Virginity--in the never having had PIV sex sense-- and having an unbroken hymen are not at all the same thing, in fact a hymen isn't even a reliable indicator of it or anything for that matter.

I know but some people are illogically focused on the hymen.

Chapter 7(sorry I'm skipping around)

A girl should form the habit of speaking in a gentle tone while she is young. Who is it who does not admire a soft and tender tone in a woman's voice? I have always felt sorry for the older women who have from childhood spoken in loud or harsh tone of voice, for it is practically impossible for them to do otherwise now

This made me think of Michelle Duggar's baby voice.

Chapter 8

A happy girlhood is so beautiful that it cannot afford to be spoiled by needless frowns and pouts

The author often describes girls who act in the manner that she finds appropriate as beautiful.

If you can pass these little bumps and keep sweet, then you have mastered the art of being sunny

I didn't expect to come across the phrase to keep sweet in this book

[Avalondaughter]

It's not that there's no such thing as a hymen, but I never noticed mine getting broken ever and I've had children. So I looked into it. Virginity--in the never having had PIV sex sense-- and having an unbroken hymen are not at all the same thing, in fact a hymen isn't even a reliable indicator of it or anything for that matter.

Man, I envy you! I lost my virginity fairly late in life and had been an avid equestrian for years. Yet even when I made the mature rational decision to have sex with a fitting partner, it took the poor guy forever to get in, with me wincing the whole time, and I bled like a stuck pig for day. Partner wasn't a virgin, but even with his years of experience he couldn't hold back once he gained entry because it took him so long. I felt sorry for the poor guy!

ETA that I definitely was one of those "everything but" girls. I wasn't even all that religious by the time I hit college. I wsa just terrified of losing myself, having my heart broken, being taken advantage of. I really had this mental wall between "vaginal intercourse" and "everything else". I had built up sex as such a big scary emotional deal in my head that I considered everything else to be okay. It took a few years for me to see that I had had my heart broken enough times to know I could still survive it. I probably hurt worse from my first boyfriend (whom I engaged in nothing below the neck) than I did with the guy I first got naked with. I realized I was capable of taking the risk.

[debrand]

Man, I envy you! I lost my virginity fairly late in life and had been an avid equestrian for years. Yet even when I made the mature rational decision to have sex with a fitting partner, it took the poor guy forever to get in, with me wincing the whole time, and I bled like a stuck pig for day. Partner wasn't a virgin, but even with his years of experience he couldn't hold back once he gained entry because it took him so long. I felt sorry for the poor guy!

I bled the first time I had sex too but I have known of many women who didn't.