What jobs are "non working" Fundy women allowed to do?

[Black Aliss]

9 hours ago, formergothardite said:

company initials be KKK. 

 

That was a mistake? I thought it was niche marketing!

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Very, very few women make these work from home businesses actually work and make them money. 

Well, there was Meredith Alexander, who seemed to be supporting her entire family as a working SAHD, but she was also doing a lot of work that people will actually pay for, like tractor work. I think she also had a real estate license.

[Palimpsest]

1 hour ago, Black Aliss said:

That was a mistake? I thought it was niche marketing!

Well, there was Meredith Alexander, who seemed to be supporting her entire family as a working SAHD, but she was also doing a lot of work that people will actually pay for, like tractor work. I think she also had a real estate license.

Yes, I mentioned Meredith on the last page - she did have a real estate license.  She also home schooled her siblings, drove tractors, had a baking business (jams and cheescakes, IIRC), and processed (as in plucked and cleaned) chickens for her brother's farm.  She was exhausting to observe.  After she married she tried to sell cute seersucker children's clothes for a bit but I don't that lasted very long.

[Granwych]

"Wood Love??"  For real??  My first thought was, oh sweet Jesus, then, "hard is good, but there's the wrong kind of wood there."  And KKK, oy vey.

2 hours ago, December said:

I'm interested in a related question. What's the justification for doing any work that doesn't involve directly helping out their husband, caring for their children, or keeping house? 

It can't be for personal fulfilment as with many secular women who may opt to work instead of stay at home. It can't be to earn money, since the man is supposed to be the breadwinner. And it can't be much of a ministry if it's just, for instance, selling stuff to other fundy ladies, because that's just preaching to the choir. So what's the logic used to explain it? Is calling a job or other business endeavor a "ministry" just the ultimate "get out of jail free card" to avoid explaining the need/want for paid work?

It might be a way to get the free samples, etc.  That was why I did needlecraft kits MLMs.  I still have about 20 kits, and that was from over 30 years ago.

[FundieWatcher]

5 minutes ago, Granwych said:

"Wood Love??"  For real??  My first thought was, oh sweet Jesus, then, "hard is good, but there's the wrong kind of wood there."  And KKK, oy ve

I wonder if something Freudian is going on with the name "Wood Love." Seriously, the parents didn't want to mention it is a little suggestive...

[Granwych]

1 minute ago, FundieWatcher said:

I wonder if something Freudian is going on with the name "Wood Love." Seriously, the parents didn't want to mention it is a little suggestive...

Might be a few termites in there, huh? Oh no, I meant crabs...

[Lurky]

11 minutes ago, Granwych said:

It might be a way to get the free samples, etc.  That was why I did needlecraft kits MLMs.  I still have about 20 kits, and that was from over 30 years ago.

MLMs have got more predatory these days - so JillRod may talk about "make enough money to pay for your 'vitamins'" with plexus, but she still is buying all her own stuff, *and* has her "back order" turned on, so if any of her customers stop, she is committed to paying something like $100, or she doesn't get paid...  From what I've seen, there are no freebies with Plexus, and I'm pretty sure anyone stocking stuff for other kinds of modern MLMs are paying for them upfront.

[Granwych]

Just now, Lurky said:

MLMs have got more predatory these days - so JillRod may talk about "make enough money to pay for your 'vitamins'" with plexus, but she still is buying all her own stuff, *and* has her "back order" turned on, so if any of her customers stop, she is committed to paying something like $100, or she doesn't get paid...  From what I've seen, there are no freebies with Plexus, and I'm pretty sure anyone stocking stuff for other kinds of modern MLMs are paying for them upfront.

Yup, I never had to pay for any of my "beginner's" setups.  Now, isn't it something like "4 easy payments?"

[December]

25 minutes ago, Lurky said:

MLMs have got more predatory these days - so JillRod may talk about "make enough money to pay for your 'vitamins'" with plexus, but she still is buying all her own stuff, *and* has her "back order" turned on, so if any of her customers stop, she is committed to paying something like $100, or she doesn't get paid...  From what I've seen, there are no freebies with Plexus, and I'm pretty sure anyone stocking stuff for other kinds of modern MLMs are paying for them upfront.

I've known some people involved in... well, they certainly wouldn't call them MLMs. I couldn't believe what they were on the hook for just to sign up, and how little they earned because of what sort of "goals" they had to meet as far as sales, signing up other people, etc. each month before they could turn any profit. But it gave them a sense of belonging, which seemed to blind them to the fact that if you did the math they were earning less per hour of work than minimum wage. And I'm talking waaaaay less. 

[formergothardite]

3 hours ago, December said:

It can't be to earn money, since the man is supposed to be the breadwinner.

On her Tupperware FB page Kristina says that she wants to help provide money all while not having to work outside the home. So he is the main breadwinner, but she wants to help But at the same time she has no real skills or education and isn't allowed to go get those things or work outside the home. So she is very limited in what she can do. She also does cakes and helps her husband make furniture. At one time she was also trying to be a photographer.  

[December]

10 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

On her Tupperware FB page Kristina says that she wants to help provide money all while not having to work outside the home. So he is the main breadwinner, but she wants to help 

I guess that's what I find so mystifying. There's a big emphasis on men being self sufficient, as in able to support a massive family on 1 income. I'd think that the wife helping out would be admitting the 1 income wasn't sufficient for the lifestyle they desire... isn't that clearly undermining their own belief that women shouldn't have to work cause their headship provides enough? (Not arguing with you, obviously, just amazed at how these glaring loopholes come to exist!)

[formergothardite]

12 minutes ago, December said:

I guess that's what I find so mystifying. There's a big emphasis on men being self sufficient, as in able to support a massive family on 1 income. I'd think that the wife helping out would be admitting the 1 income wasn't sufficient for the lifestyle they desire... isn't that clearly undermining their own belief that women shouldn't have to work cause their headship provides enough? (Not arguing with you, obviously, just amazed at how these glaring loopholes come to exist!)

They find a way to justify things. Kristina was also the one who railed against women working but then stated she would only see a female doctor. She refused to see how hypocritical that was.

[December]

3 minutes ago, formergothardite said:

They find a way to justify things. Kristina was also the one who railed against women working but then stated she would only see a female doctor. She refused to see how hypocritical that was.

So that means a female doctor could call her practice a "ministry" and kill 2 birds with 1 stone: avoid punishment for the evil of a WWF (working while female) and avoid paying taxes! 

[desertvixen]

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@Lostie: Sadly, I really could see this being part of it. Because if they had jobs where they could actually support themselves there is less reliance on the menfolk and they could conceivably leave. 

@December: I guess that's what I find so mystifying. There's a big emphasis on men being self sufficient, as in able to support a massive family on 1 income. I'd think that the wife helping out would be admitting the 1 income wasn't sufficient for the lifestyle they desire... isn't that clearly undermining their own belief that women shouldn't have to work cause their headship provides enough?

I agree with both of you.  My thought is that it also makes it easier to push the idea that married women who work are just doing it to provide those luxuries... you know, like a second car or vacations.

[bea]

The MLM essential oil scam is still chugging along.
As some of you might know, I have worked professionally with essential oils for almost 10 years, and my business involves selling them. Except I buy my Essential Oils from distillers, and Young Living sells about a quarter of an ounce oil for what I pay for 16 ounces. The main multi-level marketing essential oil companies, Doterra and Young Living, were formally reprimanded by the FDA about 18 months ago, for purporting to cure Ebola. In addition, a number of articles were published recently regarding the fact that Doterra's claims to produce "therapeutic grade essential oils" is a total marketing scam, since essential oils are not graded. Not to mention that the term " pure therapeutic grade" has actually been trademarked by Doterra.
On my company blog, I have a very clear explanation of how the essential oil companies into MLM mark up at their products, and by how much. When I look at my site statistics, the number of people coming in from fundy and Mormon message boards are huge, compared to the rest of my audience. To tell you the truth, I think the essential oil multi-level marketing companies are going to get somebody killed, if they haven't already. Essential oils are fragrance product, and they are the purest and most potent form of a plant that exists. This means that they can be very caustic, and that many of them are poisonous. However Young Living and doTERRA Representatives regularly encourage their customers to use the oils for flavoring, to put them in capsules and consume them, and ingest them in other ways. One of the Facebook groups that I am in for essential oil professionals has pointed to a jump in reported poisoning by essential oils.

As I recall, Stacie MacDonald had a screed regarding a head injury of one of her children, which she treated with geranium essential oil on the way to the hospital. I had to close that tab before I threw up. Somehow, these people have convinced themselves essential oils are both powerful and utterly benign. You can't have it both ways. Either something is safe, or it is powerful. It is not both. Many people, me included, will not go near any essential oils without being gloved and masked, because we work with them every day, and once you become sensitized to an oil, you can no longer work with it.
There are actually safety cautions for many oils, including oils that should not be diffused around children, oils that should not be applied to anyone with dry skin, depression levels of something like 1% essential to 99% base oil, etc. And yet, these idiots keep posting away on their blogs and on their Facebook pages, encouraging people to put oil in their water to drink it. The fact that oil does not dissolve in water seems to have completely missed them.

Okay, back to the topic, sorry for the rant. Since this is my business, knowing that there are so many morons running around giving dangerous advice to fellow morons is very distressing.

[princessmahina]

You know, I think it depends on the fundie woman. Caroline, of the Modest Mom blog, has a business that seems to do quite well. She and her husband travel to conferences, where they sell products both of them make. She's admitted in the past that she's been the main (and seemingly only) breadwinner at times. She's had the same business going for years, and while she sells other random shit on the side, she seems pretty focused on the modest clothing business she's got going. 

An exception to every rule, I suppose.

[refugee]

Writing and selling homeschool curriculum would be another. The Bradricks sold a K-12 writing program called Understanding Writing for years. I remember seeing them at homeschool conventions, all in matching clothes. They would sing hymns in four-part harmony. Very impressive act, like something off the cover of Teaching Home magazine.

And that adds another SAHM business venture: homeschooling magazines. Cheryl Lindsey and her Gentle Spirit, Gena Suarez and The Old Schoolhouse, Sue (something) and Teaching Home, and then there was Practical Homeschooling (Mary Pride) and Homeschool Digest (I forget the woman's name) and Homeschooling Today, I think it was, that ran through a couple of publishers, including James and Stacy McDonald. I subscribed to a homeschooling family's Charlotte Mason-themed magazine for awhile. I'm sure there must have been more. I also seem to remember several Virtuous Daughter type of magazines published by SAHDs for SAHDs.

Above Rubies comes to mind.

There's another homeschooling magazine currently being published by the same people who put out a series of planners under the name Well-Planned Day. I don't remember the name of their magazine. I seem to think this might be Gena Suarez's sister, but I might well be wrong and have gotten my wires crossed somewhere.

Cindy Rushton and her thousands of published pages.

I know there are lots more, but that's what I came up with off the top of my head.

[QuiverFullOfTacos]

On 10/22/2016 at 5:43 PM, season of life said:

 If their husbands don't make enough cash, the wives have to supplement income.

Which seems to be a recurring theme with these fundie headships.

[QuiverFullOfTacos]

3 hours ago, desertvixen said:

I agree with both of you.  My thought is that it also makes it easier to push the idea that married women who work are just doing it to provide those luxuries... you know, like a second car or vacations.

Haha, yes. The idea that married women with careers are just doing it to afford "luxuries" rankles me to no end. Go on, tell me our bills and groceries are "luxuries." I dare you. And whenever I do spend my leftover cash on something for myself, guess what? Unlike these fundie housewives and their Plexus posts, I actually earned it.

[JemimaPuddle-Duck]

2 hours ago, QuiverFullOfTacos said:

Haha, yes. The idea that married women with careers are just doing it to afford "luxuries" rankles me to no end. Go on, tell me our bills and groceries are "luxuries." I dare you. And whenever I do spend my leftover cash on something for myself, guess what? Unlike these fundie housewives and their Plexus posts, I actually earned it.

I'm not sure if you're making a jab at Plexus-pushers specifically or non-working wives in general. I don't get a paycheck with my name on it, but when I occasionally splurge on something "selfish" I sure as shoot feel like I earned it. My husband and I both work really hard to support our family; as he puts it, my work makes his work possible. 

Theres so much in this thread I'd like to chime in on, but I do hate sounding like the resident fundie-apologist. 

[Lurky]

So, I guess the thing I've learned is that it seems like more of the "women shouldn't work" style female Fundies are working than aren't?  Or at least the famous (or FJ-famous) ones - which is what I'd kind of been thinking when I started this. I don't know why I'm surprised, but the hypocrisy is strong here.

@bea That's fascinating, thanks for sharing, I'd love to know more

[smittykins]

Speaking of magazines/newsletters, didn't Vyckie of NLQ have one going for a time(justifying it because her husband was blind and couldn't work)?

[formergothardite]

Didn't Terrie Maxwell write the fairly successful Managers of Your Home Cult? There are certain fundie women who are able to pull off the working while claiming to not work thing, but it seems like most are like Jill Rod who ended up desperately begging for people to sign up for her MLM scam

[FundieFarmer]

So who's successful and who's not? It seems, as in the secular world, to come down to who sells the lifestyle the best. The Duggars are picturesque to those who fall for it, Lisa Pennington is cutesy shabby chic (if you believe her). Even Teri Maxwell, who was falling apart at the seams, painted a pretty picture of a tightly organized ship that made other moms envious.

But the others...their veneers have cracks. JRod and the like can't keep it going because they have nothing desirable to sell.

That's my thought, at least.

[QuiverFullOfTacos]

12 hours ago, JemimaPuddle-Duck said:

I'm not sure if you're making a jab at Plexus-pushers specifically or non-working wives in general. I don't get a paycheck with my name on it, but when I occasionally splurge on something "selfish" I sure as shoot feel like I earned it. My husband and I both work really hard to support our family; as he puts it, my work makes his work possible. 

Theres so much in this thread I'd like to chime in on, but I do hate sounding like the resident fundie-apologist. 

I was talking more about fundie wives in particular. And if you want to chime in, do so. Own it. Contrary to what my post may read like, I actually don't have a problem with staying at home, just those people who think it makes them a better wife/woman than someone like myself.

Be proud of the work you do in your home, if that's your chosen career. I know I am damn proud of the work I do outside of it!

[Lurky]

7 minutes ago, QuiverFullOfTacos said:

Contrary to what my post may read like, I actually don't have a problem with staying at home, just those people who think it makes them a better wife/woman than someone like myself.

Be proud of the work you do in your home, if that's your chosen career. I know I am damn proud of the work I do outside of it!

I think this is the thing that bothers me about the non-working workers - they make SUCH a big deal about the importance of being a SAHM/SAHD and have a huge, proud thing about how women shouldn't work, but then it turns into other women shouldn't work, and they have special dispensation.