The Seven Sisters Go to Work

[JermajestyDuggar]

One of the Seven just posted on social media in the past month or two that a person working at a gas station asked if she was Amish. While she was filling up her CAR with gas. She actually found it pretty hilarious and had a good laugh. I would say they all have a pretty good sense of humor about their clothing being different from the mainstream. 

[December]

6 hours ago, Lurky said:

I don't get the whole Fundy thing that it's fine for their school-aged kids to work for money in the ways the parents want, but a career is Satanic!  

So true. If doing those sort of things isn't a career, then what is? A job by any other name is still a job.

13 minutes ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

a person working at a gas station asked if she was Amish. While she was filling up her CAR with gas

To be fair, some groups of Amish don't prohibit driving and lots of people confuse Amish with Mennonite.

[JermajestyDuggar]

7 minutes ago, December said:

To be fair, some groups of Amish don't prohibit driving and lots of people confuse Amish with Mennonite.

I grew up near Amish country so I understand but I don't think this person had any clue. The Duggars have been asked if they were Amish. I would say a large amount of people in the US know very little about the Amish and fundies in general. 

[NachosFlandersStyle]

7 hours ago, really rookie said:

 Why saddle these girls with extraneous information that comes up in internet searches? 

I don't see anyone using full names in this thread. Even if we were, their last name is kind of common, as is the phrase "seven sisters." I really don't think this would be a top Google result.

[Lurky]

18 minutes ago, NachosFlandersStyle said:

I don't see anyone using full names in this thread. Even if we were, their last name is kind of common, as is the phrase "seven sisters." I really don't think this would be a top Google result.

And even if we were, I'm not sure how "on their website they say..." says, well, anything different - or how the average paraphrased comment about them, "they may wear strange clothes, but I really like them" is hurtful!

As everyone else has said - anyone googling them will find them on their own website first.  Tons of people have websites without their full names on, or photos of themselves on, so I am comfortable saying they are doing it deliberately.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I think it's funny someone came to defend the seven sisters on a thread where pretty much everyone said they liked them more than most fundies and are happy for them and their career opportunities.

[Lurky]

12 hours ago, JermajestyDuggar said:

I think it's funny someone came to defend the seven sisters on a thread where pretty much everyone said they liked them more than most fundies and are happy for them and their career opportunities.

Got to admit, it's not the thread I expected to be told we're all wrong in!

[FundieFarmer]

@really rookie, I understand from reading your other posts that FreeJinger is a tender spot for you. Obviously in another thread, posters were speaking with only media knowledge about a family you know and care about. I know how that goes– and I am sorry for that. Though you are certainly welcome here, it may be best just to take a breath and step away from FJ if we are detrimental during the grieving process. 

[HereticHick]

As far as I understand from their blog, the Seven Sisters family have kinda independently decided to wear Anabaptist-type clothing and head coverings. The rest of their Baptist church doesn't do it.

I've always wondered if this isn't one reason they've had no luck finding husbands--everyone they meet is constantly assuming they are a different religious denonimation than they are. They don't fit in with the Baptist singles because of their head coverings and frumpers, and they don't fit in with the Mennonites because of their theology.

[Lurky]

1 hour ago, HereticHick said:

I've always wondered if this isn't one reason they've had no luck finding husbands--everyone they meet is constantly assuming they are a different religious denonimation than they are. They don't fit in with the Baptist singles because of their head coverings and frumpers, and they don't fit in with the Mennonites because of their theology.

But are they actively looking for husbands, do we know?  I'm sure being out in the world and working will give them opportunities to meet people, if that's what they want, and they seem like they are able to respect each other's differing views, so wouldn't need someone with 100% the same beliefs.

[JermajestyDuggar]

2 hours ago, Lurky said:

But are they actively looking for husbands, do we know?  I'm sure being out in the world and working will give them opportunities to meet people, if that's what they want, and they seem like they are able to respect each other's differing views, so wouldn't need someone with 100% the same beliefs.

I agree. They have friends that dress mainstream. They have coworkers that dress mainstream. They come in contact with non fundies all the time (unlike some SAHDs). I'm sure they know some young single men well enough for them to understand their clothing and religious beliefs are not because they are Mennonites. 

I really think these girls are having fun with their careers and own lives and it keeps them from  obsessing over finding a husband. 

And look! Someone was just talking about how they are dressing less and less like they used to. New sister pic shows how different they have become. The only one with a frilly collar is Leah. 

[Lurky]

@JermajestyDuggar That's such a lovely photo of them! What I love about it is, looking at it, you couldn't guess eg the sister who is a pilot, or the one who's a midwife or an EMT just from how they dress.  And I bet if one of them wanted to move into jeans or something like that, the other sisters would support her. 

[Marly]

Anna actually has pictures on her instagram that show her wearing jeans while in Guatemala. 
Although they all wear modest clothing, to me, the fact that the way they dress differs per individual shows that they weren't 'forced' into wearing frumpers and headcoverings, that the choice to do so or not really is up to them.
Also, in her latest blog post Anna openly and honestly discusses that she has been having trouble connecting with god. Although I disagree with their belief system, I really appreciate that she is able to express feelings like these so openly, that they don't have to be swept under the carpet or be repressed by continuous praying. This all makes it seem to me that they do have (at least to a certain extent) 'freedom' when it comes to their religious journey; they are allowed (again, to a certain extent) to find their own way within (the boundaries of) their religion. 
I’m saying ‘to a certain extent’ and ‘within the boundaries of their belief system’ because they are still fundy (or at least, very religious). And although I do think they are allowed more ‘self exploration’ with regards to their clothing style, personal religious beliefs, contact with the ‘outside world’, and career options than I think for instance the Duggar girls are, I think that straying too far from the path – having pre-marital sex, moving in with a partner without being married, being gay and/or being in a homosexual relationship – would still be condoned.

[FilleMondaine]

Oh dear...de-lurking after years because I have strong feelings about supporting women, and I actually hired Jessica (found out about her through FJ no less!) to help with a family website and she was just fantastic. Our family is definitely the opposite of fundie-world, and I was a little nervous because I honestly prejudged . But is it prejudgment when there is so much evidence and experience of fundies only superficially treating a person well? Still, I had a website problem, needed help, wanted to hope for the best. Why not? There are so many men doing website support, so it was neat to have a chance to ask a female and to support women in STEM.

She was wonderful. She knew her techie stuff, and treated me with real dignity and respect throughout. I hope she felt that I treated her the same.

[Palimpsest]

Welcome, @FilleMondaine, and I am so glad you have stopped lurking.  It is also rather fantastic that Jessica got hired because you found out about her through FJ!  I'm fairly sure  some of us have bought things from the 7 sisters Etsy shop too.  Jessica sounds like a lovely and skilled person.

16 hours ago, Lurky said:

But are they actively looking for husbands, do we know?

I don't think they have talked about marriage much on the blog, although others may remember more than I do.   I don't remember any of them doing a Meredith Alexander Hammer and openly pining away at home waiting for a Godly husband at least.

Anyway, they are still young and there is plenty of time.  They are not withering on the vine yet.  I think Jessica is 31, or thereabouts, and the others are still in their 20s.  I do hope some sensible young person sees past (or actually likes) the skirts and headcoverings and the sisters are discerning enough to pick good partners if, or when, they want them. 

But not Arndts.  Those manboys are too screwed up for the 7 Farmgirls, IMO.

[applejack]

4 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

I'm fairly sure  some of us have bought things from the 7 sisters Etsy shop too. 

I have! I bought a dress for an American Girl doll from them and it's just beautifully made and constructed, fits whatever doll I put it on like a dream, and my interactions with them could not have been more fantastic. I'd buy from them again in a heartbeat.

[FilleMondaine]

Thank you for welcoming me so warmly, @Palimpsest because I was nervous about joining in general, and especially nervous because I didn't want to sound like a stan or shill (I've been lurking for YEARS and know that it's not allowed), and I knew better than to write a full review. Thanks for speaking up, too @applejack!

Anyhow, there seemed to be a lot of speculation coming from a genuinely warm and kind place, and well...I had no-snark news to share with people who were no-snark wondering how these ladies were doing. (After the Las Vegas shootings, I also felt a little nudge to do a little positive to the world and maybe warm some FJ hearts, and this time also publicly thank @Palimpsest  for the lovely welcome) Whew! What a long note. Guess I was nervous.

Anyhow--yes, she was a lovely and skilled person!

20 hours ago, Palimpsest said:

Welcome, @FilleMondaine, and I am so glad you have stopped lurking.  It is also rather fantastic that Jessica got hired because you found out about her through FJ!  I'm fairly sure  some of us have bought things from the 7 sisters Etsy shop too.  Jessica sounds like a lovely and skilled person.

 

[anachronistic]

They are all so pretty, and I love how they dress. I would totally date one of them except that I'm pretty sure gayness isn't allowed in their world. Shame.

[Bretta]

You can't judge fundie-ness by style of dress. To be honest, the Seven Sisters strike me as far more "normal" than some pants-wearing fundies, or even "modern" dressing ones. Their theology is less "typical fundie" too.

At least they have more to life, the world isn't a closed door for them. Looks like the Duggar girls, for example, will never break out of the mold. Joy-Anna is by far the saddest, married and pregnant before she can even have a beer. It's not only what they explicitly say a woman can't do, it's the fact that their world is made out of a single path that negates all other opportunities.

[elliha]

There are fundie, headcovering and plain Christians. It is common for those who do headcoverings to also dress plain and to be fundamentalists or very conservative. But there are also plenty of fundies and very conservative Christians who do neither headcovering or plain. There is a very small group who are plain but not headcovering and there is a group who are headcovering but not plain. There are also headcovering and/or plain progressive and/or liberal Christians, I know of Methodists, Quakers, Anglican and Lutherans in this group. Within the plain group there is traditional plain (close to Amish plain), those who allow more patterns and models of dresses but still stay in a more distinct style of simple patterns and mostly home made and those that are modern plain who would mainly use modern styles and store bought clothes but simple models, fabrics and patterns. The seven sisters seem to do plain in the two later categories and they are all headcovering. Plain is a different thing than fundie but they often meet up.

(I am a Lutheran who for about 2 years did modern plain and who for about 7 years did headcovering so I have some insight into this type of dressing and what it means. I have hopes to back to a more flexible modern plain and I think that I will go back to headcovering too eventually)

[Hisey]

Contreversial comment ahead. . . I am sure that the 7 sisters are generally happy at home and enjoying their careers. However, one of them (the oldest, I think) once wrote a piece about how she was turning 25 and surprised she had not married yet. It sounded a bit wistful to me. It was a while back so I don't remember the entire article exactly. So I am not sure they are all 100% happy about their singleness. And if one of them wanted to date, how would that happen? What are the courtship rules of that household?

I'm not sure how this family feels about birth control, or whether the sisters have the emotional freedom to choose differently from their parents. But their mom did have 9 kids. So maybe it's best if the sisters marry a bit later.

It's hard not to be charmed by this family of happy young women. I struggle with my own prejudices (why do they dress that way?) and I am not generally one who even cares about or notices clothes. I don't expect them to be in thigh high boots or wear thongs to fit in with mainstream culture. But why don't they choose attractive modest clothes? Why do they dress in a way that is so standout-ish? They are talented seamstresses, why do they choose patterns that are so unattractive and impractical?

I'm not sure of how I feel about their parents. Fundy parents set the bar real low, so these parents are better than most. But. I don't think that the sisters had the freedom to choose blue jeans when they were minors. I don't think their parents would have allowed that. I think there would be some questions if one sisters took off the head covering that she wears in submission to her father. I am baffled why the adult sisters still wear the head covering.

It also puzzles me that the girls seem to enjoy the attention they get from their clothing, even when they are teenagers (who generally want to blend in). 

[Palimpsest]

@Hisey, not that controversial.  I have a soft spot for them but I'm sure I wouldn't like their beliefs about many things.  I do like that they don't shove their beliefs down our throats as much as many Fundies.   That said, there was one post of theirs that infuriated me.  I can't find it at the moment, but it was about the death of a friend from cancer.  They spent way too much time praising her courage and Jesus - while I was spluttering to myself that praying for better pain control would make more sense.

I also think there was a degree of group-think in their all being personally convicted to wear frumpers and head-coverings. I absolutely agree that they like the way their clothing makes them stand out in a crowd.  Jessica was a tiny bit smug about it when she went to that aviation conference last year.  I'm sure she got extra attention because there weren't many pilots dressed in frumpers and head coverings at the conference - and she reveled in it.  Not in a bad way - but she enjoyed it.

On marriage:  I do remember that they were big on Jasmine Baucham's "Joyfully at Home" in the early days of the blog.  Apparently they are less joyful to stay at home these days as some of them are branching out, especially Susannah moving away to complete her midwifery training.   Their parents apparently aren't stopping them.   In fact they are encouraging them.

3 hours ago, Hisey said:

However, one of them (the oldest, I think) once wrote a piece about how she was turning 25 and surprised she had not married yet. It sounded a bit wistful to me. It was a while back so I don't remember the entire article exactly.

This intrigued me so I went back and looked.  In Jessica's 25th birthday post - 25 things she is thankful for - she says she is thankful:

Quote

6. that I’ve not gotten married yet…may sound strange to you girls but ’tis true   When I think of all the memories and family things that I would have missed out on, and life is so lovely right now, I’m glad I’m where I’m at and don’t want it to change for awhile longer.

http://sevenfarmgirlsisters.com/my-list-of-twenty-five/

Well, it hasn't changed yet and she's still making memories and doing family things.  I hope she is still thankful to be single but she's not completely over the hill yet. 

[Palimpsest]

This is what I meant about Jessica at the Aviation conference - the way they dress is witnessing.  They usually wait until someone asks, although she asked a lot of people whether she could be a commercial pilot and wear a skirt. 

Quote

Another guy named Sam walked up and said, “I’m not trying to be awkward or anything, but could you tell me about your religion?”  Yes, absolutely!  This was a topic that came up quite a bit…I could tell that people were trying to figure out how I fit into aviation   “I don’t know if I’ll still be here at Compass when you’re ready to get into the airlines, but if I can help you, let me know,” he told me as he gave me his card.

I know I dress a lot differently than most women do, but I’m not always thinking about it, and tend to think of myself as being “just like everybody else”.  I get asked a lot wherever I go if I’m Mennonite or Amish, so I’m used to it, but I didn’t really think about how MUCH I’d stand out at a conference like this.  People would ask me, “So how are you connected with aviation?” and I could see their wheels turning   One lady asked me, and she said, “I love the Lord, too!” ♥

http://sevenfarmgirlsisters.com/my-first-women-in-aviation-conference/

I'd also be willing to bet that the Delta pilot wouldn't have let her sit in the cockpit and been so informative - if she didn't seem like an oddly dressed eager puppy dog wannabe commercial pilot.

[JermajestyDuggar]

I wouldn't be surprised if the sisters who seem to wear long skirts, t shirts, and head band type coverings are partially doing it because they get tired of people staring or asking them if they are Amish. I know I would. I HATE when complete strangers come up to me and ask questions about my appearance. That's why I hid in the house when pregnant. No, I don't want to tell you how many months pregnant I am random stranger!

[johnhugh]

I think it’s great that they have been able to spread their frumpers out a bit , but I’m still not 100% convinced. Apart from the Jo-tap exercise thing when the Mum dressed up in Lycra, (much to daddy 7’s delight ;-)) how much is true that  ‘they’ want to dress in frumpers and is it the same ideology as Jim Boob and Stevie M saying their children requested sharing a dorm?

We don’t know too much about Daddy 7 compared to Boob, Stevie and Rickie Arnt.  The same could be said for Mr Eleventy!!!!1!! Are they more controlling than is perceived as they don’t rant on the internet, conferences or have a television show?