Jana 7: Home Sweet TTH

[Snarkasarus Rex]

I don't get why people think she's going to get her own show.  She's not a household name...most people have no clue who she is much less her decorating talent.  

[mpheels]

1 minute ago, Snarkasarus Rex said:

I don't get why people think she's going to get her own show.  She's not a household name...most people have no clue who she is much less her decorating talent.  

The expectation is not that her name is a huge draw. Very few personalities from Food Network or HGTV are household names from the start (or ever). The expectation is that the Gaines have to fill a lot of air time with lifestyle TV content that fits their brand - inoffensive, vaguely Christian, and accessible for the budgets of the average American. Jana’s performance on home decor episodes of Counting On fit that brand to a T. She’s photogenic, has a decent sense of home style, and isn’t afraid to pick up a hammer or jump in the cab of a front loader. 

[nickelodeon]

3 hours ago, nastyhobbitses said:

Should we start the Jana Cancellation betting pool? Step right up, folks, and place your bets on:

I'm wagering on super-uneasy spanking apologism or equally uneasy shaming of single/childfree women with jobs!

[Toothfairy]

Jana has Instagram? I'm shocked. Did she ver engaged? Did she move out? Did Jim Bob loosen the reigns? Duggar kids only get social media when they're dating or married. 

[EmainMacha]

She's grateful to her mum for having her? Do people say that? Or is that the first, subtle anti-abortion rumblings coming through?

[Toothfairy]

On 1/10/2019 at 10:42 PM, AnnaRuk09 said:

Umm... Josh Duggar’s ? You might want to go to the kitchen and boil your face!

He looks like a 50 year old man who stays at home and eats junk food. 

[justmy2cents]

19 minutes ago, EmainMacha said:

She's grateful to her mum for having her? Do people say that? Or is that the first, subtle anti-abortion rumblings coming through?

My daughter says that to me, however she's 8!

[Sky with diamonds]

Oh Jana. I hate to say this, but with those fir couple of posts, it's as if Michelle wrote it. Oh dear. 

[HarleyQuinn]

I'm not used to Jana's "voice" but apparently it sounds just like every other fundie girl.

[Taylurker]

Jana still lives at her parents' home, so I really don't expect her social media to be off the beaten path from the rest of the Duggars. She is probably very aware that she has to watch what she says, and I predict will be more "social media savvy" even as she marries and moves out of the house one day. 

[TheMustardCardigan]

I mean, she was tasked with managing the Duggar Family insta, right? So I guess her voice feeling like Michelle speaking isn’t so unexpected. 

[StraightOuttaArkansas]

I think we all have wildly different expectations on what it would mean to each of us for Jana to be "not fundie". I know this discussion has been had on multiple threads so I am not trying to bring that up again, just remind and make my case that I am not a member of the "Jana Duggar Fan Club". I do think some are underestimating what a bit of distance would do (I also think we did see a change in Jinger even if superficial), that being said, unless she leaves AR altogether dropping most of her abortion related or "the US is a Christian country" type beliefs is going to be hard and likely not something she would just run around publicly announcing, more like just avoid talking about it. That is mainstream thoughts there (at least what I experienced in one of the bigger cities growing up). My bar is set very low for her, but I do think that she will drop the more racist beliefs, especially if she marries a more tolerant spouse (like Ben). I think it is possible for her to shift to a "not comfortable with abortion, but I won't take someones choice" belief privately. I do not think she will ever leave the conservative Christian world, but then again I think the same about half the people on my FB and some of them really do think they are liberals (and I am an evil commie :D). I really hope this does not come off as fangirling. I just seem to be an eternal optimist in this case with the hope that at least one of them will do something different and be a hope/light for others stuck in fundie lifestyles.

[LittleOwl]

13 hours ago, EmainMacha said:

She's grateful to her mum for having her? Do people say that? Or is that the first, subtle anti-abortion rumblings coming through?

I wonder if JRod is waiting for her kids to write birthday posts like this on their birthdays... 

[Drala]

I got to thinking about Jana after reading Linda Kay Klein's book "Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation."  As the oldest daughter, she may have internalized the full force of the shame message in ways that became more muted with her younger siblings.  For example, the courtship rules adopted by Anna and Josh were much stricter than those adopted by Jinger & Jeremy or Joy & Austin.  Although she apparently wasn't victimized by Josh, we can speculate that his perpetration may have negatively impacted her attitudes toward boys and men.  

Given the belief that only marriage and motherhood will fulfill her potential, it is strange/unusual that she hasn't gone down that road yet.  She's very attractive & accomplished--it's not like there haven't been potential suitors--but she has spurned their interest in her, despite the powerful cultural norm that mating and reproduction are her primary purpose in being.  Yes, she's picky, but there isn't much of an honored space for consecrated virgins within the fundiedom that defines her world.  What if she is a victim of the purity culture, inasmuchas she has tamped down & repressed her sexuality to the point she avoids any meaningful contact with potential suitors?  What if she's afraid of intimacy and sex?  Or, if it's not fear of intimacy, what if her identity, her sense of self, is heavily dependent on ideals of purity?

I don't know.  I just get the vibe from reading her IG that she uses her religiosity as a shield against letting men get too close. She reminds me of a nun.  (I was once steeped in catholic culture.)  For example, the IG  photo she chose of herself--looking down, with head slightly bowed--or the "God alone" scripture she chose to represent her interior reality.  This is not to say nuns necessarily fear intimacy and sex, but that aspect of human experience definitely gets sublimated in their commitment to a life of chastity.   For some people, there's a place where inviolate bodily integrity and spiritual identity are so tightly bound together that to be true to themselves, they choose a life of celibacy.  

I wouldn't be surprised if she never marries, and I don't think the IG account signals that she's courting.  (But then, I'm not steeped in extreme fundie culture!)  I do think her IG account reflects a desire on the part of her family to give her wider exposure and potentially, to find a mate.   Jessa clearly wants to see Jana hook up with someone and can't imagine how Jana could live a happy, fulfilled life as a single woman.  Well, I can.     

[FreeMiriam]

JRod will probably write these birthday posts in 3rd person and give them to her kids to post on their social media accounts, she won't wait for them to do it themselves.

 

It's kinda odd that Jana posted a praise to Michelle on her own birthday, as if it was Mother's Day. I don't think it's weird how similar her writing style is to Michelle's, I bet Jana has written quite a few congratulatory posts on her family's instagram over the years, maybe what we consider Michelle's style was Jana all along.

[front hugs > duggs]

I know this is so superficial, but wow, Jana is gorgeous. I think she looks absolutely beautiful in those pictures. 

*bad beliefs, Front Hugs, BAD BELIEFS!* 

[AnnaRuk09]

1 hour ago, FreeMiriam said:

It's kinda odd that Jana posted a praise to Michelle on her own birthday, as if it was Mother's Day. I don't think it's weird how similar her writing style is to Michelle's, I bet Jana has written quite a few congratulatory posts on her family's instagram over the years, maybe what we consider Michelle's style was Jana all along.

I can’t help but think that one of the reasons she got an IG was to have a voice for herself in the world. She knows all the rumors and stuff that’s been said about her and her family over the years. She could feel the need to finally defend herself and her family by posting these types of messages. 

[Glasgowghirl]

18 minutes ago, AnnaRuk09 said:

I can’t help but think that one of the reasons she got an IG was to have a voice for herself in the world. She knows all the rumors and stuff that’s been said about her and her family over the years. She could feel the need to finally defend herself and her family by posting these types of messages. 

If that was the case I would not blame her for that, some of the rumours I have heard about her are pretty shocking. 

I like Jana but I don't expect her to have any different beliefs from her parents.

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, Drala said:

I got to thinking about Jana after reading Linda Kay Klein's book "Pure: Inside the Evangelical Movement that Shamed a Generation."  As the oldest daughter, she may have internalized the full force of the shame message in ways that became more muted with her younger siblings.  For example, the courtship rules adopted by Anna and Josh were much stricter than those adopted by Jinger & Jeremy or Joy & Austin.  Although she apparently wasn't victimized by Josh, we can speculate that his perpetration may have negatively impacted her attitudes toward boys and men.  

Given the belief that only marriage and motherhood will fulfill her potential, it is strange/unusual that she hasn't gone down that road yet.  She's very attractive & accomplished--it's not like there haven't been potential suitors--but she has spurned their interest in her, despite the powerful cultural norm that mating and reproduction are her primary purpose in being.  Yes, she's picky, but there isn't much of an honored space for consecrated virgins within the fundiedom that defines her world.  What if she is a victim of the purity culture, inasmuchas she has tamped down & repressed her sexuality to the point she avoids any meaningful contact with potential suitors?  What if she's afraid of intimacy and sex?  Or, if it's not fear of intimacy, what if her identity, her sense of self, is heavily dependent on ideals of purity?

I don't know.  I just get the vibe from reading her IG that she uses her religiosity as a shield against letting men get too close. She reminds me of a nun.  (I was once steeped in catholic culture.)  For example, the IG  photo she chose of herself--looking down, with head slightly bowed--or the "God alone" scripture she chose to represent her interior reality.  This is not to say nuns necessarily fear intimacy and sex, but that aspect of human experience definitely gets sublimated in their commitment to a life of chastity.   For some people, there's a place where inviolate bodily integrity and spiritual identity are so tightly bound together that to be true to themselves, they choose a life of celibacy.  

I wouldn't be surprised if she never marries, and I don't think the IG account signals that she's courting.  (But then, I'm not steeped in extreme fundie culture!)  I do think her IG account reflects a desire on the part of her family to give her wider exposure and potentially, to find a mate.   Jessa clearly wants to see Jana hook up with someone and can't imagine how Jana could live a happy, fulfilled life as a single woman.  Well, I can.     

I thought that too. I wonder if she were Catholic (oh the horror!) if she would be a nun. 

[nickelodeon]

22 hours ago, ariel9 said:

Isn’t the March for life during the spring? So can she court whom we would expect which would confirm/empower her to voice her anti-choice political alignment? 

It’s this Friday! So there’s a possibility that the great Jana cancellation might happen this weekend, like a Martin Luther King Jr. Day miracle.

[Vivi_music]

8 hours ago, StraightOuttaArkansas said:

I think it is possible for her to shift to a "not comfortable with abortion, but I won't take someones choice" belief privately.

I am really unsure about that one. I think I am a pessimist but I don't see any of the Duggars leaning towards an eventual ''tolerance'' toward abortion even in private (if that is what you are describing). Being anti-abortion is so engrained in their faith. Isn't it basically at the core of their beliefs? I see it as at least much more important than wearing skirts-only or even some stricter courtship rules. For them being pro-life is not just a personal stance - while it is at a certain level, it goes beyond what they believe is right for them as a person. When you are a fundamentalist, it is a broader issue, with consequences on a divine stage. It is something that needs to be stopped, as a sin perpetrated by the nation.

Despise maybe starting to be more exposed to secular culture, I don't see any of the Duggars dropping those pro-life ideals any time soon. I hope I am wrong though. I do wish SO BADLY that one of them will escape and open their point-of-view a bit like Megan Phelps-Roper did after leaving the Westboro Baptist Church. The way she was very vocal about her mentalities evolving and changing is so refreshing. Maybe one can hope.

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

I also wonder if Jana is setting her self up to be the family Matriarch, JB & M aren't going to live for ever and as the oldest daughter it will kind of fall on her to be the "go to woman" in the family. I can really see her taking over for her parents in keeping the children in line and making sure the family grandchildren.  I can also see Boob handing over the reigns of the money to her. If she is single, he won't have to worry about shady Sons in law getting their mitts on the family fortune, and I'm betting everything he owns, he doesn't trust Josh as far as he could throw him.  Jana has proven loyal and trust worthy to to the family and to JB's cause. 

[Timetostoplurking]

I have written this before and now seem like a great time to repeat myself.   The 4 oldest Duggar girls remind me so very much like me and my 3 sisters.  So much so that it is scary.  Not politically, but our personalities are so much alike our Duggar counterparts.  #1 daughter (Jana) married later than the rest of us.  She is the most like our rather conservative parents and tends to repeat phrases and lingo that my parents use.  She also is closer to my mom than the rest of us.  Based on this, I would say that Jana is probably a lot like Michelle.   As much as I wish it were not true, I think it is!   She helped raise all/most of those kids and was right there as Michelle’s right-hand-girl all those years.  

#1 and I used to fight a bit when we were young, but now that we are older we get along really well. (I’m #3/Jessa).  #2 is off-the-rails strange with an equally strange husband.  Very Dillardish. #2 has had some questionable parenting moments.  (Sound familiar)   #4/Jinger is the most fashionable and the most likely to want to shock my parents.  She purposely will sneak in little comments to get attention or to make a point.   #4 would be the one to wear an outfit that gets attention.  Think...a red dress at a funeral.  Not really shocking, but not really what my parents would want.  That sort of thing.  Kinda like wearing pants.  Lol.    Me? Sitting here at #3?  Well, I’m the most normal.  I’m the one that gets along with all of them. Even when they don’t get along with each other.   Much like Jessa.  She seems to have a relationship with all sisters (4 oldest) and Jill.  Jill doesn’t seem to show up in pictures with her other sibs. ( I can’t prove this since I don’t follow them, but it seems like Jessa is the closest to Jill, correct me if I’m wrong)  maybe?

I’m just guessing on all of this, but birth order is a “thing” and it is interesting to compare.

 

[Bobology]

To add to the Jana getting a show on the Gaines new network (or whatever, I'd never heard of them until this thread,) speculation: doing so would introduce her to many more available men. Not just crew, but specialists and consultants on her show, and they might be fundie light or, as @mpheels coined, vaguely Christian... enough to pass JB's interrogations if Jana were interested.

A savvy yet quite decent guy otherwise could pass JB's questionnaire. I'm pretty sure that Derick would never pass the new, written obstacle course JB has set up. Could he be the reason the 50-page thing started? Someone discussed this at some point but I can't remember where, when or who or what the consensus was. I was still a lurker back then, not that being a member has increased my memory capacity, but I wasn't fully 'vested' in many conversations.

[luv2laugh]

I have friends of friends that are fundies within the IBLP circle and stay at home daughter movement. Some of the daughters are like Jana in their late 20s and they keep praying that God will bring a man to them and drop him off on their front door. They do not do anything to seek a man. They are anxiously waiting to become wives and mothers yet they truly do believe God will bring the right man to them. I believe Jana is the same way. Obviously, the chances of Jana having basically having God drop a man off to her are more likely given her fame but I believe Jana has rejected the ones she hasn't been interested in and could be also desperate to become a wife but not doing anything to initiate contact with a man, much like these other stay at home daughters.
 

We don't really know but my point is that the stay at home daughter model and the frowning upon them initiating contact with someone they're interested in hurt them in this manner. They can't simply sign up for an account on Christian Mingle or ask for someone's number without being treated like a "bad girl" by their family.  To be a "good girl" they have to be modest and meek, never initiating any contact with anyone they're attracted to. I can see Jana turning down creeps like Derick and continuing to pray for someone she's attracted to, to come along the way.

Also, many of the IFB churches they attend are filled with elderly people. The people their own ages are flocking to the evangelical mega churches that play CCM music.