Fundie moms vs. hippie moms

[dormouse]

I think this has been discussed in another thread, but I've noticed how many similarities there are between the fundie moms we snark on and the hippie moms. I was raised by the latter, and save for the fact that she is a die-hard atheist, most of the other characteristics were shared:

- Wears mostly homemade clothes, very long and flowing. Lots of long skirts and salwar-kameez.

- Very long hair (and made me keep my hair just as long until I started high school)

- No makeup.

- Food was 100% homemade and unprocessed. Tried a lot of ethnic recipes.

- No chemical cleaning products.

- Very frugal, pennypinching even. Me buying a 1$ bag of chips would lead to a sermon on how this 1$ could have been 10 pounds of potatoes.

- Did not homeschool but we did hours and hours of extra work using her own school books from the 1950's because she said the school didn't teach enough. There were index cards with verbs and vocabulary words on the kitchen wall. And in high school, she would look at my agenda to make sure I was on schedule with my homework.

- Very strict, I couldn't go out with friends as a teen, not even with a curfew, and I couldn't date until I was 18. She sent my dad to get me right after my prom so I didn't have a chance to get promiscuous with boys at some after-party (in Quebec we have 5 years of high school so we graduate at 16 or 17 rather than 18).

- Very anti-alcohol. Recently, she was in total disbelief when I told her that I sometimes have a couple drinks with my co-workers on payday.

Anyone else was raised by (or is!) a crunchy hippie mom who has everything in common with the fundies except the religion?

[BravaAmica]

I think this has been discussed in another thread, but I've noticed how many similarities there are between the fundie moms we snark on and the hippie moms. I was raised by the latter, and save for the fact that she is a die-hard atheist, most of the other characteristics were shared:

- Wears mostly homemade clothes, very long and flowing. Lots of long skirts and salwar-kameez.

- Very long hair (and made me keep my hair just as long until I started high school)

- No makeup.

- Food was 100% homemade and unprocessed. Tried a lot of ethnic recipes.

- No chemical cleaning products.

- Very frugal, pennypinching even. Me buying a 1$ bag of chips would lead to a sermon on how this 1$ could have been 10 pounds of potatoes.

- Did not homeschool but we did hours and hours of extra work using her own school books from the 1950's because she said the school didn't teach enough. There were index cards with verbs and vocabulary words on the kitchen wall. And in high school, she would look at my agenda to make sure I was on schedule with my homework.

- Very strict, I couldn't go out with friends as a teen, not even with a curfew, and I couldn't date until I was 18. She sent my dad to get me right after my prom so I didn't have a chance to get promiscuous with boys at some after-party (in Quebec we have 5 years of high school so we graduate at 16 or 17 rather than 18).

- Very anti-alcohol. Recently, she was in total disbelief when I told her that I sometimes have a couple drinks with my co-workers on payday.

Anyone else was raised by (or is!) a crunchy hippie mom who has everything in common with the fundies except the religion?

I'm actually really crunchy. I don't have everything in common, but a lot:

- Very little processed food. Like maybe some whole wheat pasta, canned tomatoes, and natural peanut butter. Most of our produce, meats and dairy are local/organic. I'm lucky to live in an area where it's affordable to do that. I also make a lot from scratch. But I mainly do that because it's cheaper for us to eat that way and I have the time to do it.

- Natural cleaning products, mostly homemade (except for dish soap and laundry detergent). DS has asthma, any strong fragrance triggers an attack.

- DS does extra school work. If his teacher didn't assign any homework, he has to do some extra reading or work on his science projects. We did the vocabulary cards when he was learning to read.

- Frugal but not obessesive about it. I will buy the occasional bag of chips, or dinner out. We'll even go to the movies and buy the popcorn! What's the point of saving money if we don't get to enjoy ourselves once in awhile.

- I do not dress "crunchy." My clothing isn't homemade or long skirts. It is current but purchased at Goodwill or Value Village. I also get a decent hair cut and wear make up.

- I am strict on DS about his behavior and who his friends are.

- I do not drink alcohol. Well, maybe a glass of wine at xmas but that's it. I'm not anti-drinking, I just don't like it. I do cook with wine sometimes, though.

I think the Fundie moms have their habits because of their self-sufficiency attitude and also because it really is cheaper (although a lot more work) to make clothes, food and cleaning products. It has nothing to do with respecting the Earth and being a good steward of this wonderful place we call home.

[oscar]

The only major difference between this list and how I was raised was that my parents were not strict with me or my sister at all. My little brother was much more supervised, but especially as a young teen, he was susceptible to peer pressure in ways that my sister and I were not.

My mom's attitudes toward good stewardship were explicitly motivated by her religious beliefs. It's interesting to see how similar practices can be justified by very different principles.

[2xx1xy1JD]

I'm familiar with the Orthodox Jewish crunchy sub-culture, and there's a tension between it and what I'll call conformist ultra-Orthodoxy. There are whole communities like that in Israel.

Here's an example: http://www.pennilessparenting.com/

Ever seen the Baby Story episode with the Orthodox mom having a home waterbirth? That's one of my cyber-pals.

[leena_noor]

I think I actually started a thread about this awhile ago and kept wondering when other people would bring it up. My mom

-totally made us our own clothing

-sometimes they were frumpers...in the 90's.

-incredibly modest

-Doesn't shave (I do!)

-rarely if ever wears makeup

-made our own food for the most part from scratch

-buys grain in bulk and figures down to the cent how much bread costs (including electricity!)

-incredibly garden--eats, cans own produce

-I wasn't homeschooled but we def. had the school of the dining room table and my parents beat liberalism into me.

-parents were pretty strict about where I could go, with whom etc, but generally I policed myself.

-crocheting/knitting everything

My family isn't super crunchy but I wouldn't mind living on a farm with my own animals, garden etc. I love cooking from organic and scratch and knowing where my food is coming from. Making your own clothing is a little too much for me, but I make jewelry, sew purses, crochet and pretend to cross stitch. The difference is, we don't do it for religious reasons. I eat well because I want to, I crochet b/c it's beautiful. I don't work because I'd rather go to school and my husband can support us. I'm not being forced to do anything and I love it.

[Sola]

I think this has been discussed in another thread, but I've noticed how many similarities there are between the fundie moms we snark on and the hippie moms. I was raised by the latter, and save for the fact that she is a die-hard atheist, most of the other characteristics were shared:

- Wears mostly homemade clothes, very long and flowing. Lots of long skirts and salwar-kameez.

- Very long hair (and made me keep my hair just as long until I started high school)

- No makeup.

- Food was 100% homemade and unprocessed. Tried a lot of ethnic recipes.

- No chemical cleaning products.

- Very frugal, pennypinching even. Me buying a 1$ bag of chips would lead to a sermon on how this 1$ could have been 10 pounds of potatoes.

- Did not homeschool but we did hours and hours of extra work using her own school books from the 1950's because she said the school didn't teach enough. There were index cards with verbs and vocabulary words on the kitchen wall. And in high school, she would look at my agenda to make sure I was on schedule with my homework.

- Very strict, I couldn't go out with friends as a teen, not even with a curfew, and I couldn't date until I was 18. She sent my dad to get me right after my prom so I didn't have a chance to get promiscuous with boys at some after-party (in Quebec we have 5 years of high school so we graduate at 16 or 17 rather than 18).

- Very anti-alcohol. Recently, she was in total disbelief when I told her that I sometimes have a couple drinks with my co-workers on payday.

Anyone else was raised by (or is!) a crunchy hippie mom who has everything in common with the fundies except the religion?

Eeek, most of that applies to me.

Diehard atheist - pretty much obvious.

Wears mostly homemade clothes, very long and flowing. Lots of long skirts and salwar-kameez. - that would indeed be me, also my daughter wears mostly homemade clothes.

Very long hair - well not me, mine is shoulder length but my daughter has really long hair. I did used to have really long hair though, right up to my son being a few months old. But then he discovered the joy of making me scream by pulling a handful of hair so it got cut shorter. I suppose I should have just reached for the plumbing line instead....

No makeup - can't remember when I last wore makeup.

Food was 100% homemade and unprocessed. Tried a lot of ethnic recipes. - Yes definitely. However as my daughter is allergy central it is needs must. I love ethnic recipes.

No chemical cleaning products. - over priced for what they are. They clean no better than the things your grandmother would use. Plus there's the issue of allergies too.

Very frugal, pennypinching even. - I am as tight as a ducks arse, or so the local saying goes.

Homeschool - did for one year out of necessity. Daughter was too ill to attend school. I would do it again though.

Very strict - according to my son I am!

Very anti-alcohol - HELL NO!!

I would love to have a smallholding/homestead. Nothing too big but big enough to have a bigger house (I want a craft studio so much), keep a few chickens, maybe goats, grow some veggies. That's one of the things I enjoy reading about/am envious of with some of the fundies we snark on here. But land here in the UK is horrendously expensive so it remains a pipe dream unless we have a lottery win.

[Soldier of the One]

My mother was a bit of a hippie and I am still a bit crunchy, but some of the comparisons hold up. I also like making things from scratch, dress modestly, try to live simply, love crafting and domesticity and am staunchly monogamous.

But then again, I am also a feminist, pro-choice, an ardent lover of science and am politically very liberal. Oops.

[Guest Anonymous]

Hippy Mom here.

I grew it canned it and preserved it, cooked it.

No processed foods, bought needed supplies in bulk.

Worked outside of the home with a SAHD(ad)

Spawn was exposed to a lot of diversity

Good LGBT role models in extended family

Public School

Long hair but frugal fashion Divas

Lived rurally but traveled to big cities, and other countries

Make up and pedicures a must

UU instead of church

Not strict

No hitting

Lots of live music, theater, art

No censorship when it came to books. Limited film censorship

2 meals a day with family

Exposure to polyamorous families and nontraditional relationships

[dormouse]

-Doesn't shave (I do!)

I totally forgot about this one on my list, my mom doesn't shave either. One day I was de-cluttering my beauty supplies and found an unopened box of disposable razors of a brand I remembered not liking. I asked my mom if she wanted them, and she said: "No, (boyfriend) actually likes hair. It's natural, we are mammals after all!" Awkward. :roll: I admit I occasionaly skip a few days in the dead of winter, but walking around in the summer with hairy legs and armpits, never.

[Guest Anonymous]

Shaving optional, waxing preferred.

[ilovetchotchkes]

I totally forgot about this one on my list, my mom doesn't shave either. One day I was de-cluttering my beauty supplies and found an unopened box of disposable razors of a brand I remembered not liking. I asked my mom if she wanted them, and she said: "No, (boyfriend) actually likes hair. It's natural, we are mammals after all!" Awkward. :roll: I admit I occasionaly skip a few days in the dead of winter, but walking around in the summer with hairy legs and armpits, never.

Under the arms YES, my legs havent been shaved since my wedding (in 2006). I have REALLY sensitive skin and get awful razor burn despite using cream and the special "Gentle" razors. :(