Why are none of the Duggar daughters married?

[Daenerys]

They aren't all needed to do all the chores and schooling, and the show has been dragging for a while with only the odd pregnancy as a decent storyline. If one of the daughters were to get married and set up home, that would be a major story arc that could sustain the show for at least a season. The girls are attractive and accomplished, and would (at least at the beginning of the show) surely been accepted into almost any fundy royalty family, as well as lesser known ones. We know that at heart JB is a business man, and that TLC would have no qualms telling him what they think should be done to increase ratings. Whilst JB may love his daughters, the stints at reprogramming camp along with the continued lack of education indicate he loves his 'religion' as well. I just can't figure out why none of them are married or have had a serious enough courtship to come to our attention. Especially since some posters are now suggesting proper political office may be JB's ambition, the strangeness of the situation is becoming more blat.ant

[galaxygirl]

Daddy doesn't want to lose his free child care and house keeping.

[Daenerys]

Daddy doesn't want to lose his free child care and house keeping.

He doesn't need all of them for that, though. They have five girls of responsible age as well as Hannie to help out. I'm pretty sure if they married of Jana everything would still run pretty smoothly. They sent her to reprogramming alone and the house didn't blow up...

[Sola]

I'm beginning to wonder if that is why we haven't seen so much of Jana lately. Maybe there is a courthsip on the horizon and her lack of TV time is to do with that. When she is married she'll probably be shipped off to where her husband is from so wont be on TV as much.

[browngrl]

Daddy doesn't want to lose his free child care and house keeping.

might be more accurate to say "mommy doesn't want to lose the free childcare and housekeeping" (aside: what does Michelle do all day?)

[HijabiLady]

The root or Gothardism is iron clad control over one's own spawn. So until JIm-bo deems someone "worthy" enough for his slave girls, they will be SAHDs for a long time to come. Add to that the incredible amount of work his adult daughters accomplish in one day in house slavery, why would he and Michelle be compelled to throw out life time indentured servants? If something is working to your advantage there really is no reason to push for change, know what I mean? This is working for the parents so of course they will continue to slave out their kids until something rocks the boat.

I think the Duggar girls are considered "royalty" in their circle and therefore will only be allowed to "marry up" within their strange hierarchy.

[SpeshulTaterTot]

I think the Duggar girls are considered "royalty" in their circle and therefore will only be allowed to "marry up" within their strange hierarchy.

This. For a while I thought there might be a Duggar/Bates courtship in the works, but JB would never let one of the girls marry down like that. Fake smiles and "omgwe'rebestfriends" or not, I doubt he deems to Bates boys worthy to marry one of his daughters.

[shesinsane]

I think it's a combination of what's been said. The SAHD are very valuable to the daily function of the household, and the Duggars are so high up in the ATI food chain, there just aren't any men good enough.

Or maybe it's as simple as God hasn't told JB that it's time for Jwhomever to start courting, therefore she has not.

[Daenerys]

I think it's a combination of what's been said. The SAHD are very valuable to the daily function of the household, and the Duggars are so high up in the ATI food chain, there just aren't any men good enough.

Or maybe it's as simple as God hasn't told JB that it's time for Jwhomever to start courting, therefore she has not.

Boob IS God in his own household, that's how Gothardism works ;)

[Snickerdoodle]

If some of the older Duggar girls got married, they'd probably move away. And 19K&C would be less "impressive" if there were only, say, 14 kids to film.

[Feberin]

I think the problem has been finding the right guy and giving up the right daughter. I think Jana and Jill are the workhorses in the house doing the majority of the work. However I would assume Jimbob is hesitant to skip over them and marry off Jessa or Jinger. And although this thread is focused on the girls I think the next eldest boys JD and Joseph are too shy and quiet to seek out a wife or have it all aired on the show.

[asinglevoice]

I think the Duggar girls are considered "royalty" in their circle and therefore will only be allowed to "marry up" within their strange hierarchy.

Isn't this going to pose somewhat of a problem? How many fundy royalty families are there that would also be OK for the Duggar girls to marry? I mean, there are people like the Maxwells, but I definitely wouldn't wish any of those sons on anyone, even a Duggar kid. And Gothard himself has no children or grandchildren...that we know of!

[silverspoons]

If some of the older Duggar girls got married, they'd probably move away. And 19K&C would be less "impressive" if there were only, say, 14 kids to film.

I actually think the show would be better if a few of the girls got married or some of the older kids went to college or to intern at the VF (or whatever they would be allowed to do). That way we might get to actually know the middle boys a little more then, they have so much energy.

[pomology]

As much as I realize getting married young in their society is pretty much a given, this question makes me uncomfortable. Jana is 6 months older than I am and the rest of them are younger than I am. Why am I not married? Yes, there's the fact that I'm still in college and not financially independent and blah blah blah stuff the Duggar girls will never be allowed to do, but MOST IMPORTANTLY I haven't met anybody I want to marry yet. Hell, I haven't even had a serious boyfriend. And I have spent infinitely more time hanging out with and actually getting to know people of the male persuasion who are not my relatives than they have. So why haven't they gotten married? Because they're 22 and younger and maybe haven't met the person they want to marry yet. Yes, again, I understand that young marriage is pretty typical in their society, they're probably not given that much choice in who they want to marry, their home life is miserable, and they're never going to have college educations or be financially independent. But they're young and they don't exactly have a wide dating pool and maybe they just haven't met somebody they want to marry. As much as I think Jim Bob is a despicable human being, I can't see him forcing his daughters to marry somebody they don't want to marry.

[shesinsane]

If some of the older Duggar girls got married, they'd probably move away. And 19K&C would be less "impressive" if there were only, say, 14 kids to film.

They'd have to redo the opening credits, "We don't have anyone to cook or clean anymore, but somehow we make it all work." :mrgreen:

[galaxygirl]

I also think that ATI royalty families might think that the girls are too 'worldly' for their sons.

[Boogalou]

If I were the Duggar girls I wouldn't want to get married, that kind of life would be worse for them in many ways than the one they are living now. Right now they have huge childcare responsibilities but three or four sisters (and, very marginally, two parents) to share that with. If they married they would be on their own for quite a while. Their family is quite well off by regular standards, but even more so in ATI standards, whereas if they married their economic situation would almost certainly decline. The show also gives them quite a few privileges and opportunities that would be far less plentiful if they were married. So for them, I think unmarried at home is far better than married to a crazy-ATI-er.

However, I'm not really sure how much say they would get in their own marriage plans. From Ruth's blog, it sounds like she got no say at all, and I'm not sure if this is true of all ATI families or not. Maybe the Duggar's have been approached and the daughter's have turned the guys down? Who really knows. Honestly, I'm not convinced that marriage would be a good thing for them. It would be a lot easier to make their own life choices if they are not saddled with someone like Josh and a bunch of kids. Although, if that creepy Facebook guy has any say about it....

[emmiedahl]

My anthropology teacher called this "the Brahmin problem".

In many cultures, girls are expected to marry at or above their birth status. If you take on the class of your husband, you don't want to take a step downward. Meanwhile, men are more likely to marry at or below their status because there are fewer class considerations; beauty and health are very important, for example. So in India, the Brahmin girls in the most wealthy and high-ranking families often have trouble finding mates. This phenomenon was named for Indian Hindu culture, but it is observable wherever there is distinct social stratification and some form of arranged marriage.

[3 is enough]

I think that the cameras are scaring some prospective suitors away. Not everyone wants their lives documented on film. I would not be surprised to hear of a courtship/wedding once the show ends.

Yes, Michelle would miss having the extra helper, but as we have seen , she has no problems recruiting outside help when one or more of the girls is away.

Jana's only 22. Yes it's young, but she has been raised to see marriage/children as the ultimate goal. The pool of suitable husbands is small, and I wouldn't be surprised if she's getting a bit anxious. I bet she doesn't want to end up as a SAHD for the rest of her life.

[urban teacher]

I think it is both a combination of Daddy Jim Bob and not having any men suitable. They can't marry anyone not ATI.

[camdendayton]

If some of the older Duggar girls got married, they'd probably move away. And 19K&C would be less "impressive" if there were only, say, 14 kids to film.

Agreed. We see now that Josh has continued to be involved with A LOT of the filming even though he has 2 children and a "business." If there aren't all the older girls hanging around how would the show continue?

:roll:

[gustava]

RE: Jana -- Not only must JB want a male of equal or higher status, will he want someone of Jana's age or older? If so, does that narrow the available pool even further?

ATI/staus/age

[Deleted06]

They'd have to redo the opening credits, "We don't have anyone to cook or clean anymore, but somehow we make it all work." :mrgreen:

Maybe they could get Anna to swing by and heat up some Banquet Fried Chicken covered in Cream O'Crap soup for dinner? Unless that's a bit too gourmet for her to handle!

[MandyLaLa]

I've started to wonder if some of it might have to do with the 4 not wanting to break away from each other. They spend so much time together and really are each others closest friends. I could see it being difficult for one of them to break off to get married. Though I know ultimately if Boob wants it and finds someone they'll be gone faster than you can blink.

[debrand]

There seem to be a lot of fundie families in which the older girls don't marry. Part of the problem might be that the girls are taught that normal flirtation is evil. Available boys have no idea that a girl is interested in them. Because they don't want to be rejected, they don't even try.

If I was a guy, before I jumped through hoops for the father's approval, I would want to be certain that the young lady was interested and not just being friendly.