YLCF gives Margaret Atwood shout-out

[silvia]

ylcf.org/2012/04/thoughts-of-spring

Not that earthshaking of a post, but just wanted to note how hilarious it is that they're quoting Margaret Atwood, about as pro-equality and anti-fundie an author as ever lived. Did OfMerritt approve this message? And have these editresses ever even heard of The Handmaid's Tale?

[MrsYoungie]

Also a couple of quotes from Mark Twain. Granted, the quotes are harmless bits about spring (tra-la) but still.

[silvia]

Not to mention well-known erotic poet and anti-war activist e.e. cummings. Girls, girls, girls. Don't you know you should only be quoting historical figures who get the Conservapedia seal of approval?

[erunerune]

Why do they post this stuff? Makes no sense, but then again neither does anything else YLCF does :)

How much longer do you think this site will go on? I understand that back in the day there were fewer places on the web for young ladies' xtian fellowship, but in 2012 even the most TMI of fundie girl blogs are practically passe in favor of other forms of online interaction.

Also, I will further say that pretty much any of the YLCF contributor's personal blogs are (relatively speaking) more interesting reads, and lately many pieces on YLCF are just that - posts from other blogs.

Oh -- I have a tangent! You know the YLCF courtship stories? I want updates! I don't think they always are aware of when one of the much-touted courtships/marriages ends. Obviously a couple of the higher-profile ones got pulled down, but what about the rest? Those stories are such a mixed bag, as I think all of the Pearl daughters have their stories up, as well as more fundie-lite types.

[silvia]

Why do they post this stuff? Makes no sense, but then again neither does anything else YLCF does :)

How much longer do you think this site will go on? I understand that back in the day there were fewer places on the web for young ladies' xtian fellowship, but in 2012 even the most TMI of fundie girl blogs are practically passe in favor of other forms of online interaction.

Also, I will further say that pretty much any of the YLCF contributor's personal blogs are (relatively speaking) more interesting reads, and lately many pieces on YLCF are just that - posts from other blogs.

Oh -- I have a tangent! You know the YLCF courtship stories? I want updates! I don't think they always are aware of when one of the much-touted courtships/marriages ends. Obviously a couple of the higher-profile ones got pulled down, but what about the rest? Those stories are such a mixed bag, as I think all of the Pearl daughters have their stories up, as well as more fundie-lite types.

I'm sure they'll keep the site around at least as an archive (and as a means of sucking in unsuspecting newbies to the lifestyle), but I agree, the new content is fairly vapid. I was a bit intrigued and confused by this piece ylcf.org/2012/04/the-girl-and-the-glass-heart-a-parable/ , however, which seems to contradict the courtship orthodoxy that girls who've been involved in multiple relationships have "given pieces of their hearts away." Contrast this parable with YLCF's Jennie Chancey courtship story (ylcf.org/courtship-stories/chancey/), where Chancey lectures readers, "A young man should only 'court' one girl... Commit your steps to the Lord each day. Ask Him to help you wait for the one He has for you, and purpose that you will not give your heart away, piece by piece, until it is broken and empty."

The mixed messages could cause an impressionable young maiden's brain to short out. Have women who date/court and break up given away a heart that rightfully belongs to their future husbands, or are broken hearts actually more "truly whole" than unscathed ones?

[erunerune]

I think you have to fully engage the double-think button before unpacking all of the heart metaphors in the context of whatever the YLCF is trying to present.

Personally, I feel like I give away a piece of my internet every time I try to apply logic to whatever's currently prevailing in fundie relationship culture ("Broken hearts suck!" "Broken hearts are amazing and beautiful!" "But they still suck!" "My flower of purity has wilted!"). My internet feels all used up and empty inside.

[fundifugee]

How about if someone comments saying they were so happy to see the M Atwood quote, and that her book The Handmaid's Tale is a must-read for aspiring helpmeets?

[erunerune]

I'm sure they'll keep the site around at least as an archive (and as a means of sucking in unsuspecting newbies to the lifestyle), but I agree, the new content is fairly vapid. I was a bit intrigued and confused by this piece ylcf.org/2012/04/the-girl-and-the-glass-heart-a-parable/ , however, which seems to contradict the courtship orthodoxy that girls who've been involved in multiple relationships have "given pieces of their hearts away." Contrast this parable with YLCF's Jennie Chancey courtship story (ylcf.org/courtship-stories/chancey/), where Chancey lectures readers, "A young man should only 'court' one girl... Commit your steps to the Lord each day. Ask Him to help you wait for the one He has for you, and purpose that you will not give your heart away, piece by piece, until it is broken and empty."

The mixed messages could cause an impressionable young maiden's brain to short out. Have women who date/court and break up given away a heart that rightfully belongs to their future husbands, or are broken hearts actually more "truly whole" than unscathed ones?

silvia, I see your "vapid," and I raise you an "inane." I actually prefer "vapid," but you purposed it out of my head first.

[silvia]

How about if someone comments saying they were so happy to see the M Atwood quote, and that her book The Handmaid's Tale is a must-read for aspiring helpmeets?

Bahahahaaa! OfMerritt would moderate that right quick. You betcha.

[silvia]

silvia, I see your "vapid," and I raise you an "inane." I actually prefer "vapid," but you purposed it out of my head first.

There's also the ever-popular "insipid." I think all three apply in spades here.

[clarinetpower]

"Andrea" did! Way to go!

I thought about posting about cummings erotic poetry, but in hopes that some young ladies will actually read Atwood's book, I refrained.

Margaret Atwood rocks.

[fluttershies]

I once saw a fundie thing (can't remember what, it may even have been YLCF, or maybe Feelin' Feminine) quote Anais Nin and I nearly fell off my seat with laughter :lol:

[genericJname]

I love andrea's comment :dance:

[silvia]

I once saw a fundie thing (can't remember what, it may even have been YLCF, or maybe Feelin' Feminine) quote Anais Nin and I nearly fell off my seat with laughter :lol:

Well, there is this, from some older version of the YLCF website: favoriteforwards.tripod.com/advice_qq_wofw_etc.htm

[ridethekick]

I get the feeling whoever wrote that post just googled "spring quotes" and copy pasted them into the post, without giving thought to who the author was. Either that, or there could be rumblings of rebellion in the ranks :P

[SisiL78]

I get the feeling whoever wrote that post just googled "spring quotes" and copy pasted them into the post, without giving thought to who the author was. :P

I was thinking the same thing. They just looked to one of many quotation sites and searched for the word spring and up came Margaret Atwood. They probably have no clue who she is or what she wrote.

A shame because the Handmaid's Tale is definitely the kind of thing that these girls should read. It shows what extreme religious fundamentalism plus a propensity towards war and domination will lead to in the future. The devaluation of women as keepers of the home and breeders of children and nothing else is exactly what Atwood is warning about in the book. A future where women are so controlled that they are not even allowed to have reading material and where they are labeled and categorized based on their fecundity.

[LucySnowe]

OfMerritt

*applauds*

ETA: then I actually READ the post (all fifty-six words of it) and came over to say 'betcha they Googled'.

And +1 to the 'flower of my purity has wilted' comment. I am giggling here on the sofa.

[emmiedahl]

I once saw a fundie thing (can't remember what, it may even have been YLCF, or maybe Feelin' Feminine) quote Anais Nin and I nearly fell off my seat with laughter :lol:

I think they just pull quotes off google because it makes them seem all literary and stuff. But they clearly have no familiarity with the quoted people because they chose ones who are ideologically opposed to their own.

We're not talking about obscure people, either.

[silvia]

I was thinking the same thing. They just looked to one of many quotation sites and searched for the word spring and up came Margaret Atwood. They probably have no clue who she is or what she wrote.

A shame because the Handmaid's Tale is definitely the kind of thing that these girls should read. It shows what extreme religious fundamentalism plus a propensity towards war and domination will lead to in the future. The devaluation of women as keepers of the home and breeders of children and nothing else is exactly what Atwood is warning about in the book. A future where women are so controlled that they are not even allowed to have reading material and where they are labeled and categorized based on their fecundity.

Oh, absolutely. I just couldn't resist the irony: a site that openly advocates restrictive home-keeping, breeding roles for women cites the wisdom of an author who wrote a dystopian novel about the horrors of that very woman-devaluing philosophy taken to its extreme. The YLCF author, I'm sure, had no intention of being humorous. ;)

[flojo]

I'm sure they'll keep the site around at least as an archive (and as a means of sucking in unsuspecting newbies to the lifestyle), but I agree, the new content is fairly vapid. I was a bit intrigued and confused by this piece ylcf.org/2012/04/the-girl-and-the-glass-heart-a-parable/ , however, which seems to contradict the courtship orthodoxy that girls who've been involved in multiple relationships have "given pieces of their hearts away." Contrast this parable with YLCF's Jennie Chancey courtship story (ylcf.org/courtship-stories/chancey/), where Chancey lectures readers, "A young man should only 'court' one girl... Commit your steps to the Lord each day. Ask Him to help you wait for the one He has for you, and purpose that you will not give your heart away, piece by piece, until it is broken and empty."

The mixed messages could cause an impressionable young maiden's brain to short out. Have women who date/court and break up given away a heart that rightfully belongs to their future husbands, or are broken hearts actually more "truly whole" than unscathed ones?

When you shun one of your only decent authors, quality doesn't exactly increase...

[erunerune]

Um, it appears that the Republic of Gilead censors have disappeared Andrea's comment. Atwood quote still up tho.

[silvia]

Um, it appears that the Republic of Gilead censors have disappeared Andrea's comment. Atwood quote still up tho.

Ha! I knew it! Here's the thing, YLCF ladies: if your ideas are as worthy as you say they are, they should be more than equipped to weather any challenge. By censoring mention of 'seditious' books, you're just making it look like you're afraid your worldview doesn't have what it takes to stand up to well-thought-out contrary ideas.

Of course, the typical hyper-religious homeschooling philosophy is similar: introduce only the ideas you yourself subscribe to and act like all the others are either heretical or don't exist. So why should we expect anything different from the YLCF team, who by and large are products of this stilted, stifled intellectual culture?

[fundiefan2012]

So YLCF posted an article with two pictures of a toddler/preschooler girl without a shirt on. Maybe this is no big deal if it's a picture in a family's home---the girl is a cutie--but posted online? The first thing that comes to mind is she's a bit old to be so exposed for the whole world to see.

http://ylcfDOTorg/2012/05/mothers-and-daughters/

Is it just me?

[silvia]

I'm OK with it personally, esp. since there is no nipple showage. I'm a little surprised YLCF would choose this particular pic to feature, though (given their harping on matters of female modesty), and wonder what the girl herself will think about it when she gets older.

[Conuly]

*I* don't see how there's a problem with showing a topless toddler. I wouldn't object if it were a boy either. They're still really androgynous at that age. I'd rather see a topless toddler girl than one with a little bikini top or likewise to cover the nipples. That smacks of oversexualization to me.

I'm surprised they don't mind, though.