Courtney from Women Living Well

[skankbiscuit]

Apparently, she was called out by a woman at her church back in 2003 for being immodest in church. Lots of controversy on the comments over there. Some say the woman was right to do this because it's the woman's responsibility to make sure men don't have lustful thoughts - others say this woman was just a jealous bitch who got pissed when she caught her husband checking out Courtney. The woman also told her that her shoes were immodest because her toes were showing. :roll:

http://www.womenlivingwell DOT.org

edited to break link

[aubrietta]

Toe cleavage! Oh my! So defrauding. All the ebil menz will be lusting after toe cleavage

[fluttershies]

LOL a friend of mine posted this on fb just today. Since when were shoulders and toes ~sexy?

[skankbiscuit]

The thing is I actually kind of like Courtney - I was really angry this bitch called her up and made her feel bad about herself. It was pure jealousy, I wish Courtney could see that, but she thinks she did something really horrible.

[Guest Anonymous]

The thing is I actually kind of like Courtney - I was really angry this bitch called her up and made her feel bad about herself. It was pure jealousy, I wish Courtney could see that, but she thinks she did something really horrible.

Wasn't she one of the ones that was horrible during the Circle of Moms blog contest? She was also way off base in some things she wrote about depression. Not to mention that "divorce is never an option" even in situations involving abuse thing. I don't like her one bit.

[AmyP]

yeah- that story kind of made me sad. I don't agree with Courtney about a great many things, but that woman was way off base calling her like that.

[skankbiscuit]

Wasn't she one of the ones that was horrible during the Circle of Moms blog contest? She was also way off base in some things she wrote about depression. Not to mention that "divorce is never an option" even in situations involving abuse thing. I don't like her one bit.

I think that was the Time Warp Wife.

[geniebelle6901]

I agree. This is nothing but a case of jealousy..nothing more and nothing less. Courtney needs to stand her ground and not let these church ladies bully into a wearing a frumper simply because they wish they looked as pretty as she is.

[Guest Anonymous]

I think that was the Time Warp Wife.

It was definitely her too, but I think Courtney, aka Cujo, whatever was right there in the mix.

[skankbiscuit]

It was definitely her too, but I think Courtney, aka Cujo, whatever was right there in the mix.

Probably, as she is an ass-kisser of the TWW and Candace Cameron Bure. I don't agree with most of what Courtney believes, but I have found her facsinating since she was on Rachael Ray as one of the "1950's wives". Don't like the bible thumping part, but she is always pretty open about her life/marriage not being perfect and she wears pants lol.

[Guest Anonymous]

Probably, as she is an ass-kisser of the TWW and Candace Cameron Bure. I don't agree with most of what Courtney believes, but I have found her facsinating since she was on Rachael Ray as one of the "1950's wives". Don't like the bible thumping part, but she is always pretty open about her life/marriage not being perfect and she wears pants lol.

It doesn't bother me if people like fundies, I guess, even though I really don't get it in this case. Someone who tells a woman that she has no right to leave an abusive marriage is dangerous and foul, though. I think all the modesty police garbage is bullshit too, and that people should mind their own business, but yeah. Courtney's a jerk. Boo hoo, someone got on my ass about my clothes. They shouldn't have done that, but telling someone not to leave an abusive situation is a way bigger issue IMO.

[skankbiscuit]

It doesn't bother me if people like fundies, I guess, even though I really don't get it in this case. Someone who tells a woman that she has no right to leave an abusive marriage is dangerous and foul, though. I think all the modesty police garbage is bullshit too, and that people should mind their own business, but yeah. Courtney's a jerk. Boo hoo, someone got on my ass about my clothes. They shouldn't have done that, but telling someone not to leave an abusive situation is a way bigger issue IMO.

I was not aware of Courtney's views on that issue. I didn't read anything from the mommy blogger contest fallout.

[emmiedahl]

How 'bout these comments?

"I have a ministry called Life After Abuse Ministries International and constantly hear stories of young women who are stalked and attacked because of the things that they wear."

"I taught high school for 8 years, and I became known as the fashion nazi. I’m a “well-roundedâ€, curvy girl, so I know the frustrations with putting on a shirt only to see that bending over would reveal more than I want others to see. So I passed that on to my own students. When those young ladies came to my door, they knew to put a sweater on if their “ladies†were saying hello too loudly and that they wouldn’t be able to come in my room if their skirt and shorts were too short." I want to add, if the girls were following the school dress code, I would have a shit-fit about this as a student OR a parent.

"I have a friend whose husband has a major issue with lust and she doesn’t even like to go to Church with him. The way the women dress and his lustful eye ruin her heart to worship." I keep hearing versions of this story and I have to wonder what is WRONG with these guys.

"In one particular friendship, it was exactly the same issue. This dear sister was a “Martha Stewart†of the church. Sweetly decorating and planning beautiful events. I came to know her because we had kids around the same age. However, I was disturbed by this lady’s choice of wardrobe. Tight, short, low cut . . . EEk!" So this lady is being a stellar Christian and you want to quibble about her hem length. Bitch.

[AmyP]

I think that was the Time Warp Wife.

I think I was reading WLW at that time, it was definately TWW who raised such a stink. I don't think Courtney said much other than that she wasn't going to comment on other blogs and thanked everyone for supporting hers.

[skankbiscuit]

Courtney's husband is a douchebag. He told her he didn't like the smell of her self tanner and asked her to stop using it. She said she was willing to not use it anymore, but asked him if he liked her being tan or if he wanted her to stop using it. He decided he liked the tan more than he hated the smell. :roll:

[Guest Anonymous]

I was not aware of Courtney's views on that issue. I didn't read anything from the mommy blogger contest fallout.

The divorce stuff was unrelated. Here's a Burris article where she addresses some of the bone-headed things Courtney said: http://freejinger.yuku.com/topic/3433

By clicking through her latest video at the Raising Homemakers site, I found some of Cujo’s other YouTube musings. Frankly, I’m blown away. I can’t help but think her life of extreme privilege has left Cujo utterly oblivious to the mixed messages she’s sending and also unable to empathize with the difficult choices average people face.

And I’m stunned by the jarring juxtaposition of her personal style with the hard-line fundamentalism she expresses in her videos: There’s a severe disconnect between how she presents herself and what she says.

The Bible doesn’t contain many hard and fast rules related to dress, beyond a few key principles such as basic modesty (for both genders) and a prohibition against donning the pagan garb of idol worship (more commonly known as the ban on cress-dressing). Esther made herself attractive to her husband, and there are other positive comments throughout the Bible concerning the value of beautiful (though never ostentatious) garments.

But, to me, Cujo is indistinguishable from any other upper-middle class soccer mom. She wears a lot of make-up, tints her hair, dons several rings, and sports what I assume are gel nails. In short, she spends a lot of time and effort decorating herself.

She has also perfected the high-pitched, over-powering, rapid-fire style of speech that seems popular at those conferences right now. (She’s like the Energizer Bunny on Crack.)

And yet, despite this (dare I say, unbiblical) emphasis on personal appearance, she has no problem with taking a harder line than the Bible does on some topics.

She argues, for example, that "divorce is not an option," and that even temporary separation is an affront to God. (Most hard-line fundies admit the need for separation in abuse cases, but not Cujo.)

It’s only much later in her video that she even recognizes the Bible does offer a reason for divorce in case of infidelity, but she completely ignores the same provision for spousal abandonment – and yet this is after her stating explicitly that divorce is never an option.

She then continues...

And if you feel weak. If you feel like, 'Courtney, you don't know how hard my marriage is,' I want to say, dig into God's word. Walk with the King. He will give you the strength you need to smile on those hard days, to ride those waves out, and your children and generations to come will be blessed by your endurance - so endure those difficult marriages and those difficult days and never, ever let the d-word cross your lips about your marriage. Never consider divorce as an option.

She tells women to work harder on being respectful and submissive, and she also suggests that women envision their marriages as happy.

BURRIS' PSA: I'm no fan of divorce, nor of separation. My personal opinion is that divorce is merely a last resort for those who have exhausted all other options for marital reconciliation. Doctors don't chop off limbs that are merely sore or broken; they only chop off limbs that are infected or crushed beyond all hope of repair. Likewise, divorce is the violent sever of one person into two. It never proceeds without leaving major scars, and it should only be undertaken when the conditions are unbearable. (I don't have a problem with the Biblical idea of marriage, either.)

But if your life is unendurable, then don't play make-believe. Your kids will not bless you for your endurance. They will resent the shit out of you for your having dragged them along on your journey of self-immolation. The damage done to a child who even witnesses abuse, let alone one enduring it, is significant and largely irreversible.

You do not have a right to leave a kid writhing in an abusive home just so you can live up to some self-serving fantasist's idea of what a good marriage should be. The abusive spouse is failing to live up to his or her end of the contract.

Then there’s this video, where Cujo opens with the usual gambit employed by a fundie who has been outmatched:

…my last video, where I talked about submitting to our husbands, I got some very negative feedback out on YouTube, and some women who felt very insulted by me suggesting the idea of submitting to our husbands. And I just want you to know that I believe the Bible [she holds up her Bible for emphasis] to be God’s word, and so my basis for this is God’s word, and if you have a problem with this concept, I believe that your problem is with the Bible and with God more than it is with me.

The rest of the video is equally irritating – especially the part where Cujo compares the concept of egalitarian marriage to a four-year-old girl messing up her older brother’s game of Junior Monopoly.

She then makes several great leaps in logic, comparing female independence to selfishness, which leads to chaos, which leads to divorce.

Incredible.

And yet, as I mentioned previously, she doesn't see any disconnect at all between her claiming to follow the Bible literally and her decision to paint herself up like a Kabuki doll. (There - I said it!) dress ostentatiously. [i'm not terribly happy about my "Kabuki doll" comment, now that I read back on it.]

"...likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works." -- 1 Timothy 2:9-10 (ESV)

"Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious." -- 1 Peter 3:3-4 (ESV)

The term "hypocritical" doesn't really cover this. It's more like Cujo is just plain clueless - about a lot of things. How is this level of....I guess, cognitive dissonence...even possible?

**ETA: All bolding is mine.

[skankbiscuit]

The divorce stuff was unrelated. Here's a Burris article where she addresses some of the bone-headed things Courtney said: http://freejinger.yuku.com/topic/3433

Thank you for taking the time to post this.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thank you for taking the time to post this.

It's no problem at all. To me, the pants wearing, well coiffed fundies can be more dangerous than the frumper wearing isolationist variety. They can look very attractive and happy on the surface, but underneath it's the same horrible stuff. The pretty packaging draws people in and little by little they start dripping poison on them.

[skankbiscuit]

It's no problem at all. To me, the pants wearing, well coiffed fundies can be more dangerous than the frumper wearing isolationist variety. They can look very attractive and happy on the surface, but underneath it's the same horrible stuff. The pretty packaging draws people in and little by little they start dripping poison on them.

You are absolutely right, people like Courtney are perceived as "normal" while the Maxwell types are considered fringe wackos - but really their beliefs are the same on many extreme issues. Thanks again.

[emmiedahl]

It bothers me that in the comments, someone is saying that they view modestly differently now that they have a newborn daughter. Modesty for newborns? Shouldn't a baby in the summer spend time in a onesie at most, maybe a sundress at most?

I gave some of my 4 yo daughter's hand-me-downs (when she was a BABY, so we are talking about newborn stuff) to a person who told me they were not modest enough... the skirts were very short and the arms were sleeveless.

[VintageJen1984]

It bothers me that in the comments, someone is saying that they view modestly differently now that they have a newborn daughter. Modesty for newborns? Shouldn't a baby in the summer spend time in a onesie at most, maybe a sundress at most?

I gave some of my 4 yo daughter's hand-me-downs (when she was a BABY, so we are talking about newborn stuff) to a person who told me they were not modest enough... the skirts were very short and the arms were sleeveless.

This is just sick! First of all, if a baby showing thigh or arm chunk is a problem for your husband/father/brother etc there is something INCREDIBLY WRONG with him and it has nothing to do with the baby! Furthermore, if that baby wore long sleeved onesies with legs and feet, it wouldn't "fix" the issue, because there is something still incredibly wrong! And if a baby showing skin is not a problem for any of the males in your life, then what exactly, is wrong with a baby in a plain ole onesie? I mean, that's your defense for female skin below the neck showing for any other age category, is it not?

Just. Gross. On so. many. levels.

[antwan]

all h%ll broke loose at WLW this week. Courtney's former BFF, Angela, hijacked her other site, Good Morning Girls. shut Courtney out, and renamed the site. Wow, that took some serious southern bells.