Strict Rules The Duggar Family Enact But Don't Adhere To
By Favour Adegoke on January 29, 2022 at 3:30 AM EST
The Duggar family has been a brand name for many years. In 2004, they kicked off their reality show with a special entitled, "14 Children And Pregnant Again!" Although they had undergone several seasonal changes, "Pregnant Again!" was still a constant title. Eventually, the Duggars grew to 19 children, unlike anything anyone witnessed on TV.
The parents of the family, Jim and Michelle Duggar are intensely spirited religious people with long-standing religious beliefs. This resulted in a beehive of formidable supporters who shared their opinions. Sometimes, it also caused controversies.
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The show was canceled in 2015 and was replaced by "Counting On" for more important reasons. The eldest child of the Duggars, Josh Duggar, had allegedly molested his sisters and other minors at age 14. It was also aired that he reportedly faced trial for acquiring and possessing child porno.
After the scandal, the rest of the family had carried on differently. Each member of the Duggar family thrived and succeeded on social media, relationships with other people, and even their families.
In the light of their TV legacy, here are strict rules the Duggar family have laid down but haven't necessarily followed to the latter.
Abstinence Before Marriage
The Duggars have been characterized as Baptists, a conservative branch of Protestantism. The rule mentioned above, which may seem strict to outside viewers, makes more sense when seen within the framework of the family's religion.
This rule, which all Duggar's children are meant to follow, prohibits any form of physical intimacy before marriage.
The family made the world in on their stance when Justin Duggar posted his engagement picture with Claire Spivey a day after turning 18.
In reply to a fan's comment who expressed surprise at the rush, a family member replied that "it was because he wanted to have sex."
Despite this stance, it was rumored that a family member, Jill had a child out of wedlock.
When Jill and her husband announced that they were expecting a child after their marriage, many people found it suspicious. During her pregnancy, the rumors of her getting pregnant before tying the nuptial knot spread like wildfire, and an article reported that an insider confessed that the rumor was true.
Wearing Pants
The Duggar family has spent decades attaching modesty to "skirts." However, the family matriarch, Michelle, was recently spotted wearing pants.
According to The Sun, Michelle took a walk and ran errands with her children in California. Although it appeared that she wore a skirt over the pants, it was pretty evident in other shots taken of her.
Whether or not Michelle is changing her style is unknown, but it's been observed that other Duggar families had thrown out the "no skirts" rule.
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Jinger Vuolo was the first family member to toss out the dress code upon marriage. In 2016, Jill Dillard, who married Derick Dillard, followed suit, as she's been previously seen in workout gear, jeans and shorts regularly.
Jana, the family eldest daughter, has added pants to her outfit. She was initially spotted wearing pants during a game in August 2021. Later on her Instagram, she posted a picture of herself wearing black pants.
Another member of the family, Joy-Anna- Forsyth, also only wore skirts until recently when she was seen in snow pants and sweatpants.
No Body Scarifications
Since the Duggars family have a particular dress code that embodies purity and modesty, it is unsurprising that the family is also against body scarifications in all forms. However, Jill decided to go against this rule and have a nose piercing.
According to the Duggars, all piercing types are harmful, but facial piercings are the worst; they ruin the body and make it impure.
When Jill's followers saw the piercing from her pictures on social media, they were shocked. As reported by People, "Fans of the devout Christian Duggar family quickly called out Dillard's apparent rebellion from her family's faith on Twitter, Instagram and Reddit — with some commenters giving the star tons of support and others still in complete shock. 'I'm shocked she got her nose pierced considering how conservative they are!', one Instagram user commented on her photo. Another gave her support, saying: 'Awesome nose piercing love it. I got mine done in May. A Mother's Day present to myself.'"
No Gender Reveal
Since the Duggars are about natural childbirth, it's not surprising that finding out the gender of the baby is also against the rules. However, at a point, they realized that not finding out the gender of the baby dropped the ratings for their TV series.
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Since then, members of the families have gone on to do a gender reveal. Kendra and Joseph Duggar hinted to their fans that they were having a baby by launching a blue smoke bomb on the show. Jill also did a similar thing when she showed a pair of tiny blue boots in one of the show's episodes.