The Duggar Family Has Strange Modesty Standards

Duggar Family | Instagram

The Duggar family is known for its ultra-conservative household and strict rules. Christian fundamentalists Michelle and Jim Bob had 19 children, and the road has not been without scandal.

A recent online conference demonstrated that the rules are strict even for adult children living in the home. Michelle and Jim Bob admitted to monitoring their adult children's web history and also discussed modesty standards for all their children.

The Duggars have discussed their dress code in the past, but the latest info from the live conference shows that the standards go beyond covering their knees and verge into territory where advice includes, "Lock the bathroom door."

Duggar Family | Instagram

Many people familiar with the family know that the Duggar women and girls have a dress code that has evolved over the years. While the early days of the Duggars were all about prairie dresses, now the girls cover their knees and shoulders. They don't wear pants, and they don't show cleavage. In their book, they make a point of mentioning how they cover the top of their shirt when they bend over to ensure their necklines cannot be seen.

Some married Duggar women, like Jill and Jinger, step outside of family rules to wear pants.

Duggar Family | Instagram

In early iterations of the 19 Kids and Counting franchise on TLC, one of the young girls is caught by cameras holding her hand in front of the chest of one of the morning show news anchors. She alludes to the fact that the young boys could be tempted by the anchor's shirt.

Additionally, it emerged that the Duggars had a code word they would use to tell the boys and men in the family to avoid looking at women who might tempt them. They would use the word "Nike" to alert them to a "threat."

Duggar Family | Instagram

On the recent Q&A Jim Bob and Michelle took part in along with daughter Jessa, those watching learned a lot more about the family. Apparently, Jim Bob and Michelle are still doing a lot to ensure that their daughters are modest and avoid allowing boys and men to have impure thoughts. Unsurprisingly to critics of the family, the family pins most of the responsibility on the girls in the family.

Michelle describes instructing the young girls in the family to lock the bathroom door to prevent people from walking in and seeing them. There was no mention of talking to others in the family about knocking on doors or respecting privacy. They describe that their teachings allow their daughters to be "this present that's wrapped" for their future spouses.

Duggar Family | Instagram

The comments about locking the bathroom door disturbed many people who are familiar with the Duggar's history of scandal. Many have been critical of the fact that Jim Bob and Michelle make a huge deal out of modesty for girls (and not necessarily for boys) so that they can become gifts for their husbands.

Additionally, the Duggars once asked to have Michelle's knees blurred while she was water skiing and her long swimming skirt briefly moved out of place. Many found this strange considering that Michelle has shared pictures of herself showing her knees when she was younger.