Quiverfull escapees blogging

[tamago23]

A blog entry from a woman who quit the fundamentalist Christian "Quiverfull" movement after having seven children. An excerpt: In the patriarchal world which I will no longer take part of, the Commanding Officers (the men) are forever waging war against the world and the devil. Wives and children are useful as foot soldiers and arrows in this daily

Comments

[vacant_thomas]

One of my very best friends comes from a Quiverfill family. He's the oldest of eleven children, ranging from twenty to six months old. In respect for him, I won't go into all of the details of his mother's horrid existence, but let's just say that some of those children literally weren't her choice.

[tamago23]

Quiverfull families also tend to be, at the least, emotionally abusive environments. At worst, you have men who physically abuse their partners and kids as well; unfortunately, in a literal interpretation, the only reason the Bible allows for divorce is adultery or abandonment, not abuse. :( In fact, some of the douchiest fundies out there, such as Debi Pearl, have actually put forth the opinion that "When God puts you in subjection to a man whom he knows is going to cause you to suffer, it is with the understanding that you are obeying God by enduring the wrongful suffering."

There's a very extensive article about "Biblical Battered Wife Syndrome" here. One excerpt: Moss left Gary twice, but twice was convinced to reconcile with him by their Southern Baptist church, which sent both spouses to marriage counseling, seeking to hear “both sides” of the story. In their focus on reuniting estranged spouses, the counselors gave equal credence to “each side,” equating Gary’s complaints about Moss’s “willful” failures in the kitchen with the

[craftacular]

Horrifying! I read her blog. In this day and age, people really live like this? Did she have to call her husband 'Sir' too? Oy.

[tamago23]

Calling your husband "Sir" because you want to: seriously hot.
Calling your husband "Sir" because you've been brainwashed into believing that God created you as a subordinate, and you'll burn eternally if you don't obey: seriously fucked.

I've come across a number of women in the unassisted birth movement and it never fails to make me sad. It is indeed horrifying that in this day and age there's this growing movement enslaving women in this way, and they cooperate with their enslavement out of fear of eternal damnation. :(

[tamago23]

Er, "a number of Quiverfull women" was what I meant to say there.

[kettunainen]

Thank you for posting this. I'm SO HAPPY that women are becoming disillusioned about this ridiculous lifestyle in such a Public manner. That's AWESOME!

And O M F G, yes, all those UCers out there with their 7-14 kids (yeah, there's a 14-kid mother on the CanadianUC group and she's a year or two older than me)... makes me so nauseated inside.

If I were a shit-disturber, I'd post this article to that mailing list... but I just couldn't give a shit. I'm currently on no-mail, possibly permanently. *shudders*

This whole lifestyle hurts my head fiercely.

[tamago23]

yeah, there's a 14-kid mother on the CanadianUC group and she's a year or two older than me)... makes me so nauseated inside.

Yeah, that sound you heard was me vomiting in my mouth too.

[lordindra]

I sometimes wonder what, assuming the Gospels are true accounts, Jesus would tell these people. He explicitly overturned many of the older Mosaic laws and implicitly overturned more, at least insofar as they were enforced by Man.

I have a feeling that he'd get pissed, say something like "Ya know, I did say I wouldn't kill by flood anymore, but I think I'll make an exception for you fuckeads"

off topic, but you have a lot of knowledge...

[flmeluvr]

this is compleatly unrelated, but I was hoping you could help me out. I'm 20 weeks pregnant and I'm trying to avoid having my baby in a hospital. We've looked at a birth center around here (Allen, texas) and it's really expensive. our insurance doesn't seem to like the whole midwife thing. Do you have ideas for anything to help? or know of anyone i could talk to down here? I know you're not from the states, but it's worth a try.

Re: off topic, but you have a lot of knowledge...

[tamago23]

Often homebirth midwives aren't covered by insurance, but many midwives will agree to either a reduced fee schedule and/or a payment plan if you need it, and some will also accept partial payment in barter if you or your partner have useful skills. A lot of people balk at the idea of paying for a midwife but realistically, how much is it worth to you to avoid the potential trauma of a hospital birth, and give your baby a safer, less stressful entry into the world

Re: off topic, but you have a lot of knowledge...

[flmeluvr]

Thanks : ) I guess i can start calling around. I know one more midwife (about an hour from here) and maybe i can talk to her, and talk to the birthing center again.

I'm not exactly terrified of doing it UC, but I don't know if i would be comfortable with it, since i've never been at a single birth! I'd feel more comfortable with someone there who'd been through it before.

do you know if there are any laws about home birth? again, i know this is outside your geography, but i don't even know where to start looking for that kind of thing.

Re: off topic, but you have a lot of knowledge...

[tamago23]

Check this thread, the second message from the top has info about getting HMOs to cover midwife-attended homebirths in TX.

I also found an Austin-based midwife here that specifies that most insurance plans cover her services. Not sure where Austin is in relation to Allen though, and I know TX is huge. :)

Re: laws, there are no laws against home birth, period, anywhere in the U.S. However, there are (in some states) laws as to who can attend births as a professional attendant. In TX, it's required to have a license from the state to practice midwifery, which I know covers CPMs and also a couple other classes as well IIRC.