Have you heard of the Quiverfull movement? If you're a fan of the Duggar family, you may be familiar. In the Quiverfull movement, you don't have control over the number of children you have. Every time a pregnancy happens, it's a blessing from God. Without the use of birth control, families can keep growing for decades.
That's why the Duggar family has 19 kids. Under the Quiverfull movement, this is normal. Even tracking your fertility is something that the movement doesn't approve of. That means that when you get married, you may end up pregnant for two decades straight.
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While this doesn't seem ideal to many, some people still believe that this is God's plan. Here are some other things about the Quiverfull lifestyle that you may be unaware of.
In general, women who follow the Quiverfull movement more or less give their lives and bodies to their multiple children. Not only are they expected to breastfeed and be their main support, but they also homeschool. That means that moms never actually get a break.
Women are also not allowed to turn down their husbands if they want sex. That means that part of a woman's job is to always be sexually available for a man — even if she spent a full day caring for their children and isn't in the mood. In a movement like this, women seem to do a majority of the work but aren't valued or seen as individuals whatsoever.
Not only do women need to constantly put their husbands first, but they need to put the word of God first. And according to those beliefs, women can't defy their husband by refusing to perform sexual favors. That means that there could be times when women who follow the Quiverfull movement deal with marital rape if they're not in the mood but their husbands demand it. They get no choice in the matter.
Childbirth is also unassisted.
Many people hear stories about accidental home births. Sometimes, kids don't give you enough time to prepare. But for those in the Quiverfull movement, women are expected to labor at home without any help. Just imagine giving birth without a doctor, nurse, or any sort of pain relief. It may get easier the more it happens, but it's also scary to know that there aren't any quick methods to get your baby seen in case there are complications with birth.
Many liken the Quiverfull movement to be a cult that purposely puts down women and women's rights. While it's always kind to want to be a dedicated life partner to your husband, Quiverfull seems to strip women of any personality aside from that of a wife and mom. Even worse, Quiverfull women don't seem to have friends on the outside of the movement. It can be a very isolating and lonely existence.
Daughters born into the Quiverfull movement are also expected to have a strong emotional relationship with their father. He is known as being the one man in their life, and sometimes that bond can become emotionally inappropriate or too hard to break away from. For daughters who have an abusive father, it's even harder. Young girls are also expected to dress extremely conservatively, thus blocking any temptation from other men. This, in itself, is problematic for a host of reasons.
This insinuates that the only thing that makes women attractive are their bodies. But in the Quiverfull movement, that makes sense — they already want to suppress women from developing a personality outside of the cult, so they assume that procreation is the most important part in building their family and their religious army. Their parents also have a say in who they wed.
The Quiverfull movement doesn't believe in women furthering their education.
Their role is to be there for the kids. And with multiples in many Quiverfull households, it's impossible timewise to do anything else. Quiverfull women aren't expected to hold down jobs outside of child care, caring for the home, and homeschooling. It's almost like Quiverfull women are expected to be trapped inside their house all day, dependent on their husbands for money to survive.
Ex-Quiverfull movement member Vyckie Garrison was interviewed by Vice about the mental toll she suffered while involved. "My health was going down the tubes," she admitted. "Having all the babies that I had, with surgical problems, it actually made it a life-threatening condition for me. After a while my body was just wearing down. Plus I've got this bone condition that three of my daughters inherited so they're having to have treatments — a nine-hour drive each way, several times a year. Physically, it was draining. Emotionally, my husband had become such a tyrant. At some point it crossed the line to abuse."
Women can't even have their own bank accounts.
As a Quiverfull woman, you need to ask your husband for permission to hold a bank account that's different from his. But since your job isn't one that makes money, surely there wouldn't be much in that separate account anyway. Quiverfull women reportedly aren't even allowed to have their own email address without permission. It's almost like they're being told to cut communication with the outside world.
As you likely assumed, it's also wrong for Quiverfull families to embrace the LGBTQ community. This must lead to a lot of inner turmoil for those who are born and feel attracted to men, instead of women — and women, instead of men. It's an unfortunate existence where they're afraid of losing everything by coming clean about their sexuality. It's not a choice, but part of your makeup.
All in all, women who live in a Quiverfull household don't get a choice. They're forced to procreate as often as possible, not having a choice in terms of abstinence or birth control. As women who've given birth know, pregnancy and labor aren't easy. In fact, they could even be deadly if something goes wrong. With the unassisted labor, that ups a woman's chance of serious complications even more.
It's also a way to make women feel as if they have no true purpose in life. Daughters are also treated as servants in the family, and their individual interests and passions are almost erased entirely. Their goal, just like the goal of their mother, is to have as many children as possible to spread the Christian word.
Escaping this cult mentality is hard, but not impossible. It's especially tough for families like the Duggars, who have become celebrities based on their path in life. While instances of sexual abuse have been reported in the family, it was swept under the rug — which is another reason to feel disturbed by this type of lifestyle. Women deserve a choice, and women deserve to be treated like individuals — two things that are taken away from those in Quiverfull families.
