Fans of the Duggar family have noticed that the children who are still living at home with Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are now doing activities separated by gender, which some have attributed to the Josh Duggar molestation scandal. Yesterday, it was noted that the Duggar boys spent time in Wisconsin for the Fort Rock Family Camp’s Courageous Men of the World event with their father, Jim Bob. During the time there, the boys learned to shoot shotguns and rifles without the girls. It was also noted that a week earlier, only female Duggars were invited to Jennifer Duggar's birthday.
This weekend, most of the female Duggars also spent time at the wedding of a family friend where Jinger Duggar served as a bridesmaid and the youngest Duggar girls as flower girls.
Does the segregation have to do with the recent scandal?
In 2015, news broke that Josh Duggar, the eldest son of the Duggar mega-clan, had molested several of his younger sisters when he was only a young teen himself. News broke via a police report that should have been kept classified, however, was revealed to a larger magazine. As a result, due to the victim's ages being reported in the police document, it became apparent that Josh Duggar's victims were mostly his own sisters, Jana, Jessa, Jill, Jinger and Joy-Anna Duggar.
The sisters have joined together in a lawsuit against the city and the publication, as they were minors at the time of the molestation, saying that their records should be sealed and their names not "cosmetically redacted."
But because of the molestation scandal, some fans think that the Duggar parents are taking precautions so that this kind of thing does not happen again within their family unit, though others are speaking out in comments sections stating that both genders might enjoy the activities that the children are participating in.
Scandal or simply patriarchal values?
The Duggar Family is well-known for their very conservative Christian beliefs. These beliefs also mean that the father is the head of the household, that children come second and that wives answer to their husbands. The girls of the Duggar family have not been allowed to have Instagram accounts until they get engaged, meaning 27-year-old Jana Duggar doesn't even have much a presence on social media.
The family also has strict dress codes, which prohibit the girls from wearing anything but long dresses and skirts, and the men from wearing shorts, though the latter rule may have recently been relaxed as Josiah Duggar was spotted on the boys' trip this weekend wearing long shorts.
The family's patriarchal values run deep and it wouldn't be surprising if these gender segregated activities were less about their older brother being a child predator and more about the fact that Duggar family simply believes that certain activities are for boys and certain activities are for girls.
