It’s barely been two weeks since Jill Duggar was spotted wearing pants, and she’s already flaunting another of the Duggar family’s strict rules.
(Good for her!)
This time, it’s something that might startle even a more mainstream family: a facial piercing!
The Duggar family is famous for their strict, fringe lifestyle.
They’re part of the Quiverfull movement, believing that they need to produce as many offspring as possible to effectively serve as weapons against the "evils" of, you know, other people.
Jim Bob Duggar and his family believe that women are effectively the property of their fathers until they are married off to a suitable husband, who then controls her life.
Before marriage, the Duggars are only allowed to go courting with chaperones, and famously aren’t allowed to front hug before they tie the knot.
They feel society has been "corrupted" by non-Christian values, which is why they don’t really allow traditional entertainment in their homes.
In many ways, their children are entirely dependent upon family and their like-minded religious community for socialization.
This means that the children don’t really understand that there’s another way to live — not in anything more than an abstract way — until they’re older.
By then, they’re already thoroughly immersed in the Duggar way of life and might be afraid to change anything.
But we sometimes see little hints of rebellion from the Duggar girls.
For many monhts, now, Jinger Duggar has dared to wear pants. We don’t know that it’s technically a progressive move, since her husband, Jeremy Vuolo, allows it.
Vuolo famously stated that: "Jesus does not save people to make them wear skirts."
That’s a very succinct theological view and it comes into total conflict with Jim Bob’s beliefs.
Much more recently, Jill Duggar’s been sporting pants.
Outside of the Duggar family, that wouldn’t have been controversial since the dawn of the 20th Century. But it’s kind of a big deal.
But not as big of a deal as the photo above, which does not depict and unfortunate and strangely lustrous pimple on her nose.
That is a piercing.
Specifically, a stud.
Normally we’d be making a joke along the lines of: "When Michelle Duggar told you to go out there and get yourself a stud, this isn’t what she meant."
But we simply cannot imagine Michelle Duggar saying anything of the sort, even in jest, but that’s a discussion for another time.
A nose piercing isn’t just out of the ordinary for the Duggars, it’s very likely forbidden (spoken or unspoken, it doesn’t happen).
The Duggar’s are opposed to body-modification like tattoos, what with one’s body being a temple and all of that.
We can’t think of a time that they’ve specifically railed against nose piercings, but the only piercings that we’ve ever seen on one of the Duggar girls has been their ears.
And just the single spot, too.
Sometimes, nose rings are a sign of rebellion, particularly for people who have never gotten to make real choices before.
But usually they’re just decoration, because it’s that person’s body and they can decorate it however they like.
As you can see from this sampling, fan reactions were mixed:
– "Good girls going wild a nose peircing ????"
– "1ST JEANS NOW A NOSE STUD GOOD FOR YOU JILL"
– "Wow u have a nose ring??!!"
– "LOVIN’ the nose ring!!!!!!"
– "Leviticus 19:28, ‘Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.’"
– "Love the nose stud! Glad you realized that you can wear jeans and have a piercing and still be a Christian."
– "Put those eyes back in your head before they run away from you!!! Stupid nose piercing. Did you use your grifting money to buy it?"
– "Tell your freeloading, grifter husband to get a job!!!"
Wow.
We have to admit that, although we don’t agree with that last one, the jab at Derick made us chuckle a bit right there.
Especially since the controversial Derick Dillard was fired for his ongoing, out-of-nowhere tirades against Jazz Jennings.
Anyway, good for Jill for decorating her face however she likes, and whatever her parents or other critics might believe.