'Nothing in the scripture': Joy-Anna Duggar reveals why she chose to wear pants for the first time ever
COMBS, ARKANSAS: Joy-Anna Duggar has explained why, after learning that wearing anything other than a skirt or a dress was "immodest" in her home as a child, she decided to wear pants. The 25-year-old ex-TLC star explained how she changed her perspective from the rigorous thinking that her parents Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar instilled in her and her siblings as a result of the teachings of The Institute in Basic Life Principles, the family's religious organization.
In a recent video she uploaded on her YouTube account, Joy-Anna said she and her husband Austin Forsyth, 29, had 'prayed' for a "long time" over the choice to wear trousers.
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'I'd always worn skirts my whole life'
Despite being in "no rush" to add the item of clothing to her closet, she said they started talking about pants during their first year of marriage, and she added that they "studied scripture" before making a decision. Joy-Anna explained why she quit wearing solely skirts or dresses in a video that was posted on March 18 in which she responded to inquiries from fans.
She went on to say that they had talked about it intermittently for the previous three or four years before deciding on a course of action. "It wasn't something that I was super persistent about studying. I'd always worn skirts my whole life, and so for me I wasn't in a rush," she explained.
Joy-Anna mentioned that she and Austin started fervently praying about the matter a year ago. "So really the last year we really prayed about it and felt like there wasn't anything in scripture — there isn't anything in scripture that's black and white on dress. It talks a lot about modesty, but I feel like you can be modest and wear pants, and so that's kind of where we came to. I think basically we just looked through scripture for a long time and feel like this is okay for our family and where we are," she explained. She continued by saying she makes an effort to dress modestly. Joy-Anna said, "I do try to be modest in my pants, like in wearing pants, and not things too tight or too short."
Joy-Anna is not the only Duggar to switch to pants
Joy-Anna is not the only Duggar to switch to pants, though. Jinger Duggar Vuolo, 29, compared her fervently devout family to a cult two months ago and disclosed that she had also made the decision to don pants.
Jinger revealed to People that the extreme religious teachings she was raised with made her feel like she might as well "leave Jesus" at one point. She then discussed what her parents thought of her adopting a new fashion sense. Jinger acknowledged in her book 'Becoming Free Indeed' that other family members had assisted her in making the switch from skirts and dresses to slacks.
