I love Amber, I love her book (it’s so well-written and engaging), and I loved this convo. Thank you both!! I think of Amber a lot while I’m making JimDob art. 😁 If you ever need some lighthearted content to break up the hard stuff here at Strongwilled, I’d be happy to share about my art and how healing it is but also how much I enjoy mocking him. 😆
I suddenly partially regret reading the audiobook of Out of Focus for missing out on that pic with Jimmy Dob. 😂 Just finished Amber’s book for Pride month series/book discussion at my church so I loved to wake up to this collab!! I didn’t grow up with AIO the way my spouse did (had like 4 episodes and listened to it on tape or disc whenever on car rides with friends from my church), and it messed up figuring out their gender-fluid identity or having words besides thinking “sometimes too much like a girl” for a looooong time! On a phone call with my in-laws last night, they apparently found a treasure trove of AIO cleaning out and asked if we wanted them. I gestured discs since we don’t have a tape player anymore and wrote down “cult curiosity” on a napkin to get my spouse to ask for them (so we can dissect them on this side of deconstruction/deconversion).
Loved this interview! So sad to hear how things turned out with their family. I relate to so much of her story. Ugh. I remember all growing up people would comment on how us kids (three of us within three years) always were so well behaved and then as we got into our teen years they would say "oh they are so mature for their age". Now I can see those were not compliments those were red flags! Absolutely had to be on our best behavior when in public. Be a blessing to others... bend over backwards to make others feel good... deny your own desires for the sake of every single stranger. Ugh! Suppressing our emotions and who we were was so detrimental! Now all of us siblings in our forties trying to detangle this and it's so obvious how much it has taken a toll on us. It will come out eventually!!
I love how much people are talking about this sort of thing now and bringing awareness to this sort of parenting. I do have hope for the children being raised in this even now to be able to get support they need and resources online. So much work to be done. thank you both for sharing this!
I hope the same -- that generations raised in it now will have much sooner/quicker access to healing resources.
Also, such a thing to reckon with, the ways we were complimented and praised for putting ourselves last and not being assertive (I think esp for those AFAB).
This gave me such strong flashbacks to the *feeling* of all of that FotF media from my childhood--AiO, definitely, but also, like McGee and Me and The Last Chance Detectives and Brio. And the stuff that wasn't FotF--Secret Adventures and those Feature Films for Families movies. I can't remember specific things they taught me, just the feeling of watching them, and now I'm wondering what kind of horrible propaganda they contained....
I love Amber, I love her book (it’s so well-written and engaging), and I loved this convo. Thank you both!! I think of Amber a lot while I’m making JimDob art. 😁 If you ever need some lighthearted content to break up the hard stuff here at Strongwilled, I’d be happy to share about my art and how healing it is but also how much I enjoy mocking him. 😆
I suddenly partially regret reading the audiobook of Out of Focus for missing out on that pic with Jimmy Dob. 😂 Just finished Amber’s book for Pride month series/book discussion at my church so I loved to wake up to this collab!! I didn’t grow up with AIO the way my spouse did (had like 4 episodes and listened to it on tape or disc whenever on car rides with friends from my church), and it messed up figuring out their gender-fluid identity or having words besides thinking “sometimes too much like a girl” for a looooong time! On a phone call with my in-laws last night, they apparently found a treasure trove of AIO cleaning out and asked if we wanted them. I gestured discs since we don’t have a tape player anymore and wrote down “cult curiosity” on a napkin to get my spouse to ask for them (so we can dissect them on this side of deconstruction/deconversion).
oh my gosh, they are so painful to listen to on this side!
Oh wow. I looooove this!! I collect JimDob books for cult curiosity and making protest art. 😎
Loved this interview! So sad to hear how things turned out with their family. I relate to so much of her story. Ugh. I remember all growing up people would comment on how us kids (three of us within three years) always were so well behaved and then as we got into our teen years they would say "oh they are so mature for their age". Now I can see those were not compliments those were red flags! Absolutely had to be on our best behavior when in public. Be a blessing to others... bend over backwards to make others feel good... deny your own desires for the sake of every single stranger. Ugh! Suppressing our emotions and who we were was so detrimental! Now all of us siblings in our forties trying to detangle this and it's so obvious how much it has taken a toll on us. It will come out eventually!!
I love how much people are talking about this sort of thing now and bringing awareness to this sort of parenting. I do have hope for the children being raised in this even now to be able to get support they need and resources online. So much work to be done. thank you both for sharing this!
I hope the same -- that generations raised in it now will have much sooner/quicker access to healing resources.
Also, such a thing to reckon with, the ways we were complimented and praised for putting ourselves last and not being assertive (I think esp for those AFAB).
This gave me such strong flashbacks to the *feeling* of all of that FotF media from my childhood--AiO, definitely, but also, like McGee and Me and The Last Chance Detectives and Brio. And the stuff that wasn't FotF--Secret Adventures and those Feature Films for Families movies. I can't remember specific things they taught me, just the feeling of watching them, and now I'm wondering what kind of horrible propaganda they contained....