So a recent US Weekly headline posits that Candace Cameron Bure is “submissive” to her husband, and I have to commend the editors for not illustrating the article with a blindfold and whip, because you know that’s what most people are thinking.
But “submissive” in this context is biblical, and she writes about it in her new book. She describes her position in marriage as “meekness, not weakness” and I think it goes without saying that that really isn’t my bag.
What I realized, once I started reading, is that I’ve heard all of this before. This is one of the more basic tenets of certain brands of evangelical Christianity, most often seen on TLC. (Why do these families overwhelmingly wind up on TLC?) If you know your 80s stars at all, it’s even less of a surprise since Kirk Cameron adopted (or grew back to) uber-conservative beliefs and then, as we all remember, became quite the pain in the ass once he decided Growing Pains needed to reflect his values and he wasn’t going to kiss anyone who wasn’t his wife.
So while I have a whole bunch of questions about women’s roles in various faiths they’d take up way more space and bandwidth than we have. And it’s not like this is a surprise– the first line in her Twitter bio says “loves Jesus”. She’s not pretending to be anything she’s not.
What I do want to know is – how does this square away with a television career? Does it only apply to things that happen within their house or family? What if she makes a decision to do something on set that she thinks is fine, and then it turns out to be not OK with her husband? A little research into “Make It Or Break It” tells me her character had, um, a prominent relationship with God. Hallmark movies aren’t likely to offend. But still, what if a director includes a sidelong glance or lingers too long on a hand or on an arm? Or is her husband there to supervise all of these things? Does he go into the editing room? Does he get final cut?
Also, as I look at the number of TV movies on her IMDB that are just released or coming up, I wonder if she’s the current breadwinner? I know he had a substantial salary but I don’t imagine it can stand up against decades of syndication. (Lainey: and his playing days are over AND he wasn’t exactly lighting up the league either.) Does the husband being the “leader” still follow if the wife makes all the cash?
