Why Joy-Anna Duggar's Return To Social Media Is Raising Eyebrows

Joy-Anna Duggar took a month-long break from social media beginning in July, and the timing likely left some fans wondering if she would ever resume sharing updates on her life. Just days before her long hiatus started, TLC announced that it would not be picking up another season of the Duggar family's reality series "Counting On" (via USA Today).

This made it appear possible that Joy-Anna ceased posting on Instagram because she no longer needed to help her family promote the show. However, in her August 9 post, she revealed that she and her husband Austin Forsyth just needed a break from the spotlight. "Taking time to refocus, reprioritize and spending some quality time together is so important!" she wrote. She also thanked fans for their concern during the couple's absence from Instagram, and she informed them that she, Austin, and their two kids made the most of the start of their new life away from the "Counting On" cameras by working out, enjoying outdoor activities, and "soaking up the sun."

Joy-Anna teased that she and Austin have "been working on a fun project" that she would eventually share more about, but what many fans were excited about was one of the photos that the former "19 Kids and Counting" star included in her Instagram carousel.

In the first image she shared, Joy-Anna Duggar and Austin Forsyth were both smiling as they posed together on a golf course. Joy-Anna had on a pair of teal shorts, a black T-shirt, a white baseball cap, and coordinating sneakers. Her sporty style was a hit, but one wardrobe item in particular stood out to her fans. "Glad to see you doing things in shorts not in skirts or dresses, more relaxing," wrote one of her Instagram followers. "You look amazing! So awesome to see you in shorts. You look so pretty," another comment read.

The shorts were a hot topic because Joy-Anna did not wear them on her family's reality shows. In a 2013 TLC blog post, her mother Michelle Duggar explained that the clothing item was verboten in her household due to her religious convictions. She believed that God desired her to wear dresses and skirts with hemlines that hit below the knee. "I just feel like the Lord is saying, do this Michelle. Honor me in this way," she wrote. Joy-Anna's shorts were significantly shorter than the mommy-approved length.

In a 2012 TLC blog post, Michelle described uncovered thighs as "nakedness and shame," and she warned that showing them off could "defraud" someone. In other words, she placed the onus on women to keep men from thinking dirty thoughts about their bodies. But Joy-Anna is clearly no longer playing by her fashion rules, and fans are here for it.