Excerpts from Becoming Frum
You can read the table of contents, preface, and part of Chapter 1 on Google Books.
Some quotes:
"Even when BTs attempt to pass as FFB, their in-between status may become apparent to those in the know, based on the tilt of a hat, the slit of a skirt, or the shape of a vowel." (p. 27)
"The five-year-old girl, Rina, asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your hat?” Her mom told her, “It’s OK.” Later, as I was about to leave the house, Rina reminded me not to forget my hat. She asked if she could put it on for me. She did, and she tucked my hair behind my ears and under the hat. “Now you look like a lady,” she said with a smile. I felt ashamed, belittled, and grateful. And I realized that this five-year-old, who often interacts with BT guests, would probably help many women to “look like a lady” according to Orthodox standards." (pp. 33-34)
“One of the few times I heard Milldale Orthodox Jews listening to non-Orthodox music was in the Kramers’ van on the way to New York for a wedding. The Kramer parents both became BTs in their twenties, and their teenage children have grown up as FFBs. For part of the trip, they listened to an Orthodox band. When the tape ended, they turned on the radio, which was set to a classic rock station. When “American Pie” started, the children got excited. They sang along for the chorus and some of the verses. But just as the singer was about to say, “The three men I admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost,” the mother turned the volume all the way down. One of the sons asked why, and she answered, “It’s words you don’t want stuck in your head.” The older daughter said, “Probably something about Yoshke” (the Yiddish diminutive form of Jesus and the name I generally heard applied to him in Orthodox communities). After “American Pie” was over, the mother put in another Orthodox tape, which happened to start with “Ani ma’amin,” a Hebrew song stating a “full belief” that the Moshiach (Messiah) will come. I couldn’t help but smile about the ironic contrast.” (p. 74)
“For many BTs, feeling or being called inauthentic does not stop them from participating in Orthodox practices. When Mark was a Peripheral BT, he told me that he felt he was not acting like himself when he used chanting intonation or wore a black hat. But he sometimes adopted these behaviors anyway, because, he said, “it’s fun.” So when he was planning his wedding, he told friends and family that it would be “black hat optional, and I’m opting in.” Although putting on this “costume” did not seem authentic to him, it was an enjoyable way of connecting with the community. As Ira, an advisor at a BT yeshiva, says, “To a large part, everyone’s putting on a costume in [a BT] yeshiva.” This self-consciousness tends to be only temporary; BTs who continue to participate in a cultural practice eventually feel it is an authentic part of who they have become.” (p. 178)
Some short articles about the research:
"The Sounds of Becoming Frum," in Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas
Details about the Survey of American Jewish Language and Identity
Article in AJS Perspectives focusing on the language of non-Orthodox "super Jews"
Some quotes:
"Even when BTs attempt to pass as FFB, their in-between status may become apparent to those in the know, based on the tilt of a hat, the slit of a skirt, or the shape of a vowel." (p. 27)
"The five-year-old girl, Rina, asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your hat?” Her mom told her, “It’s OK.” Later, as I was about to leave the house, Rina reminded me not to forget my hat. She asked if she could put it on for me. She did, and she tucked my hair behind my ears and under the hat. “Now you look like a lady,” she said with a smile. I felt ashamed, belittled, and grateful. And I realized that this five-year-old, who often interacts with BT guests, would probably help many women to “look like a lady” according to Orthodox standards." (pp. 33-34)
“One of the few times I heard Milldale Orthodox Jews listening to non-Orthodox music was in the Kramers’ van on the way to New York for a wedding. The Kramer parents both became BTs in their twenties, and their teenage children have grown up as FFBs. For part of the trip, they listened to an Orthodox band. When the tape ended, they turned on the radio, which was set to a classic rock station. When “American Pie” started, the children got excited. They sang along for the chorus and some of the verses. But just as the singer was about to say, “The three men I admire most, the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost,” the mother turned the volume all the way down. One of the sons asked why, and she answered, “It’s words you don’t want stuck in your head.” The older daughter said, “Probably something about Yoshke” (the Yiddish diminutive form of Jesus and the name I generally heard applied to him in Orthodox communities). After “American Pie” was over, the mother put in another Orthodox tape, which happened to start with “Ani ma’amin,” a Hebrew song stating a “full belief” that the Moshiach (Messiah) will come. I couldn’t help but smile about the ironic contrast.” (p. 74)
“For many BTs, feeling or being called inauthentic does not stop them from participating in Orthodox practices. When Mark was a Peripheral BT, he told me that he felt he was not acting like himself when he used chanting intonation or wore a black hat. But he sometimes adopted these behaviors anyway, because, he said, “it’s fun.” So when he was planning his wedding, he told friends and family that it would be “black hat optional, and I’m opting in.” Although putting on this “costume” did not seem authentic to him, it was an enjoyable way of connecting with the community. As Ira, an advisor at a BT yeshiva, says, “To a large part, everyone’s putting on a costume in [a BT] yeshiva.” This self-consciousness tends to be only temporary; BTs who continue to participate in a cultural practice eventually feel it is an authentic part of who they have become.” (p. 178)
Some short articles about the research:
"The Sounds of Becoming Frum," in Sh'ma: A Journal of Jewish Ideas
Details about the Survey of American Jewish Language and Identity
Article in AJS Perspectives focusing on the language of non-Orthodox "super Jews"