Running head: GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES

Gender Roles and Culture Amongst Amish and Mennonites

Eden Swartzentruber

ANTH 220: Ethnographic Methods

Dr. Justin Garcia

May 5, 2023
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 1

Abstract

This study focuses on Amish and Mennonite culture in central Pennsylvania, specifically in the

Union County area. Information is extracted from interviewees and outside academic sources to

explore and inform about the culture of the Amish and Mennonites, especially discussing gender

roles in the culture. Gender roles are fairly rigid, with women doing housework such as cooking,

cleaning, sewing, and childcare, and men doing farmwork and construction. This paper will

explain the reasonings and motivation behind the structured gender roles as explained by ex-

Amish individuals. This paper will also expand on other cultural areas such as language,

education, food, and family structure. Amish and Mennonite peoples are often referred to as

“plain people” which can describe any group of Christians who make an effort to separate

themselves from the rest of the world, largely in the way they dress. Since the Amish are a closed

community and they do not evangelize like many other Christian groups, there are many

misconceptions about their culture and lifestyle. This paper will provide firsthand accounts of the

culture corroborated by academic research.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to interviewees “Jeremiah Beachy,” “Rebecca Landis,” “Lydia Miller,” “Melvin

Stoltzfus,” and “Edna Lapp.” Thanks to my mom for allowing me to bombard her with questions

about growing up Amish Mennonite. Thanks to my grandfather for giving me books about our

family genealogy. Thanks to my classmates who told me they enjoyed my presentation. Also,

special thanks to my Amish and ex-Amish family members, especially my Omi who told me so

many stories about her life and culture growing up. Thanks to Dr. Justin Garcia for his

instruction in this class and for extending the deadline. Lastly, thanks to Millersville University

of Pennsylvania.
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 2

Introduction

Amish and Mennonites are a Christian Protestant Anabaptist ethno-religion found in the

United States, namely Pennsylvania and Ohio. They are a group of people descended from

German and Swiss immigrants who came to the United States largely in the 1700’s. Some core

Amish and Mennonite beliefs are that infants should not be baptized at birth, (they should be

able to choose when they are older), pacifism (aversion to violence and moral objection to war),

and living a simple life separate from the rest of the world (limited technology and conservative

dress). In regard to the differences between Amish and Mennonite, it is mostly about

appearances. Amish women typically wear a dark blue dress and a head covering. They must

have long hair, and are not permitted to cut it. Makeup is also not allowed. The men wear black

pants, a plain button down shirt, suspenders, and a wide flat-brimmed black hat. They must have

short hair in a bowl cut style and a beard, but not a mustache. The hair cannot be too long,

because long hair is seen as for women, and it cannot be too short, because short hair signifies a

militaristic style that pacifists do not want to emulate. In terms of technology, many Amish

groups have little to no electricity, and they do not drive cars, but horses and buggies. When it

comes to Mennonites, they usually have cars and electricity.

This paper and ethnographic study will focus on main cultural aspects of the Amish and

Mennonites, specifically the Beachy Amish Mennonite group found in central Pennsylvania.

This study will largely focus on the gender roles in Amish and Mennonite culture, and will

inform about the roles of men and women in these communities and what their thoughts and

feelings are on the roles that were assigned to them in their families. The paper will also focus on

the differences in gender roles and gender presentation between Amish and non-Amish groups.

The Amish typically refer to non-Amish Americans as “English.” There are some Amish groups
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 3

outside of the United States, in places such as Canada and South America, but this ethnography

will be focused on Amish and Mennonite groups in Pennsylvania.

Methodology

There were five participants who were each asked seventeen open-ended questions. Each

participant was interviewed in person in their home, and each interview lasted twenty-five to

thirty minutes. The interviewees were given the pseudonyms “Jeremiah Beachy,” “Rebecca

Landis,” “Lydia Miller,” “Melvin Stoltzfus,” and “Edna Lapp” to model common Amish

Mennonite names. Any relation to real people is a coincidence. Three of the participants were

women, and three were men. The ages ranged from forty-five to seventy years old.

Findings

The first question posed to the interviewees was “Can you describe and name the Amish

sect you grew up in and how it differs from other Amish groups?” When asked this question,

four out of the five participants answered that they grew up in the Beachy Amish Mennonite

community. The Beachy Amish Mennonite community can be described as a mix between

Amish and Mennonite. They typically have cars, but they must be all black, and the radio must

be disconnected because secular music is not allowed in the community. They have electricity,

but they do not have television or radios. In terms of lifestyle, they also wear conservative

clothing and farm for a living. The term “conservative” will be used throughout this paper, not

referring to the political affiliation but to designate a culture that is marked by dressing modestly

and not engaging in leisure activities that others would.

Language

The language that Amish and Mennonite people speak is called Pennsylvania Dutch.

Pennsylvania Dutch is not closely related to the Dutch spoken in the Netherlands, but it is related
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 4

to German. However, modern German speakers and Pennsylvania Dutch speakers could not

understand each other, and if they can, it is very little. Pennsylvania Dutch is highly dialect

based. A speaker from Indiana and a speaker from Pennsylvania may have difficulty

understanding one another. Additionally, separate communities in close geographical proximity

often have different phrases. Pennsylvania Dutch does not have formal grammar, although much

of the grammar mimics German. Pennsylvania Dutch also has many English words and phrases

integrated into the language. Most Amish and Mennonite people today speak fluent English,

however, as a child Pennsylvania Dutch is their first language:

ES: Do you speak Pennsylvania Dutch?

RL: Very little. I can understand it better than I can speak it.

ES: Was it your first language and if so how and when did you learn English?

RL: Yes, that was my first language. I did not know English. I think I was 3 or 4 when

English was introduced because when my older sister went to school, she did not know

English and so it was very difficult for her so my parents determined it was gonna be

different for the rest of us. So I was introduced to English and so my parents began

speaking English. I believe it was between 3 and 4 years old.

The interviewee, “Rebecca Landis,” explained that her first language was Pennsylvania Dutch,

but because she and her siblings went to an English speaking school, they had to adapt. Landis

explained that it was very difficult for her sister to adapt to learning English to keep up with the

rest of her classmates. Although her parents sent them to an English speaking school, they had

previously only spoken Pennsylvania Dutch. Landis’ grandfather was a bishop in the Amish

church, and it was his job to keep his congregation in adherence with the Amish interpretations

of the Bible. Landis explains why speaking the language at home was important:
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 5

ES: Did your parents and maybe your grandfather since he was an important member of

the church, did they think it was really important to retain Pennsylvania Dutch and speak

it?

RL: Yes. It was very very important but now as an adult a lot of my understanding is it

keeps you from learning different religions, different ideologies, different opinions and

ideas. But yes it was very very important. But it was also very cultural, passed down from

generation to generation. It was important to them that you speak their language. So I

believe it was both. It was just something that was tradition, but it kept you pretty

insulated.

Landis states that speaking Pennsylvania Dutch in the Amish community was highly valued, as it

set them apart and kept them from being too curious about the outside world.

Education

Education is not seen as an important or necessary thing in Amish communities. Most

Amish children only go to school until eighth grade, about fourteen or fifteen years old. After

they have completed their education, they work on the farm or in the house. This practice has

changed slightly over the course of time. The older participants I spoke to, ages sixty-nine and

seventy, only received up to an eighth grade education. The younger participants, ages forty-five

and forty-eight, received their high school diploma. However, all of these participants are

Beachy Amish Mennonite. Many of the Old Order Amish today still maintain the practice of

only getting an education until they are fourteen. In terms of postsecondary education, it is

virtually unheard of in both the Old Order and Beachy Amish Mennonite groups. Rather than go

to college and get a degree, Amish and Mennonites focus on practical skills, such as carpentry,
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 6

farming, sewing, quilting, cooking, baking, and more. They value hard work and community

building over a typical educational style:

JB: I went to 8th grade, um, and that was considered enough. And, yeah, more than that

was not encouraged. I don’t know in our little community, I don't think any of ‘em went

beyond that.

ES: And was education the same for men and women?

JB: Yes.

Jeremiah Beachy is seventy years old, and he left the Beachy Amish Mennonite community

when he was an adult, already married with four children, so he never had the opportunity to

pursue higher education. He also talked about being content with farming and doing contractor

work. Another participant, Lydia Miller, age forty-eight, made the transition from Amish to

Mennonite when she was around nine years old, and this impacted her future education:

ES: How much education did you receive and how was education treated in your

community?

LM: So I graduated high school and then got my associates degree. In the Amish

Mennonite community it was not talked about, and you didn’t aspire to go to college. It

wasn’t a big deal or important.

In her case, her family left the community when she was quite young, so she got the chance to

pursue higher education.

Food

Pennsylvania Dutch people are known for a variety of foods that are popular in

Pennsylvania and the neighboring states. Some of these dishes include funnel cakes, whoopie

pies, shoofly pie, strawberry pretzel salad, and coleslaw. Pennsylvania Dutch foods are often
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 7

very sweet or very salty. Funnel cakes are especially popular at fairs and carnivals, and many

Amish and Mennonite people sell their baked goods to local merchants. Amish food is often

made with ingredients from their own garden or farm. Unlike other religious groups such as

Judaism or Islam, plain people do not have any dietary restrictions. Dairy is also a big staple in

the Amish Mennonite diet, as many Amish raise dairy and beef cows.

Family Structure

Amish people tend to get married very young, anywhere between the ages of eighteen

and twenty. Since birth control is not permitted, Amish families tend to have a lot of children,

anywhere from 6-10. Family and community is an integral part of Amish culture, and extended

families often live in close proximity and assist each other with farming or other work. Family

businesses such as construction companies are also popular. Divorce is also not allowed in the

Amish church, so nuclear families are the most typical. Families work together to maintain the

household and farm. Children help their parents with chores from a very young age and are

independent. Since the Amish use little technology, children play outside.

In a study called “Reviving the Demographic Study of the Amish,” the authors focus on

the population growth and fertility of the Amish. Specifically, this article discusses how there is

not much recent demographic data on the Amish. They discuss the high birth rates amongst

Amish women, and their fast expanding population. To confirm that the rapid expansion of the

Amish is indeed due to birth rates and not conversions, they say, “Presently, around 100 Amish

members are first generation converts (Scott 2007). Therefore, outside recruitment is only a

marginal source of growth” (Colyer, et al., 2017, p. 109).

People who were born into non-Amish families are highly unlikely to convert to the

Amish faith and way of life. It is therefore considered a closed group and in many cases, an
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 8

ethno-religion similar to Judaism because most Amish descend from the same Swiss and German

settlers to Lancaster and Berks County in the 1700s. The reasons for low conversion rates may

include that the Amish do not proselytize like Evangelical Christian groups, and their antiquated

way of life is a difficult adjustment to make if you have grown up with technology.

Relation to Existing Studies

In their 1993 article ““Production Patterns, Consumption Strategies, and Gender

Relations in Amish and Non-Amish Farm Households in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, 1935-

1936,” authors Reschly and Johnson discuss the gender roles in Amish communities. They say

that “Men raised the major crops and livestock, while women cared for the household and

children” (Reschly & Johnson, 1993, p. 141). Although this study is from 1935 and 1936, the

interviewees corroborated the conclusions the authors came to. These were typical gender roles

in farming households in this time period, Amish or not. However, it is worth noting that in the

present day, non-Amish people often do not adhere to these roles. Here one can see evidence that

when much of the world has progressed and changed their ideas around gender roles, the Amish

and Mennonite communities in Pennsylvania have remained stagnant. The closed nature of their

communities and refusal to adapt modern technologies ensures the preservation of their way of

life. As explained by the interviewees, this is especially true in Old Order Amish communities.

However, some scholars disagree with the idea that more conservative Amish groups have

stricter gender roles.

In her article "The role of women in Old Order Amish, Beachy Amish and Fellowship

churches," Karen Johnson-Weiner contends that although appearing more conservative, Old

Order Amish women actually have more autonomy than more liberal groups like the Beachy

Amish. She explains that although Beachy Amish women have access to more technology and
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 9

therefore are less beholden to chores, Old Order Amish women typically have more of a voice in

church decisions. She says, “Whereas Old Order women share privileges and responsibility with

Old Order men in virtually all domains of social interaction, Beachy and Fellowship women are

excluded from active participation in community governance and important arenas of church

activity and are subordinate to men in social relationships” (Johnson-Weiner, 2001, p. 232). In

the interviews conducted for this study, all four of the former Beachy Amish members attested

that women were not permitted to speak at all in church. It is curious then, that in some Old

Order communities, women are allowed to have a role in the church despite dressing more

conservatively and having less electricity.

In his article “Continuity and Change in a Southern Beachy Amish-Mennonite

Congregation,” William Smith provides an analysis of a Beachy Amish-Mennonite church in

Georgia and evaluates whether or not they are a changing entity or they have remained the same.

His final conclusion is that they show continuity over progression and adaptation to the outside

world. Relating to the history of the Beachy Amish-Mennonite, he says “The Beachy Amish-

Mennonites are the largest group within the Amish-Mennonite movement, emerging on the

religious/cultural scene in 1927 as a result of disagreements among Old Order Amish in

Pennsylvania over the practice of shunning, automobiles, and electricity” (Smith, 2013, p. 49).

He then goes on to explain how they are under-researched compared to other conservative

anabaptist groups in the states. Smith points to the Brethren's Agreement, a specific statement of

beliefs that the Beachy Amish subscribe to. It says, “Men should exercise authority over women

at home and in the church” (Smith, 2013, p. 53). Despite this conservative way of thinking,

Smith also mentions that “One of the brethren mentioned he believed that men needed to pay

more attention to how they dressed rather than focusing exclusively on whether women were
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 10

conforming to the dress code” (Smith, 2013, p. 54). The juxtaposition of seemingly very strict

and conservative expected roles of Beachy Amish women compared with that of their other

beliefs such as the allowance of cars and cell phones is fascinating especially when compared to

other groups such as Old Order sects that do not allow such things at all.

Natalie Jolly explores the different aspects of life as an Amish woman and evaluates the

gender norms and the roles of women in Amish culture. She says, “So while early work on

Amish women offered a simplistic rendering, characterizing women as docile ‘helpmeets’ to

their husbands, as loving mothers, or as hard-working housekeepers, new work offers a deeper

look into both Amish women’s lives, and the gender norms that structure their Anabaptist world”

(Jolly, 2020, p. 160). Jolly contends that in many ways, Amish women may experience a form of

liberation that their non-Amish counterparts do not. She says, “Certainly the Amish tendency to

value women’s perseverance, stoicism, and bodily strength over their physical appearance stands

in stark opposition to non-Amish notions of gender that do just the opposite” (Jolly, 2020, p.

162).

In her article “Amish Femininity: New Lessons from the Old Order,” Natalie Jolly

conducted an ethnographic study focusing on birth practices of Old Order Amish women,

including their experiences and the frequency of homebirth. During the course of this study, she

said “In this capacity, I attended 40 Amish homebirths as well as several hundred prenatal visits''

(Jolly, 2015, p. 78). It is important to note that most Old Order Amish women do not give birth

in a hospital, as the technology used there is not in accordance with their religious beliefs. Old

Order Amish women may go to the hospital in the case of complications that would threaten the

life of the mother or child. Otherwise, they often have unmedicated midwife assisted home

births.
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 11

On the topic of gender roles, Jolly says “Amish women do gender differently, and thus

do birth differently, all of which offered insight into how femininity shapes a woman’s

experience of birth” (Jolly, 2015, p. 78). She also says that “As opposed to their mainstream

American counterparts, Amish women in labor did not wear hospital gowns, were not restricted

to bed, did not fast during labor, were not exposed to continuous monitoring technologies, and

experienced very few interventions of any kind” (Jolly, 2015, p. 79). Instead of focusing on the

possible dangers of medically unassisted home births, she seems to focus on the freedom and

lack of stress in the environment.

Problems Encountered

One issue encountered was repetitive information. Four out of the five participants are

related to each other, so they ended up saying a lot of the same things. Additionally, all

participants were ex-Amish, so they do not have a current internal perspective on the culture and

religion. If expanded upon, this paper would greatly benefit from having current Amish and

Mennonite subjects as participants. It would also be helpful to have participants from a variety of

Amish and Mennonite groups, not just one or two. Lastly, attending an Amish market or

volunteering on an Amish farm would be an excellent way to accomplish ethnographic field

work to further the study.

Conclusion

Like any other culture, Amish and Mennonites are a diverse group that cannot be

generalized. However, from talking to former members of the community, one can make some

conclusions. Amish Mennonites are hardworking, family oriented, and deeply religious. Gender

roles tend to be stricter than most, with women almost exclusively doing housework and child-

rearing, and men farming and doing construction. Amish families are large, with an average of 6-
GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 12

10 children, and the family helps one another out with various chores and work. Some Amish

women felt boxed in by the standards they were held to, and some felt that they were content.

There are so many different types of Amish and Mennonite people, even just within

Pennsylvania. Although it is a closed community, Amish people will always help their

neighbors, Amish or not.

GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 13

References

Colyer, Corey J., Cory Anderson, Rachel E. Stein, Joseph F. Donnermeyer and Samson W.

Wasao. “Reviving the Demographic Study of the Amish.” Journal of Amish and Plain

Anabaptist Studies 5(1):97-119.

https://kb.osu.edu/bitstream/handle/1811/81073/JAPAS_Colyer_vol5-issue1_pp96-

119.pdf?sequence=1

Johnson-Weiner, Karen. "The role of women in Old Order Amish, Beachy Amish and

Fellowship churches." Mennonite Quarterly Review 75, no. 2 (2001): 231+. Gale

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Jolly, Natalie. 2015. “Amish Femininity: New Lessons from the Old Order”. Journal of

the Motherhood Initiative for Research and Community Involvement 5 (2).

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article=1169&context=amishstudies

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Pennsylvania, 1935-1936.” Agricultural History 67, no. 2 (1993): 134–62.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/3744054.

Smith, William. 2013. "Continuity and Change in a Southern Beachy Amish-Mennonite

Congregation." Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies 1(2):48-68.

GENDER ROLES AND CULTURE AMONGST AMISH MENNONITES 14

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