The Amish Community: the Effects of Subsistence on Aspects of a Culture

Gender roles are defined by the sex. Males are normally the leaders of the community. People in the Amish society chose not to challenge the stereotype of Male provider and the female homemaker. Though modernisation can impact on traditional gender roles in the Amish society. Generally the farms are passed onto males, and females are force to accept their role to marry and become a farmwife. With the successfulness of women working in businesses, women’s are being valued in the

Both men and women refer to the women as being “the weaker Vessel” and is to submit to her mate (Olshan 219). In this society, being submissive does not indicate being mistreated. She is required to obey his commands and do as she told, but also is required to be by her husband’s side if he needs help with explaining or better understand something, she even can correct him if he pronounces a word or phrase incorrectly as well. She is not in the same room as her husband and the company, but she is always close by. Where as in Medieval Iceland, the female submits to her master, and is required to serve her master and the company that arrives. She is to be seen and not heard. Her being the servant, if she is commanded by her master, she is required to also fulfill the guest needs in this case as well as sexual pleasures. She is devoted a hundred percent to her master. The Amish female has more freedom when it comes to obeying her husband because she can speak her opinion and can interrupt her husband to correct him and she won’t be looked down upon or punished. A servant, in Iceland, would be beaten if she ever corrected her master in public or in

The social constructionism of the Amish community is one that passes quick judgment. The judgments might include the Amish having a simple life. The thought that the members are forced into the religion. That they lose out from choosing not to fully utilize electricity. That they must all dress the same. Regardless of how people view them, there needs to be further examination of their culture, before a socially constructed perspective of their community is made. This examination is important to sociology due to the ever-growing population of Amish people within North America. The mass major of Amish use to live in Europe today there are no Amish people left in the country. Although, in North America, there are over 250,000 Amish people, most of which live in either Pennsylvania or Ohio (Yonke, 2010, p. 1). Never the less, they are still true to their roots and still speak German,

Edelman makes some great points throughout her essay and while I do agree with most of them, I disagree with her stance on gender roles. Edelman says that she wanted to achieve a “shared responsibility” in her household, that way the husband and wife would do the same amount of household duties while keeping their full time jobs. I disagree with her view of this; I believe that if the husband is the one working extended hours during a week, trying to provide for his family, then the wife shouldn’t feel angered or annoyed at having to pick up the extra slack around the house. The wife is generally the one in the household who is known for being the care-taker, the cleaner, the cook, etc. The husband is generally looked at as the provider for the family, the head of the household, the authority figure, and it has always been that way. I understand there are circumstances where the husband can’t find work, or they get let go and

Each Amish province is completely independent and lives by its own set of unwritten rules or Ordnung. The Old Order Amish are the most rigorous of them all. One way that the Old Order Amish punish members who have been disobedient to the community and God is by shunning. Shunning is defined as “to avoid somebody or something intentionally” (Shun, 2007). Shunning is not meant to injure an individual, but merely to wound them. It is an attempt for redemption. If an individual repents they will be allowed back into the patronage. It is only in extreme cases where an individual continuously breaks the rules where they may be permanently shunned. There are usually a very low percentage of Amish who are excommunicated. Because the community is so closely netted, shunning has proven to be a great form of social control.

At the same time there is a certain amount of equality between the men and women. Women can perform much of the same tasks that the opposite sex does without much, if any, chastisement or ridicule. Females have about just as much say when it comes to the inner workings of the society like marriages, child rearing, child birth, and ownership of goods and land. Most females are the initiators of divorce as explained in the book. Sexual equality is probably the most apparent amongst the tribesmen and women. Women are at times are forthcoming in their wants and needs when it comes to their sexual appetites and advances.

Just as many other communities, men and women participate in different leisure. In main stream society, boys typically play football or baseball for fun, and girls typically play with doll and other domestic toys. Amish communities are very similar. The men tend to participate in hunting, fishing, archery, and mountain climbing. The women tend to enjoy singing and attending social events (Kraybill, Nolt, and Johnson-Weiner, 2012).

Amish culture has been an attention grabbing field of study for many anthropologists. Currently, there population is only present in United States due to various historical events. Although Amish community has been living in United States for a considerably long time now which comprises of centuries but despite all the cultural influences from external forces, this community has successfully managed to retain its original character and essence. Where other communities have showed adaptation to sociological and cultural changes, Amish culture is present in its original form because of their closed social system. Their main mode of subsistence of Horticulture. Although this mode is considered to be a derivative of their way of obtaining financial independence but in reality this mode of living defines their Beliefs and values, Economic organization, Gender relations, Kinship Political organization and Social organization.

Unmarried women are allowed to work outside their home, but it is an expectation that married women work only within the family home. Older males also have a responsibility of educating young boys about farming, working with wood and leather. Amish families combine many elements of single and extended family units. Living in these types of communities allows the concept of family to have a larger importance in Amish family life. Older people are also highly respected in Amish society. Uncles, aunts, cousins and older siblings could all be expected to live close together and provide support for the family.

Most people seem to know very little about the Amish besides their antique clothing and horse-drawn modes of transportation. To understand the Amish better, some key concepts include the history of the Amish, their rules of discipline, and

The Amish actually want to be a group of people that are different from the rest of the world. The Amish would rather worship God then them selves. Not having all the extra electronics allow for more time to think about God. They want to be the light of the world. They in fact have some different traditions compared to the so-called “English” lifestyle.

The Amish faith is to be considered as living a life of self-surrender. According to Kraybill this attribute is the core of the Amish religion. The cornerstone to the values in the Amish faith is Gelassenheit. “The German word means submission=yielding to a higher authority. It entails self-surrender, resignation to God’s will, yielding to others, self-denial, contentment, and a quiet spirit” (12). Being able to display wholesomeness and respect toward the individuals which are trying to bring about an end of your complete form of life is an influential aspect which enabled the Amish to aid in the uprising of the First Amendment clause. They continued to fight for their religious rights in away that does not intrude on their belief of living a

This name was given to the Amish that branched off from the Old Order in the 1960s. The New Order Amish settlements are found exclusively in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Although they are very similar to the Old Order, they use new farming technologies like the tractor and include the use of telephones and electricity in their homes. The New Order Amish perform missions work abroad, prohibit the use of alcohol and tobacco, occasionally travel by airplane, have more elaborate buggies, hold formal Bible meetings, and a lower percentage of the New Order church youth join the church ("Amish America," 2010). On a humorous note, the New Order Amish lean toward a clean courtship between the youth breaking away from the Old Order tradition of bundling where a courting couple lay down together fully clothed

The Amish are a small group of people that live in a secluded area of the eastern United States of America. The cultural group known as the Amish has constituted themselves as a unique entity in America's diverse landscape. Amish life is centered on religion, agriculture, and the family. For most people who live outside of the Amish culture, this group seems out of touch with the present time; a culture of another era. This belief is primarily attributable to the Amish belief in simplicity and their rejection of modern technologies (The Amish 2011). One of the most important aspects of Amish life and livelihood is agriculture; the Amish focus much of their life on the growth and harvest of food and other crops. The various factors that affect the culture are based upon agriculture; including the Amish beliefs and values, economic organization, gender relations, kinship, political organization, sickness, social change, and social organization.

The Amish, who are also called “The Plain People” or Old Order Amish, originated in Switzerland in approximately 1525. They originated from a movement called the Anabaptist movement. Jacom Amman was the leader. This happened during the reformation in the16th Century Europe. They believed in holding on to traditions and keeping themselves separated from the world. He was stricter about this than other Anabaptists of that time. The Anabaptists were against the union of church and state and also against infant baptism. They felt that each individual should make this choice for himself when he or she is old enough. They felt the age for baptism was about 18 years. This disagreed with the laws of the time. It was