Essay On Gender Roles In Amish Culture

In many different cultures, there are specific gender roles that are associated with women. While gender roles vary in every culture, they play a paramount role in the lives of many women. These cultures enforce stringent norms in which women are expected to comply. When women would stray away from the ideal perspective that many from their culture envisioned, there would be severe repercussions that would lead them to excommunicated or shunned. In the Hasidic Jewish and Amish culture, there are very stringent gender roles when it comes to the women. The gender roles that are associated with the women have limited them in several activities and has deprived them of the ability to have their own identity. The limitations that the women face in the Amish and Hasidic Jewish culture are similar and different in a plethora of ways. However, there is no doubt that these restrictions have impacted their lives immensely.
Birth control is a taboo subject in many cultures. In the Amish culture, birth control is strictly prohibited for women. As a result, women are forbidden to use any form of birth control such as the pill, depo provera, the diaphragm, and the IUD. In their culture, they firmly believe that children are a …show more content…
Exposing oneself significantly was looked down upon by other members of the culture. In the Amish culture, women were expected to dress modestly and follow typical Amish clothing guidelines. Women could not have any types of pattern in their dresses because this would draw attention and was deemed immodest. “Traditionally, Amish women wear long sleeves, full, solid-colored skirts, and aprons. Women wear their hair in a braid or bun covered by a small bonnet. They are not permitted to wear jewelry or patterned clothes.” (National Geographic). Modesty is valued significantly in the Amish culture; this forces women to have clothing that does not expose cleavage in any