On Oct. 8, 2020 Elizabethtown College’s Young Center for Anabaptist and Pietist s Studies’ Steven Nolt gave a virtual live interview with Dr. Karen Johnson-Weiner on her extensive experience with various North American Old Order groups. Johnson-Weiner is currently a Distinguished Service Professor Emerita of Anthropology, SUNY Potsdam and has been extensively studying and corresponding with various members of Old Order groups for over thirty-five years. Even to this day she still regularly corresponds with many Amish friends she made through her research.
The author of numerous texts about Old Order groups, Dr. Johnson-Weiner’s most recent release, “The Lives of Amish Women,” has cemented her place as a foremost expert on Old Order culture. The text has served to challenge many popular English stereotypes over not only Old Order women but also gender roles within various Old Order communities.
Johnson-Weiner mentions that “there are a lot of stereotypes of Amish women out there, many that present them as either downtrodden and hopelessly subordinate to their menfolk and others or carefree and living much simpler lives than we do. The reality is far more complex. Amish women deal with many of the same issues as non-Amish women but Amish life is shaped within a context of faith and tradition different from that of the world in which most of us live.” Just as with any other group, a lack of knowledge leads to this stereotyping, and Dr. Johnson-Weiner is working to break down those stereotypes to reveal the hard and complex truth of Amish life.
Another prominent stereotype is that women were solely responsible for doing housework. In the most conservative Old Order groups such as the Swartzentruber, housework “is not specialized, and folks of all ages, male and female, can and do work together to fetch wood, carry water, sweep floors, and can produce,” Johnson-Weiner explained. But in the less conservative groups, this stereotype is partially true. The use of more modern conveniences allows progressive Amish families to rely primarily on the mother for kitchen and housework duties. Depending on the group, these conveniences could be wide and varied, with Johnson-Weiner even seeing some kitchens that looked “similar to [her] own.”
Johnson-Weiner summarizes the difference in this way, : [change comma to colon] “The progressive housewife can accomplish chores much more easily, but she is more likely than her conservative counterpart to be working alone.” This interplay is just one small consideration to make when investigating gender roles in various Amish communities. Johnson-Weiner even mentioned that there were sometimes more economic opportunities available for these women in the less conservative groups partially due to this extra time. In these groups it is not uncommon for women to lead a family business along with doing housework, with many of these businesses breaking into international prominence and employing a large part of the local community.
Johnson-Weiner also discussed a unique aspect of her book, the exceptional women of the Amish community. Those who were unable to fill the role of mother and homemaker, whether due to being single, infertile or a widow. These women have a unique and occasionally difficult role in Amish culture, but often they can get involved in their families through other relatives. “Amish women consider infertility as God’s will” Johnson-Weiner said. However, members of the community respond by encouraging these women to “Submit to God’s will and do your best to follow God’s plan” even allowing these women in some communities to adopt children. This is often difficult, however, as Johnson-Weiner notes “some agencies are reticent to give Amish families the chance to adopt” but these adoptions do happen. Abuse is also a difficult problem, even when ministers get involved there is no guarantee that things will work out. Abuse is a difficult reality for some in both Amish and English communities, and many Amish women cope through community and by relying on God to “not send them more than they can bear.”
Dr. Johnson-Weiner summarizes her work thusly, “I think the more we understand those who differ from us and can appreciate the diversity, the better the world in which we live.”
