"To Remind Us of Who We Are" : An Ethnographic Exploration of Women's Dress and Gender Roles in a Conservative Mennonite Community
"To Remind Us of Who We Are" : An Ethnographic Exploration of Women's Dress and Gender Roles in a Conservative Mennonite Community
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Date
1995
Authors
Graybill, Beth E.
Advisor
Caughey, John L.
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Abstract
Combining ethnographic methodology and feminist
theory, this interdisciplinary study explores women's dress
and gender roles in the religious culture of Eastern
Pennsylvania Mennonites, a conservative Mennonite group
concentrated in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, that has
never been researched before. My study is based on
participant observation and qualitative analysis of
interviews with 11 women and two men in three church
districts.
I argue that conservative women's domestic roles in
the private sphere and their adherence to strict dress
codes create the denomination's primary cultural boundary
marker. Although Eastern Pa. Mennonites accept modern
technology and most no longer farm, members adhere to a
church-wide discipline that forbids "immodest" and
"fashionable" clothing, jewelry, and cut hair for women,
while prescribing a particular style of women's dress and
head covering. (Men's clothing is less regulated.)
Religious understandings around women's dress reinforce a
gender ideology that is firmly rooted in women's
subordination to men.
My study explores the multiple meanings that
conservative women attach to their clothing. Much like a
uniform, women's dress expresses group affiliation,
suppresses individual expression, and mutes economic and
social distinctions. Moreover, their dress affords them a
feeling of protection from harm, offers them an opportunity
to witness, and serves as an internal motivation toward
religiosity. In sum, their dress both produces and
reflects particular gender roles.
Finally, I discuss the interpretative challenges of my
partial membership status and my use of feminist analysis
to frame a discussion about women who would not describe
themselves as feminists.