The Amish have a very strict culture of conservatism, tradition, and humility. They restrict themselves to only the most necessary tools for survival. If you’ve ever seen a group of Amish people, you likely wondered if you’d been thrown back in time to a different century because their outward appearances and general way of life are so dramatically different from what we normally see in Western culture today. Breaking these firm rules often results in shunning, which is a punishment where Amish individuals are treated by their community as if they don’t exist. Here are 19 things Amish women are forbidden from doing.
Defy Their Husbands
Amish rituals highly value submission. Women are expected to submit to their husbands and defer to their judgment and desires. The Amish say that this is so women can focus on their roles as homemakers and mothers. Not having any decision-making responsibility apparently helps prevent conflict.
Wear Dresses Above the Knees
The Amish have a lot of rules regarding clothing, and one is that women must wear dresses that cover the knees even when they are sitting down. Arms must be covered as well. Modesty is highly valued in these communities.
Use Technology for Entertainment
The Amish believe technology should only be used for completely practical purposes, never for fun or entertainment. They are very strict about this, and no one, woman or man, is allowed to use it. They don’t keep TVs or computers in their homes because they subscribe to the belief that such things distract from God and family. There are nuances to this wherein they create their own technology that they feel does not conflict with their morals.
Wear Bright Colors
Women in the Amish community are supposed to wear subdued colors such as navy blue, dark green, and black. Bright colors attract attention, which is not what they want, as it relates to vanity.
Prioritize Life Outside of the Family
Amish women are seen as responsible for parenting and homemaking. This means managing the household, raising the children, cooking, cleaning, making clothes, and so on. Their number one priority is intended to be these roles.
Buy Clothes from Stores
Amish women are expected to make all the clothes for themselves and their families. They aren’t allowed to use sewing machines, so everything must be crafted by hand using natural materials like cotton and wool.
Cut Their Hair
According to biblical guidelines that the Amish subscribe to, “a woman’s hair is her glory.” Cutting it is forbidden and perceived as an act of defiance against God. Women usually wear their hair in a braid or bun, and only the front pieces are allowed to be left loose.
Use Cars or Bicycles
When you picture the Amish, you likely picture them riding through town in a horse and buggy while modern cards pass by at lightning speed in comparison. Women and men in the Amish community are not allowed to travel with cards or even bikes due to them being considered too modern.
Wear Makeup
Makeup is considered a source of vanity and a distraction from the community values. The Amish believe it detracts from what is really important. Cosmetics, in general, are quite frowned upon.
Pursue Careers Outside the Home
Amish women are highly unlikely to work outside the home. Beyond traditional homemaking, like cooking and cleaning, they weave harvest baskets, wicker dog beds, vintage bread boxes, and storage baskets for shelves. Some women teach or are midwives, but nothing should distract from their roles as mothers and homemakers.
Show Their Hair in Public
While at the home, women can have their hair showing, as long as it’s pulled into a braid or bun; they are not permitted to do so in public. They must cover their hair with a scarf or bonnet anytime they leave the home. Married women wear white bonnets, while unmarried women wear black ones.
Make Dolls with Faces
The Amish believe that it is vain to create dolls with similarities to people, so they do not give their dolls facial features. Women must stitch these dolls by hand. Dolls are very important in Amish culture because they are used as toys to teach young girls how to be proper wives and mothers. Their lack of faces serves as a reminder that they are not real and creates an emotional detachment.
Wear Jewelry
Jewelry is considered to be excessive adornment that takes away from the values of modesty and humility. It is seen as an unnecessary source of vanity.
Obtain a Higher Education
Not only are people in the Amish community heavily discouraged from trying to attain a higher education, but their education also usually stops at around an 8th-grade level. This is to prevent the outside world from affecting them and taking them away from the Amish teachings. Plus, the Amish prioritize hard manual labor very heavily, and these are not skills that are generally taught in school, so further education is deemed pointless.
Wear Synthetic Materials
There is a large focus on clothing in the Amish community, from how it is made to how it is worn to what it is made of. Synthetic materials, like polyester and nylon, are forbidden. Women must make clothes with natural fibers only.
Be in Positions of Authority Over Men
While women in the Amish community are allegedly valued and considered as equals, they are forced into a sort of “separate but equal” dynamic. In the church, for example, women can never be ministers or bishops, but they are permitted to help with the planning of church events, sing in the choir, and teach Sunday school.
Wear White Wedding Dresses
White is considered to symbolize vanity and pride, so women aren’t allowed to wear it at their weddings. Instead, they opt for blue, which is a symbol of purity and faith. It’s generally a very lowkey affair as marriage is seen as a sacred commitment between a man and a woman rather than a celebration.
Travel Freely
Amish women are usually allowed to travel within the context and customs of their communities, but the extent is limited. They are also inherently inhibited by the fact that they can only travel by horse and buggy.
Have Physical Contact with a Man Before Marriage
Unmarried Amish people of both sexes are forbidden from having any sort of physical contact before marriage. They cannot do so much as hold hands, and they certainly can’t kiss or have sex. The Amish also have a practice called “bundling,” in which a young man and woman spend time in the same bed with one another, fully clothed, talking and getting to know each other with something like a board separating them in order to discourage physical contact.
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