An Ordered Love: Sex Roles and Sexuality in Victorian Utopias--The Shakers, the Mormons, and the Oneida Community

by Louis J. Kern

An Ordered Love is the first detailed study of sex roles in the utopian communities that proposed alternatives to monogamous The Shakers (1779-1890), the Mormons (1843-90), and the Oneida Community (1848-79).

The lives of men and women changed substantially when they joined one of the utopian communities. Louis J. Kern challenges the commonly held belief that Mormon polygamy was uniformly downgrading to women and that Oneida pantagamy and Shaker celibacy were liberating for them. Rather, Kern asserts that changes in sexual behavior and roles for women occurred in ideological environments that assumed women were inferior and needed male guidance. An elemental distrust of women denied the Victorian belief in their moral superiority, attacked the sanctity of the maternal role, and institutionalized the dominance of men over women.

These utopias accepted the revolutionary idea that the pleasure bond was the essence of marriage. They provided their members with a highly developed theological and ideological position that helped them cope with the ambiguities and anxieties they felt during a difficult transitional stage in social mores.

Analysis of the theological doctrines of these communities indicates how pervasive sexual questions were in the minds of the utopians and how closely they were related to both reform (social perfection) and salvation (individual perfection). These communities saw sex as the point at which the demands of individual selfishness and the social requirements of self-sacrifice were in most open conflict. They did not offer their members sexual license, but rather they established ideals of sexual orderliness and moral stability and sought to provide a refuge from the rampant sexual anxieties of Victorian culture.

Kern examines the critical importance of considerations of sexuality and sexual behavior in these communities, recognizing their value as indications of larger social and cultural tensions. Using the insights of history, psychology, and sociology, he investigates the relationships between the individual and society, ideology and behavior, and thought and action as expressed in the sexual life of these three communities. Previously unused manuscript sources on the Oneida Community and Shaker journals and daybooks reveal interesting and sometimes startling information on sexual behavior and attitudes.

Genres: History, Religion, Nonfiction

445 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1981

Reviews

[Mia E · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book definitely wasn’t meant for casual reading —whoops! Picked it up at half price books and maybe it should have stayed there until someone with a relevant thesis needed it for research lol. Heavy use of jargon and an almost unnecessary way of complicating things. Also ethnocentric in its comparisons.

[Elizabeth Quinn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was part of my research for my novel-in-progress, Perfecting Eden, which is a fictional account of the lives of my ancestors in the Oneida Community. Oneida's founder, J.H. Noyes, viewed his commune in competition with the Shakers and the Mormons, and this book enabled me to compare the specifics of each sects outlook and practices.

[Dale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book when researching background information for my first novel (2nd and 6th Circles of Hell). Interesting to read. Non-fiction that gave me an insight into a side of colonial religions not easily found elsewhere. Good bibliography for further reading.

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

Proof that dissertations are never meant to be read. However, I did learn the word, "tergiversate." I knew I could base my level of interest on the Shakers and the Oneida Community by how the author approached his study of early Mormon polygamists. Needless to say, he and I did not see eye to eye. Understanding his angle a little more, it was easy to skim through for a general knowledge of Shakers and Perfectionists (whom I'd never even heard of before). No one on Earth would think of recommending this book to another person. Not sure why I'm bothering to tell you I made the time to read it.

[Marsha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Utopian societies of the 1900s attempted to work beyond Puritan-inspired sexual standards, and find new standards that worked better for those living in a Millenium-obsessed nation where stress and worry over selfishness and perfectionism dominated society. Mormons, Oneidas, and Shakers chose different paths to sexual and religious perfection and the results were three alternative societies that took up social issues and forged new religious identities.