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"Mingling The Sexes": The Gendered Organization Of Work In The Oneida Community, Marlyn Klee-Hartzell

The Courier

AFTER RECONCILIATION WITH God and the reorganization of sexual relations, John Humphrey Noyes placed labor as the third great challenge to be dealt with by those living in a state of perfect holiness on earth. He claimed that his holy community would "mingle the sexes" in work assignments to an unusual degree not found in mainstream American society of the nineteenth century. But in fact, most women in the Oneida Community were assigned traditional female work roles.