THE LIBERATED WOMAN IN THE ONEIDA COMMUNITY: 1840-1872 Michael Stepanek The Perfectionists of Oneida Community in salvation after death was to deny oneself the true upstate New York existed as a community meaning of living. To attain a high level of experiment of much note and merit during the spirituality, however, meant that the Perfectionists nineteenth century. Among the myriad were to ever be on guard against what was termed experimental communities of this period, the "special love." Any exclusive feelings or Oneida Community was unique. It offered many relationships, even in the form of close worldly and modem approaches to the comradeship on a one-to-one basis was not philosophy and actual implementation of acceptable to the basic tenet of the Community for quality education. The role of women of the it threatened the fiber of togetherness on which Oneida Community is particularly interesting the Community thrived. Extending this philosophy because the Perfectionist philosophy not only further was to include the state of marriage. determined the way women should be educated, It was not alone that the Community religion but carried this philosophy over to every aspect 1 rated "special love" between the sexes as sin, of a woman's lifestyle. but any friendship that excluded others came in for censure, and those Perfectionists believed in The Oneida Community was amazingly liberal in uprooting tares as soon as they showed its sexual attitudes, especially when one themselves.2 remembers that the nineteenth century was becoming blanketed with multiple layers of Thus developed the most novel feature (and prudery and modesty. Add to this that special most unacceptable to the outside world) of the New England brand of theology that equated all Oneida group when it attempted to end forever the flesh with sin, and it is no wonder that the Oneida sexual jealousy and possessiveness of life by Perfectionists were assumed to be decadent by a instituting a system of "plural" or "complex" suspicious outside world. In this light, it is easy marriage. Under this system every man was to be to understand why the writers of American the husband of every woman. But this by no educational history choose to bypass the means resulted in wild sexual freedom. The Perfectionist experiments in education. A surface Community directed that mating and any special glance at the type of life Oneida stressed would sexual preference, such as falling in love, was lead the casual observer to decide that here, regarded as a threat to the harmony of the whole indeed, resided a variety of religious and sexual family.3 fanatics. Unfortunately, to the outside world the But, if improvement of the whole character of Perfectionists became stigmatized in the popular being was a preoccupation of the Perfectionists at mind as "Free Lovers." The Perfectionists felt that Oneida, and these people felt that their systems of the abolishment of sexual exclusiveness was complex marriage, stirpiculture, child care and involved in the love relationship required between women's equality were important steps in this all believers of Christ's injunction - "The new process, then these systems cannot be separated commandment is that we love one another." Noyes from what was their whole process of education. and his followers took this in terms of the larger John Humphrey Noyes, as the spiritual leader of meaning of the New Testament that love be not by the Perfectionists, felt sure that spiritual pairs, but en masse. attainment was completely possible within one's This system of complex marriage was regulated own lifetime and the necessity of striving for by the principle of "ascending fellowship," 22 whereby those who had attained a higher state of before their parents joined Oneida and at least spiritual perfection would be the first to acquire five more conceptions had been sanctioned by partners and would also be of good influence on the Community. Consequently, at most, those of less-perfected status. In this way older thirty-one children were accidentally conceived persons, more advanced in "fellowship," were over a period of twenty-one years. 6 likely to encounter sexual association with younger persons, and thus influence them with With the proof of fairly successful birth control more mature character and sound sense. and the practice of complex marriage The method of sexual encounter was simple: the well-launched, a new stage of development was man usually approached the woman of his choice, instituted in the late 1860's. whereupon she was free to refuse or accept. A After reading Darwin's Origin of the Species and third party often would serve as an intermediary, Galton's discussion on the improvement of the both to avoid any embarassment and act as a human species, Noyes was determined to delve check on members' activities. The couple would into an experiment in eugenics. For the retire to a room, either their own or a special Community's purposes, the term "stirpiculture" "social room" set aside for sexual purposes. The was used, its derivation coming from the Latin amount of time they spent together was subtly word "stirps," meaning stock, stem, or root. The checked so that they wouldn't spend too much Community accepted Noyes' newest venture time together and develop an exclusive without apparent difficulty. relationship. The bold venture into scientific procreation, of Although visitors to Oneida never reported which the Community made no secret whatever, anything but the most proper behavior and was denounced by interested moralists as an although there is no evidence of sexual orgies, attempt to introduce the "ethics of the barnyard" incest, or homosexuality, Community members into a human group. But the experiment was were undeniably keenly sensitive to the whole widely discussed, even across the Atlantic. In question of heterosexual sex.4 an essay on "The Evolution of the Family'' published in 1877, even Herbert Spencer Considering such an open atmosphere of referred to "Father" Noyes and stirpiculture.6 sexuality, love affairs would become inevitable. It was thus necessary to keep control of A stirpiculture committee was established and relationships and prevent exclusive love from persons who were well-advanced in spiritual threatening the communal ideal and the attainment were selected as prospective parents. Community's unity. Most participants selected their own mates but An unusual practice of the Community, about one-fourth of all unions were actually probably based on economics, was the system of suggested by the Committee. "male continence.'' Noyes, burdened by a sense of When the children born of these unions were responsibility when his wife bore four stillborn weaned, they left their mothers for the part of the children, was determined to spare his wife future Mansion House called the Children's House. After anguish by putting the system of male continence that they saw little of their parents because of the into use for the entire Community. The founder of Community's concern that frequent visiting might the Perfectionists strongly believed that coitus was lead to special love. ., at a man's command so that he could stop at any The care and upbringing accorded these point before orgasm. children of the stirpiculture experiments was never Surprisingly, the men of Oneida did learn to lacking in adult attention. Plenty of both men and practice this self-control. If they didn't, they were women looked after them in the Children's House. subject to peer disapproval and rejection. The At night, most of the children were allowed to effect was to diminish the number of births in the sleep in rooms with adult members, but, to first twenty years of the struggling Community discourage any growth of special attachments, until they were economically capable of providing their sleeping quarters were periodically changed. plentifully for the children. Care of the children was in accordance with the In practice the birth control system was already established custom of the Community. effective, if not quite perfect. Between 1848 and During early infancy, they remained in the care 1869, forty-four children were born in the of their mothers. When able to walk, the child Community. Eight of these had been conceived was admitted to the day nursery department of 23 the Children's House; the mothers continuing sexually-liberated woman in society and in the the night care.... Much attention was given to family. diet, clothing, sanitation and profitable activity.• Communism gives woman, without a claim from How the eugenic experimentation and the her, the place which every true woman most unusual upbringing of the stirpiculture children desires, as the free and honored companion of affected them emotionally, physically and man. Communism emancipates her from the intellectually is uncertain to any positive degree. slavery and corroding cares of a mere wife and Few of the children left any description of their mother; stimulates her to seek the improvement early experiences. Community accounts are not of mind and heart that will make her worthy of specific either, other than describing daily a higher place than ordinary society can give routines. Any evidences of mental or physical her. Freed from forced maternity, a true and holy superiority may be attributed more to desire for children grows in her heart. Here no environmental conditions than any other factor. woman's hand is red with the blood of These stirpiculture children were brought up in a innocents, as is whispered so often of many of healthy, disease-free, country atmosphere with lots her sisters in bondage. Gradually, as by natural of good food, good air and human attention. growth, the Community women have risen to a The Oneida Perfectionists, under Noyes' position where, in labor, in mind, and in heart, leadership, experimented widely in areas they have all and more than all that is claimed considered taboo to nineteenth-century America.