Editing Oneida Community (section)

=== Role of women ===

Oneida embodied one of the most radical and institutional efforts to change women's roles and improve female status in 19th-century America.{{sfn |Foster |1991 |pp=[https://archive.org/details/womenfamilyutopi0000fost/page/91 91–102]}} Women gained some freedoms in the commune that they could not get on the outside. Some of these privileges included not having to care for their own children as Oneida had a communal child care system and freedom from unwanted pregnancies with Oneida's [[Coitus reservatus|male continence]] practice. In addition, they were able to wear functional, [[Bloomers (clothing)|Bloomer]]-style clothing and maintain short haircuts. Women were able to participate in practically all types of community work.{{sfn |Foster |1991 |pp=[https://archive.org/details/womenfamilyutopi0000fost/page/91 91–102]}}  While domestic duties remained a primarily female responsibility, women were free to explore positions in business and sales, or as artisans or craftspersons, and many did so, particularly in the late 1860s and early 1870s.{{sfn |Kern |1981 |p=260}} Last, women actively shaped commune policy, participating in the daily religious and business meetings.{{sfn |Foster |1991 |pp=[https://archive.org/details/womenfamilyutopi0000fost/page/91 91–102]}}

The [[Group marriage|complex marriage]] and free love systems practiced at Oneida further acknowledged female status. Through the complex marriage arrangement, women and men had equal freedom in sexual expression and commitment.{{sfn |Foster |1991 |pp=[https://archive.org/details/womenfamilyutopi0000fost/page/91 91–102]}} Indeed, sexual practices at Oneida accepted female sexuality. A woman's right to satisfying sexual experiences was recognized, and women were encouraged to have orgasms.{{sfn |Kern |1981 |pp=224, 232}} However, a woman's right to refuse a sexual overture was limited depending on the status of the man who made the advance.{{sfn |Kern |1981 |p=241}}

Ellen Wayland-Smith, the author of "The Status and Self-Perception of Women in the Oneida Community", said that men and women had roughly equal status in the community. She points out that while both sexes were ultimately subject to Noyes' vision and will, women did not suffer undue oppression.{{sfn |Wayland-Smith |1988 |p=49}}