Mennonites and Sex
Perhaps I should have chosen a more discreet title; perhaps I'd better keep it brief. Anyway, you'll find they're no different than other cultures in this area.
While among the Beachy and Holdemans there is an effort being made to teach an honest, godly view of sexual matters to the younger generation, generally the person's view of such things will reflect his culture's view on it. They do make it a point of not providing detailed studies on biology to the pupils, and many of their pages will end with a note asking the reader to consult with a parent, guardian or respected elderly person. For example on the subject of menstruation, a CLP workbook was very brief and ended with " a girl should visit with her mother or an older church sister for more details on this topic," thus encouraging children to open up to their parents. Both groups of Mennonites strongly believe sexual topics should be taught first by the parent and not by the school teacher. Of course that doesn't always happen.
The KG have no teachings whatsoever concerning sex. In fact the subject of sex and finer details of menstruation and pregnancy are avoided except for those who have been or are sort of midwives and of course the nurses at the clinics. Schoolbooks are carefully looked at and read to avoid these subjects falling into students' hands. The liberal Mennonites poke fun at the KG by saying their teen girls are scared of knocking knees with boys for fear of getting pregnant. A KG bride-to-be once asked a girl friend of mine how long a couple had to be married before a baby starts growing inside her body. She also wanted to know how on earth it would come out. I'm not painting them as ignorant, I simply want to point out their avoidance of such things. On farm animal's sexual behavior in front of children they accept it as normal and tell the youngsters to stop asking questions.
The Old Colonists and the Old Order (Hoover) Mennonites are a lot like the KG with the Old Colonists being the strictest on the subject, as in actually becoming aggressive towards young people who are caught publicly mentioning or attempting to talk about those things.
While among the Beachy and Holdemans there is an effort being made to teach an honest, godly view of sexual matters to the younger generation, generally the person's view of such things will reflect his culture's view on it. They do make it a point of not providing detailed studies on biology to the pupils, and many of their pages will end with a note asking the reader to consult with a parent, guardian or respected elderly person. For example on the subject of menstruation, a CLP workbook was very brief and ended with " a girl should visit with her mother or an older church sister for more details on this topic," thus encouraging children to open up to their parents. Both groups of Mennonites strongly believe sexual topics should be taught first by the parent and not by the school teacher. Of course that doesn't always happen.
The KG have no teachings whatsoever concerning sex. In fact the subject of sex and finer details of menstruation and pregnancy are avoided except for those who have been or are sort of midwives and of course the nurses at the clinics. Schoolbooks are carefully looked at and read to avoid these subjects falling into students' hands. The liberal Mennonites poke fun at the KG by saying their teen girls are scared of knocking knees with boys for fear of getting pregnant. A KG bride-to-be once asked a girl friend of mine how long a couple had to be married before a baby starts growing inside her body. She also wanted to know how on earth it would come out. I'm not painting them as ignorant, I simply want to point out their avoidance of such things. On farm animal's sexual behavior in front of children they accept it as normal and tell the youngsters to stop asking questions.
The Old Colonists and the Old Order (Hoover) Mennonites are a lot like the KG with the Old Colonists being the strictest on the subject, as in actually becoming aggressive towards young people who are caught publicly mentioning or attempting to talk about those things.
