Millennial Women and Shifting Gender Expectations

Abstract

This chapter addresses sexism in Mormon culture. Dedicated to a particular version of family values in which women are seen as primarily responsible for bearing and nurturing children, Mormonism is sometimes at odds with recent shifts that have taken place in American culture, a divide that is more keenly felt in the younger generation. Adolescence is a time when gender expectations begin to be clearly defined in Mormonism. This can be painful at times, especially for girls who don't submit easily to being groomed for marriage and motherhood. A majority of millennial Mormons are indeed sometimes “bothered” by the fact that women do not hold the priesthood, which is a significant reversal of the views of older Mormons. Not surprisingly, former Mormons are significantly more supportive of women's ordination than current Mormons are.