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The "Helpmate" of Males: An
Ethnography on Sex Segregation and Theocracy
Cliff Cheng, Ph.D.
University of Southern California (USC)
Abstract
This ethnography explores sex segregation in a cultic communal social change
movement - "The Third Sacred School." "The Third Sacred School" had 12 "units"
(communes) in western Caucasian Christian countries. First a study of "The Third
Sacred School's" organizational structure was done. The member's view in "The
Third Sacred School" is that is has no structure and no hierarchy. Focus groups
comprised of 36 members indicated that there was a hierarchical organizational
structure. Within individual "units" there were five hierarchical levels. Above
the "units" was "Spiritual Leader." "Spiritual Leader's" job has always been
held by a male, for "The Third Sacred School" believes "women focus spirit
through men." After the structural study was done, members were coded into the
structure based on their job assignments. In the "units," the top two
organizational levels included 6 "Unit Focuses" and their assistants and the
"Unit Managers." Only males held these jobs. At the third level, the "Unit
Managers" were assisted by 12 (6 males, 6 females) "Work Pattern Coordinators,"
who oversaw a workforce that was sex segregated into the "Men's Work Pattern"
and the "Women's Work Pattern." The fourth level of hierarchy consisted of
departments which were either the women's work pattern, i.e., kitchen,
household, or men's work pattern, i.e., construction/maintenance, farm/ranch. Of
the 10 Department Supervisors at the fourth level of hierarchy, 6 were males,
and 4 were females. At the worker level, there were 402 workers, 287 females and
115 males, a 2.5:1 ratio of females to males. Most females started at and stayed
at the fifth and lowest level of hierarchy. The females at levels two through
four were usually wives of high-ranking males. The subject organization used
theocracy to justify patriarchal sex segregation.
Full text available through
ICSA E-Library.
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