Dr. Sara Patterson will explore the shifting gender expectations for med during the transition from a polygamous to a monogamous system. Examining how gender expectations were created and reinforced, she will investigate how sexual roles were and are tied to gender and religious beliefs in Mormonism. As she does so she will compare the gender expectations for Mormom men to those for Protestand men during the same period. Patterson will argue that Mormons fashioned a masculinity that would distinguish them from other Americans will at the same time claim a stake in American identity.

Sara M. Patterson