When you think about Amish people, the first things that come to mind are simplicity and tradition, but there is so much more to the Amish culture than that. You probably know that the Amish are known for their reluctance to adopt modern technology with all of its conveniences and for their amazing lack of vanity, but their way of life differs from community to community. They value rural life, humility, and manual work, they don’t perform any type of military service, their clothing regulations are very strict, as well as the limitations on the use of the electricity, cars, phones etc. If a member of their community doesn’t follow all of those rules, they can be excommunicated or even shunned by the other members.

With all of that in mind, there is a certain stereotype people have about the Amish. Truth to be told, they might surprise you if you met some of them, especially their women who are far more beautiful than you would expect. They don’t often take pictures because that is considered vain hence wrong, but there have been some pretty breathtaking pictures taken of Amish women that will very quickly break all stereotypes you might have had about them.

15. Breaking Amish

Kate Stoltz, born Kate Stoltzfus, is an American model and the star of the TLC’s reality series Breaking Amish. The show is about young Amish people who get to experience the life in the New York City and then it is up to them to choose whether to accept the modern world’s lifestyle or to return to their traditionalist communities. After spending 20 years in with her Amish family, Kate decided to take a different path and she decided to pursue a career in modeling and she posed for Maxim magazine in July 2013. She even began her own fashion line where her sewing skills she acquired in her Amish community proved themselves to be very useful. Her line focuses mostly on women’s dresses, but she also started working on quilts and pillows.

14. How To Become Amish?

Not many outsiders consider joining the Amish community and even if they do, it doesn’t always mean the community will be willing to accept them. However, it is not impossible to do. The first step would be for you to get rid of every piece of modern technology you own (including the one you are currently using to read this article). Then you will have to live in an Amish community for a year and, luckily for you, there are some Amish families that are willing to allow potential converters to live with them. Of course, you will have to participate in the daily chores and work, as well as attend the worship service every Sunday. The hardest part will be to learn how to speak Pennsylvania Dutch which is the language used in most Amish communities. After all that, you will have to learn the ordinances of the church and the church members will vote on your acceptance.

13. Amish Model

It is hard to imagine Amish woman becoming a model simply because Amish people try so hard to avoid everything that has anything to do with vanity. They don’t take photographs and they don’t even look at themselves is the mirrors. Celebrating one’s beauty is something they don’t accept and possibly don’t even entirely understand. On the other hand, the modern society is all about vanity, to the point where people take way too much pride in their looks instead of the other and more important values. So is it possible to combine those two worlds somehow? Kate Stoltz is the living proof that it is not impossible for a person to change their lifestyle completely as she decided to leave her Amish community in order to pursue her modeling career. Not only did she do that, she actually did it very successfully.

12. Amish Photography

Have you ever wondered how Amish feel about photographs, considering they don’t take pride in physical appearance? Well, the truth is there are very little photos of Amish people because they don’t like being photographed. If you were to walk into an Amish household, you wouldn’t see a single picture of the family members displayed anywhere in the house. They believe pictures can call attention to one’s self and accentuate individuality, and if a person’s face is recognizable in a photo, they find it to be a violation of the Biblical commandment. Not only they do not take pictures of themselves and their community members, they also don’t like others to do so. Many Amish people find themselves frustrated when the tourists don’t respect that and try to snap a pic anyway.

11. Bending The Rules

Before Kate Stoltz decided to break the Amish rules completely and become a model, she got very skilled at bending them a little bit as a child. She used to wear jeans under her Amish clothes and, together with her friend, they would take off her dress and walk around in regular clothes as soon as they were out of their parents’ sight. Kate also had a hidden radio during her teenage years and she would sneak out to listen to Eminem. At that time, she had a big dream of becoming a famous rapper herself one day. She wasn’t particularly fond of the Amish services because she found them to be way too long. In fact, she and some of her friends often pretended they had to use the bathroom just to take a break from sitting on the hard benches.

10. Lili Simmons As Rebecca Bowman

Everybody knows Lili Simmons is one hot actress, but who could assume she would look so great playing an Amish girl named Rebecca Bowman in the popular TV series Banshee? In the interview for Maxim magazine, Lili talked about the similarities and the differences between her and her Amish character. According to her, she could never survive in an Amish town simply because she is too lazy to grow her own cooking ingredients and to sew her own clothes. She also isn’t too big of a fan of the special underwear Amish women usually wear. On the other hand, she admitted that if she was in a situation like her character in the series, she would probably behave in a similar manner and she would try to find some way out that kind of life.

9. Toned Body Under The Amish Dresses

If you were to meet an Amish woman on the street, she would probably be covered head to toe with her clothes. But what you don’t know is the fact that most Amish women have pretty impressive figures and toned bodies. No, they obviously don’t visit the local gyms, but they work really hard which results in strong and beautiful bodies.

In Amish society, gender roles are clearly defined. Women should marry, bear children, and submit to the husband’s will without the possibility of divorce. Every woman has to fulfill her daily tasks, including but not limited to cooking, gardening, sewing, cleaning, taking care of the children, etc. Only about 3% of the Amish women have jobs outside of the household but that doesn’t mean they just sit around doing nothing. It is the exact opposite of that.

8. Amish In Popular Culture

The Amish lifestyle is a very interesting subject and a source of inspiration for artists such as photographers, filmmakers, and writers. Peter Weir’s movie Witness, featuring Harrison Ford, follows the story of a young Amish boy and it was filmed in the Amish community of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. If you are more of a documentary person, Devil’s Playground might catch your attention as it captures the rumspringa and the inner struggle of Amish teenagers who need to choose whether to stay or to leave their community. If you are more of a reality show fan, you could check out Breaking Amish and Amish Mafia, and if you aren’t into watching things on screen at all and you prefer books, there is a whole bunch of both modern and older novels based on the Amish lifestyle.

7. Should I Stay Or Should I Go?

Contrary to popular belief, growing up in the Amish community doesn’t mean the complete lack of personal choices under the restrictive hand of the faith. Actually, personal choice is quite important and for that reason, every person gets to choose for themselves whether to stay in the community or to leave it. The entry into the Amish church is marked by baptism and it cannot be done before the person is at least 16 years old. At that point, every candidate can leave to experience life outside of their community and they are allowed to return within a short period of time. If they choose to leave permanently, they will be shunned – they won’t be allowed to participate in the community anymore and other community members won’t be allowed to communicate with them ever again, including the closest family members.

6. Bombshell’s Amish Background

When you think of the exact opposite of a traditional Amish woman, the first person that comes to the mind would probably be somebody like Michelle “Bombshell” McGee. It came as quite a shock when people found out that this ex-stripper, tattoo artist, and Jesse James’ mistress, in fact, grew up in an Amish community. Take a moment and try to imagine her wearing traditional Amish clothes and picking corn in the field. She left home when she was 16, moved to L.A., got a couple of tattoos, and never looked back. It is really hard to believe that this raven-haired woman covered in tattoos head to toe was a sweet, little, blond Amish girl. However, despite her rough looks, people who know her claim she is a sweet and modern person so maybe some Amish values are still there, hidden under the surface.

5. Amish Clothing Rules

The rules on Amish clothing are designed to reflect the universal values of modesty and humility, and to discourage the person’s appearance as a source of pride. Amish clothes are meant to carry important traditional symbolism as well. For example, the practice of women covering their hair is derived from the Bible. They also shouldn’t cut their hair, although, in practice, women do occasionally trim heavy hair and they pin it up underneath the hair covering – the kapp. They usually make their own clothes, especially women’s dresses, but some clothes do come off the rack, for example, men’s shirts. Every woman usually owns 4 dresses; one for wear, one for wash, one for dress, and one for spare. They usually go barefoot around the house and wear black shoes for church services.

4. Peace And Quiet

You might think that there are little to no perks to living in an Amish community, but if you are into peace and quiet, it would be a lovely change from our modern hectic world. One of the most important aspects of Amish faith is non-violence and in the history of Amish world to date, there has only been one person convicted of homicide and he was proven to be mentally ill. Could you imagine living in a world where everybody gets along and learns to accept their differences peacefully?

Unfortunately, it is not always all rainbows and unicorns and people occasionally do commit crimes even in the Amish community. In that case, the community handles the punishment and it turns to the external law enforcement in extreme cases only.

3. Old Habits Die Hard

Kate Stoltz is a beautiful young woman who decided to leave the Amish community and move to New York City, but she shared that the old habits die really hard even though she changed her lifestyle completely. For example, she doesn’t own a TV because she would rather do things on her own than watch other people doing them on the screen. Also, even though the NYC is a shopping paradise, she still makes the most of her clothes by herself because she really enjoys sewing. She made her first dress when she was only 9 years old and she fell in love with designing and sewing immediately. While she was still living with her family, she read every book in the town library at least twice, and she still enjoys a good book more than anything.

2. Fun Facts

The most popular children’s toys among Amish kids are handmade rag dolls with no faces. They are usually dressed in traditional Amish attire and they are often sold to tourists as souvenirs. Amish believe that only God can create people and for that reason, all of their dolls are faceless. Amish people also don’t play any musical instruments because they don’t support self-expression that could possibly lead to developing feelings of superiority and pride. They don’t use any kind of motorized vehicles, they use a horse and buggy instead, which has become one of their most recognizable symbols on the streets.

Even though they are opposed to most things coming from the modern world, they accepted modern medicine and they use it in serious cases when the whole community collects funds to pay for it.

1. Amish Education

The Amish approach to schooling is very different from the modern society’s approach. Amish children attend private schools and their schooling is over once they finish the 8^th grade. They believe that formal education past 8^th grade is not necessary for practical and religious reasons. As far as the practical reasons go, Amish people are craftsmanship-oriented and they find hands-on learning and apprenticeship to be far more useful than theoretical learning. There are also religious objections because Amish feel higher education often promotes ideas and values counter to the traditional Christian ones. The typical Amish schoolhouse is usually a one-room classroom with a female Amish teacher. Boys’ and girls’ outhouses are separated and the schoolhouse is paid for and maintained by the members of the community in question.