Personally, I do feel an instant camaraderie with other sister RMs–I feel that our “status” says something positive about the way we were when we served. This may be because I am judgmental, but when I am in a new ward, I am most likely to want to socialize with someone else who served as a young missionary (no matter when) rather than some random lady that is about my age or has kids about my age. Of course, I also like to keep up with former companions, but they don’t live in my ward.

I would not feel the same connection to an older woman who served with her husband–that is a different experience.

1900 796 total 17 female
1905 716 total 16 female
1910 933 total 44 female
1915 621 total 90 female
1920 889 total 148 female
1925 1131 total 151 female
etc.–seems to hover in between 15-20% of the total then WW II:
1943 261 total 126 female
1945 400 total 212 female

Then 1950s and 1960s
1955 2414 total 301 female
1960 4706 total 464 female
1965 7139 total 670 female

Numbers go back up between 15-20% female in 1980s and seemingly through present, though more recent numbers are apparently hard to come by since the Church restricts access to live-person data.

My numbers are coming from Tally S. Payne, “‘Our Wise and Prudent Women’: Twentieth-Century Trends in Female Missionary Service,” New Scholarship on Latter-day Saint Women in the Twentieth Century, Joseph Fielding Smith Institute for LDS History, Provo, Utah, 2005.

So, yes, it seems that you are definitely right Craig about the percentage of the total. Percentage wise the women were not doing something that unique. But I think straight numbers-wise (and from what I gather from personal statements), they felt pretty unique, like they were fulfilling a prophecy.

I guess it’s a feeling from bygone era. Maybe it’s a club thing from a bygone era, too.

So perhaps this is the question I should be asking: is anyone part of a club and what is it based on? BTW, is the 1900s rule still in effect? that men are in clubs/societies based on professional associations and women are in societies for social reasons? I’m in a fabulous classics book club, but that’s all, RS Enrich groups notwithstanding.

I think I’ve mentioned before that in my mission there was a separate zone for sisters, with sister zone leaders. This was in the mid 70s. I love telling that to sister missionaries now, it seems so subversive and radical. It was my mission president’s idea, but the area authority put an end to it, for reasons unclear. We all thought it was kind of cool, even before our consciousness was raised.