the shaker were probably best known for their celibacy and industriousness .single men and women did not marry .married couples who joined the religion had to live apart .in the shaker community ,males and females lived in separate communal houses .they had strict rules regarding behavior between the sexes, such as never shaking hand or touching each other in any way .they ate, worked, and slept in separate quarters .when conversation between a man and a women was necessary , it was done in the company of others.at their almost daily meeting for conversation and singing ,males and females sat opposite each other. even when they danceed and whirled around during worship ,men and women alway kept their distance