The Red Tent movement was inspired by Anita Diamont’s book the Red Tent, a historical novel from biblical times that portrays a community of women, separating from the rest of the community when they were bleeding or pregnant, and gathering to support each other and pass down knowledge during menstruation, pregnancy, and childbirth.
Red Tents are radical spaces – a place for women (ALL women, including sis and trans, as well as non-binary, intersex, and queer folx inclined to female-of-center gatherings) to gather and support each other in the face of white supremacist and patriarchal structures that continue to do harm – especially to the LGBTQ+ community, women of color, lower-income women, and indigenous women.
We gather in community, with no financial agenda, to share openly and listen without judgment. To offer a space where women can connect, share, celebrate themselves and each other, and support our sisters through all life passages. Where we can disrupt harmful structures by creating group leadership models that affirm and support, and communities that are radically accepting.
We think of Red Tents as community-held spaces where women can come to connect with each other in ways that aren’t necessarily common or familiar to us. And we think of the practice of doing this, of meeting each other monthly to share and rest, as something that allows us to connect to one another in a different kind of way from what we might be used to. Connecting by intentionally listening and deliberately seeking not to ‘fix’ or critique. Doing this we think can be a liberatory practice that helps support change in our lives in in our world.
– Mary Ann Clements & Aisha Hannibal, Red Tents: Unraveling Our Past and Weaving a Shared Future
Cynthia is a founding member of a Red Tent community in the North-Central Massachusetts area. If you would like to find out about their meetings, email her at: cynthia @ inkwoodtarot.com with the subject ‘Red Tent’.
If you would like to learn more about Red Tents including how to start your own:
The Red Tent Temple Movement site was created by one of the founders of the Red Tent Movement, ALisa Starkweather. You can get a copy of the powerful, documentary Red Tent film, Things We Don’t Talk About, and explore the history of the Movement.
The Red Tent Directory (which is actually no longer a directory of Tents, but a resource hub), has a wonderful blog, and resources, and you can get a copy of their awesome, liberating book Red Tents: Unraveling Our Past and Weaving a Shared Future. An excellent resource for starting a Red Tent, or just learning more about their vision of radically inclusive, liberating spaces.
The Red Tent Movie site is a wonderfully rich resource offering history, a listing of tents, a powerful blog, and resources for starting your own Tent. This is the home site for the Red Tent movie Things We Don’t Talk About
