What is a Community Red Tent?
I’ve been hosting Community Red Tents for 4 years now at my local farmer’s market and two of the most common things I hear about the red tent are “What’s happening here” and “OH, I read the red tent, it’s a place for women to bleed. I love this!”. And while, I love the folks who have exposure to the Red Tent concept, I always stop them there.
A Community Red Tent is NOT:
a practical bleeding space
an exclusive space for cis-gendered women only
an exclusive space only for those still in thier bleeding years
a place for medical advice
A Community Red Tent is an inclusive space for folks of all ages, stages, and genders to explore menstruality in all it’s facets.
I’ll get a bit more into what it IS in a bit, but let’s break down what these above spaces are.
NOT a Practical Bleeding Spaces:
These are private spaces that might show up at festivals, longer events, or outdoor spaces where hygienic resources are provided for folks with periods to care for their menstrual bleed. This type of space will have a place for folks to clean their hands, their body, and to safely dispose of menstrual blood & period products. This space may also have period products for guests to use or take home with them, as well as some educational resources for menstrual health and wellness.
NOT a Cis-Gendered Women Only Space:
There is a time and a place for spaces to be catered to this very specific audience, the Community Red Tent is NOT one of those. Some of my core values at Moon & Bloom are accessibility and inclusivity. This means not gendering spaces so gender-variant, or cis-men feel unsafe in them. Community Red Tents are designed to help create a more period friendly world, smashing stigmas, making the taboo more yahoo - out in a public “in your face, gently” kinda way.
Community Red Tents are for COMMUNITY. Meaning that the facilitator should be able to hold space for the curiosity of folks coming from various backgrounds, levels of exposure, preexisting ideas, and mental blocks.
NOT an Exclusive Space for Bleeding Folks Only:
One thing people say a LOT when walking by the tent is “Oh, I don’t get a period anymore, this isn’t for me”. I’m never surprised by this response. I mean, a lot of us think that if we don’t experience something, we don’t have any attachment to it. ESPECIALLY, if our experience with menstruation was unpleasant or too taboo to talk about.
When folks come with this response, I like to challenge them a little bit. I like to inquire about who taught them about menstruation? Who taught them about perimenopause and menopause? Was there anything that they wished they had known before/during/after? How would they have preferred to get that information?
The truth is, non-menstruating folks have more stories and experiences to share than they realize. Yes, even in the menopause years. Yes, even if they’ve had a hysterectomy. Yes, even if they use contraceptives or HRT (hormone replacement therapies) to stop their period.
NOT a Place for Medical Advice:
Community Red Tents can help to connect folks to resources in their community, though as a menstrual educator or advocate, the facilitator’s job is NOT to provide medical advice.
As the host of a community Red Tent, I am comfortable to preface any conversations with my qualifiers and a disclaimer like: “While I’m not a nurse, doctor, or psychologist (etc) this is my current understanding based on my experience, research, and training. You could find more information about this here (names relevant place)”
The goal is not to be the egotistical expert on everything. Community spaces rely on community expertise, support, and collaboration.
Okay, hopefully we’re on the same page now about what a community Red Tent is NOT. Now, for what it is!
A community Red Tent IS a space for:
curiosity and learning
connection and healing
breaking down the patriarchy and pre-conceived notions regarding menstruality
queer, non-binary and trans folks
cis-gender men open to learning about menstruality
folks waking to learn how to use period products, how hormones work, what menopause is, tools for connecting with your period etc.
resource sharing
Basically, a community red tent is a space to help bridge the gaps between the education we get in school and the support we can get from healthcare systems. Some providers will be amazing and have capacity to connect and listen, some educators too. Not all will (again, as a community we all have our skills and spaces!). So, sometimes that looks like connecting folks to better resources and sometimes that looks like being curious together.
Yay!! We’re on the same page now. Thanks for being curious, thanks for smashing stigmas and for helping to create a more period friendly world. It’s not easy shifting our perspectives or learning new things. You rock and I’m so flippin proud of you!
What about Moon & Bloom’s tent specifically?
Well, since I have a background in biology, anthropology, and holistic health I come from that lens of understanding. So I’ll often share more about the socio-cultural comings and goings of the menstrual experience as well as anatomy, physiology, and the mind-body connection of it all.
My lived experience is pretty diverse too, so I often sprinkle in my comprehension on decolonization, systemic operations, addiction and recovery, neurodiversity, queerness, poverty, sex positivity and sex work, and so on. Of course, only when relevant and in a way that’s productive, non-judgmental, and age appropriate.
Please feel free to learn more about me here.
Want to learn more about periods?
Check out my offerings for 1:1 Cycle Coaching or learn about hosting a Red Tent at your next community Gathering.