Red Tents are spaces intentionally co-created for women to share, connect and authentically be. They are spaces for women to share their stories, rest and gain strength from being together and supporting one another.
These spaces can take many forms but essentially they are:
- women meeting and holding a circle where each woman gets time and space to speak without discussion or debate;
- women meeting regularly at an agreed time and place;
- gatherings which are either free or donation-based to cover room hire or tea with the amount ideally left to the discretion of the donor;
- circles which respond to the wishes of those present rather than primarily running workshops, trainings or any deliberate kind of personal development.
*When we say women we include those of both cisgender and transgender experience, non-binary trans femme, intersex and gender-expansive people.
At the Red Tent Directory we think about Red Tents as spaces to break our silence and replace it with radical collective care, spaces where care becomes a blueprint between us and where ritual, respect and honesty help us engage together in the long-term work of unpicking oppressive systems.
At the Red Tent Directory, we also acknowledge the often unconscious complicity of women’s sacred spaces in maintaining injustice. We want to support Red Tents to consciously challenge these structures and facilitate a culture between women of connection, cooperation, mutual support and solidarity.
Discover stories from women in their Red Tents, read our book for guidance and support, and learn how to make time each month to create liberatory space with women in your community, as women around the world do the same.