“The red tent is the place where women gathered during their cycles of birthing, menses, and even illness. Like the conversations and mysteries held within this feminine tent, this sweeping piece of fiction offers an insider's look at the daily life of a biblical sorority of mothers and wives and their one and only daughter, Dinah.”
What I was most fascinated by in this book was the concept of women retreating collectively into a place for a few days each month; relinquishing their day-to-day duties and spending the days with other women in conversation and contemplation. The days, in my imagination, must have been spent giving voice to their opinions on a wide variety of topics, medical or marriage advice, or telling stories about their personal remembrances or tribal history.
After reading the book, I wrote up a concept for a website, a virtual red tent as it were. After discussing the project with a few women, who were full of ideas but had no technical capabilities to offer, I gave up on the idea. I didn't want to be the sole motor in the project.
Yet, recently, I reconsidered (reread) my concept and feel the time is right to execute the project. Mainly because I have been both a witness and (humble) participator in various new trends that are currently taking place on the Internet. They excite me in their technical simplicity, as in their extensive accessibility.
I have always believed that once the Internet underwent an evolution that transformed it from an information medium into a communication medium, as once happened with the telephone *, a revolution would occur. In this revolution, the “small people of the world” will finally be given a voice. Politically, economically, socially, and in the world of media, there are definite indicators (I’ll try to find a few links later) that we are at the cusp of this revolution.
So, I have talked to a few friends about setting up “The Red Tent Blog”. This will be a virtual meeting place for friends, friends-of-friends, or just interested women to exchange ideas, express opinions, give advice, recount past experiences, and reflect upon lessons about how to survive or thrive present social or economic challenges.
Stay tuned. The gods willing, “The Red Tent Blog” will be launched May 8th 2006.
* My convoluted recollection about the development of the telephone goes as follows … The telephone was originally developed as a substitute for the telegraph. This was because many of the post office employees could not decipher Morse code. It was the female post officers using the new telephone services, with their insatiable curiosity for news and their talent for spreading gossip, that instigated the change from the telephone as a device to send news rather than to talk to any person on the face of the earth. What would our world be without telephones!
Yet, recently, I reconsidered (reread) my concept and feel the time is right to execute the project. Mainly because I have been both a witness and (humble) participator in various new trends that are currently taking place on the Internet. They excite me in their technical simplicity, as in their extensive accessibility.
I have always believed that once the Internet underwent an evolution that transformed it from an information medium into a communication medium, as once happened with the telephone *, a revolution would occur. In this revolution, the “small people of the world” will finally be given a voice. Politically, economically, socially, and in the world of media, there are definite indicators (I’ll try to find a few links later) that we are at the cusp of this revolution.
So, I have talked to a few friends about setting up “The Red Tent Blog”. This will be a virtual meeting place for friends, friends-of-friends, or just interested women to exchange ideas, express opinions, give advice, recount past experiences, and reflect upon lessons about how to survive or thrive present social or economic challenges.Stay tuned. The gods willing, “The Red Tent Blog” will be launched May 8th 2006.
* My convoluted recollection about the development of the telephone goes as follows … The telephone was originally developed as a substitute for the telegraph. This was because many of the post office employees could not decipher Morse code. It was the female post officers using the new telephone services, with their insatiable curiosity for news and their talent for spreading gossip, that instigated the change from the telephone as a device to send news rather than to talk to any person on the face of the earth. What would our world be without telephones!
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