Life in Community

At a community founded in feminism, a member suggests that strategies like corrective discrimination, single-gender gatherings, and prioritizing “gender balance” may themselves be sexist.

When a Twin Oaks member leads a tour, “co” must “address the dress” (when appropriate) and wear a shirt, whether or not participating in the collective menstrual calendar.

The intensity of community living can bring issues of gender, sexual identity, and gender relationships to the fore as nothing else does.

Living in an extended community family brings joy, challenge, and new worlds of possibility.

The “public vs. home” debate brings lessons of moral relativism, humility, and tolerance for differing tastes.

Spontaneous sharing and even-handedness erupt in Lost Valley’s young “tribe.”

A child learns that it’s fine to be comfortable in her skin.

Group-building activities and conflict management strategies help teen expeditions thrive.

Community brings cross-generational teamwork, learning, and many other benefits to both children and adults.

Thanks to a magic borne of community, a five-year-old overcomes her fears.

An archiving project helps define a pioneering experiment’s cultural impact.

Chronic illness presents challenges but also gifts of insight to a long-time communitarian.

Questioning her community’s philosophy and practices, a live-in caregiver ends her involvement there in order to focus on greater self-expression and self-care.

Marking endings and beginnings with ritual can add intentionality, understanding, and connection to our lives.

Two community founders recognize that it’s time to hand over the reins and move on.