Safer Space at the sauna

no space is ever actually safe, but how we got to where we are...

The term “safe space” first surfaced in the United States through queer organizing and the women’s liberation movement of the 1960s and 70s. It named something urgent and tender: a place outside of patriarchal violence, where bodies could rest, organize, speak, soften, and exist without defense. Of course, this promise was imperfect and unevenly realized, but it was attempted.

Throughout operating for three years in public space, we may appear to always have a strong facade on the surface, but the journey has had its ups and downs. Many of these lows have come in the form of public harassment, mostly from white men, who seem to want to police or enforce some kind of idea of who can be partaking in public leisure.

These moments have come in the form of people yelling out of cars or directly yelling at customers, particularly queer or BIPOC people, to “get out of here” or “leave.” When I really step back and try to understand what is so disturbing about someone in a bathing suit, in a bathtub outside, the only possible answer I come to is not what is going on, but who is in a bathing suit. We have public beaches and public pools, and in my mind, how is this any different?

All of these moments have left me with no choice but to examine how other institutions, affinity groups, and public spaces have handled these situations in order to keep everyone as safe as possible to the best of their ability. This has led me to training my staff in de-escalation practices alongside our more practical CPR and first aid training, and instituting a Safer Space Policy.

I worked with a longstanding nightlife and first responder medic who has shaped policies, community, and safety at Nowadays, Sustain Release, ACRE residency, and other public-facing spaces. Through this practice, we tried to center these questions: How can we articulate what a sauna is? Why does it deserve to be in public space? What kind of ethos are we trying to create? How can we articulate our goals of safety and what does that look like?

Americans have issues with public leisure and also with saunas. Steeped in homophobia and ignorance, it is important to acknowledge that bathing is an ancestral right, as it has been practiced for thousands of years across the globe, regardless of gender expression, class, or race.

For all of these reasons, and because it feels more important than ever, I felt very compelled to finally share publicly our Safer Space Policy:

Wellness starts with self-care. Building community and sharing space within the saunas without distraction is very important to a lot of the people who come to Big Towel. We ask that you respect the importance that Big Towel holds to other people inside the sauna and surrounding public spaces by following a few guidelines:

First, we have zero tolerance for violence, sizeism, racism, sexism, transphobia or other discriminatory language or actions.

At Big Towel we ask you to minimize conversations inside the sauna to help us keep the space for people who want to steam their dreams into reality. If you wanna have a long chat with friends, we ask that you head to the public sitting areas outside of the sauna.

There is a fire pit, a water canteen, locker rooms, all-gender restrooms, showers, picnic tables and a grassy lawn pond side for everyone to share.

If anyone or anything makes you feel unsafe while you’re inside the sauna, cold plunges, or sitting areas please look out for our sauna facilitators helping keep the heat up, steam rising and the overall sauna environment safer and enjoyable for all of our guest to indulge in wellness.

Please respect our sauna facilitators as they help us regulate our nervous systems. We all deserve safer spaces. Big towel centers a sauna experience that is rooted in being a communal resource for marginalized, femme, queer and local people to enjoy as leisure not elitism. Steaming is our ancestral communal right. Sauna is an ancient communal bathing practice that fosters cultural tradition and well- being. We are here to make sure we all respect this ancient tradition of relaxation and leisure.

Thank you for helping us keep Big Towel safer, relaxing and fun for all people. Enjoy yourselves, make a new friend, make a wish in the cold plunge. Self and communal care is Big Towel energy!