Page 7 - C.A.L.L. #35 - Fall 2012

Truth and Fiction Can Both Be Strange: A Cultural Reality Check

Leaves of Twin Oaks #112 - Spring 2012 by Valerie

It's said that it's a sign of a well-developed sense of
self when you can laugh at your own quirks and foibles.
Perhaps this is as true for a community as it is for an
individual. Here, as with any sub-culture, stereotypes abound, and sometimes
they're actually or at least partially based in reality. Even we roll our eyes at

times....

Some of the statements below are true at Twin Oaks, and some are made up-see
if you can distinguish fact from fiction: Answers on page 19 (no cheating!)

A) We've had members named Bucket, Bok Choy and Free Radical -Twin Oaks is
a social experiment, and as part of that, members are free to experiment with

any name they like.

B) We have a publicly-posted menstrual calendar - all menstruating women can
write their name in each month and track their cycle.

C) We have a Tree Sanctuary - a portion of our 450 mostly-wooded acres that is
purposefully set aside and no trees can be cut for firewood from that section of
forest.

D) We have no cats or dogs as pets - our value of egalitarianism doesn't allow
for one living being to own another living being.

E) We have a Nudity Policy that allows members to be naked, anywhere
outdoors, during a thunderstorm.

F) We have a Saturday Tour Policy that requires men wearing a dress to explain
themselves to the people on the tour.

G) We have a Housing Policy that requires every member to change bedrooms
once a year, to overcome attachment to materialism.

H) We don't use diapers on our babies - instead we toilet train them with
methods based on ones used by indigenous people.

Answers on page 19

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