EmoTAZ, EmoMen, Tazopia, what?

EmoTAZ is an annual event for men to build friendship through activity. Emo means emotional, because it's okay to express ourselves. TAZ is short for "temporary autonomous zone." 

EmoMen are those men who have attended the annual EmoTAZ retreat and those who plan to go.  In 2010, the 9th TAZ event will have taken place.

EmoTAZ is produced by Tazopia Projects Society, a registered non-profit society in the Province of British Columbia. The purpose of the Society is to put on "kairotic" retreats like EmoTAZ. Tazopia was born from the need to have an independent legal entity to manage the growing legal and financial responsibilities of the successful EmoTAZ retreat. The Society itself it not gender-specific, and may fund projects or produce events for both men and women in the future. Our goal is to encourage those who participate in our events to become members of Tazopia to build on the EmoTAZ idea.

Can I come?

If you are not a Tazopia member, you must find a member to advocate for you before you can attend EmoTAZ. To attend EmoTAZ or other EmoMen event, you must sign up. You must be registered on this site to sign up. You cannot register on this site without introducing yourself and finding someone in the group to support your attendance. This person becomes your Advocate. It sounds complicated, but the next section will make it clear. 

An Advocate makes sure that his brother is involved, feeling connected, getting maximum benefit for himself, and contributing maximum benefit to others. We use the word "brother" because the words buddy, comrade or peer don't fit. We like to think of each other as supportive family. 

This is easy if you know someone who is already a member of Tazopia and they trust your intentions. If you don't know anyone, the "Joining us" page tells you how to connect with us in real time and space as a first step.Early signup is encouraged, because early planning and volunteerism are critical to realizing the Principles of Tazopia.

What are the steps?

1. Read this page.
2. Register on this website to read more information.
3. Read the "Joining us" page for more information and introduce yourself.
4. Once you have an Advocate, you'll get to see much more on this website.
5. Join the discussion group (a link will appear on this page after your Advocate is in place. 
6. Sign up for an event. Cost share formula rises the more you delay.  Contribution share continues to rise as an event date approaches, and as we reach an intentionally limited capacity. EmoTAZ follows a cost contribution formula that also encourages sponsorship and gifting.
7. Sign up for activities to help create an event, activities at an event. Consider involving others in a creative project or leading an activity.
8. Work hard. Play hard. Make friends.

Who participates?

EmoMen range from their 20s to 60s, with the average age 35-40. EmoMen are willing to consider their "rules" about male friendship and re-write them.

Many are physically active and participate in rock climbing, biking, team sports, canoeing, hiking, skiing, yoga, weightlifting, swimming or martial arts, but not all are fitness gurus.

A majority have participated at the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, but not all. Others are involved in building local community.

Some men are single, others in monogamous or open relationships. We gather to be men without labels. The EmoMen welcome non-judgemental men who can state their boundaries, keep their relationship agreements, are willing to be vulnerable, "be here now" and to trust others.

Some are highly accredited through mainstream education while others are in business. Some are educated through informal means including healing and performing arts. A few are entrepreneurs while some are students and others are on the path to finding what it is they want to do with their lives. Most are engaged with trying to answer the question, "who are we and why are we here," concerned about the planet's sustainability.

Human potential explorers who support the Vision, including performers, visual artists, craftspeople, athletes, and teachers are invited to join us to challenge and play with us.

Why is emoTAZ for men only?

Essentially, men and women think and react differently because we have different hormones that make us different. It isn't about genitals.

Why do some men go fishing together? Sexual separation is all around us, but the forum is usually competitive for men, as in team sports. Why is that? Why isn't there a supportive option for male interaction? Women have it in many forms. If women are liberating themselves from cultural restraints, why shouldn't men be set free, too?

Strong male-male friendship past puberty today is rare or based on forms of economic warfare. While women tend to set the social agenda for spouses, single men often run solo, especially as they grow older. Bar chats don't reveal their human potential.

Some men spend a lot of time hunting others as sexual prey and provide zero emotional support for other men when it comes to major life events or issues. This behaviour is common to men regardless of sexual orientation, tempered for those in committed sexual relationships. Together, we can look at that part of ourselves, and how we can support each other.

Women talk to other women for empathetic understanding about babies, periods, menopause; and men have parallel threads to explore.

Straight men have been crammed into even smaller boxes than gay men. "Oh, that's so gay" can apply to just about any behaviour not endorsed by the National Rifle Association. One thinker wrote, "the only truly intimate experience between men now is war." Men who are isolated emotionally from other men are more willing to create Armageddon. Gay men have been crammed into a box of recent invention, with codes of behaviour and ways of perceiving themselves that also deserve to be questioned. It's useful to look at who we are, outside of the current paradigm, and that can only take place in a temporary situation without women.

One view, that can be found through research, is that men tend to communicate and bond through activity rather than words. We need to be in the same physical space.

Events like EmoTAZ provide a forum for men who want to explore who they can be—not killing animals together for fun, not shouting at pro sports on tv, not as gay/str8 cartoons, not as bar louts, not as sexual consumers, and not at war—but as friends.

Where did the name EmoMen come from?

When this group was created, the prefix emo was evolving. It is now often defined as a term or prefix for a type of punk music. EmoMen are diverse, and some would like emo music, but neither punk music nor punk attitude define us. There is a common thread, though.

Emo is short for emotional. The stereotypical male is not supposed to show emotion of any kind. We learn about each other by understanding emotions, so EmoMen don't believe that cultural prejudices should decide how we communicate. Emotional communication can lead to better understanding.

The lyrics of emo punk usual wail about lost love, often from a position of hostility and non-responsibility. EmoMen believe that love is universal, that we can acknowledge our own anger, but acting out anger is unacceptable. We take a high degree of responsibility for our relationships, successful or failed.

It seemed time to re-claim the emo prefix for balance, and so the EmoMen were born in November 2001, with our first gathering in February of 2002.

What about the rough stuff? I'm not very active.

You might get hurt, sure. If you're concerned, EmoTAZ is not for you.

Can women participate at EmoMen events?

Many of the events we are involved with are open to women and men, and we welcome female friends, partners and spouses to join us. We have a few male-exclusive events each year to discover what it is to be men without labels. There are alternative groups exclusive to women.

What if my boundaries aren't the same as others?

Some boundaries preserve our physical selves, like respect for heights. Some boundaries are bandages for unhealed emotional wounds. Some boundaries are built to create an illusion of who we think we are. But, boundaries help to define us. They should be respected when they serve us. They may be questioned.

Be willing to be challenged, but don't wait for someone to cross your boundaries. The indications are usually clear--increased heart rate is one. Panic can follow. Feeling that declared or undeclared boundaries have not been respected will bring anger. Respect the fact that others have different boundaries. State your boundaries when they show up. Consider where they came from. We all have different boundaries around different kinds of experience.

Immediate, clear communication is essential.

What's this Burning Man connection about?

A majority of the EmoMen have attended the Burning Man Festival in Nevada, but it is not a requirement to participate with us. We were inspired by the festival, which has ties to writings of Hakim Bey. Bey encourages creation of a "temporary autonomous zone" (TAZ) where social conventions are put aside, then recreated through immediate creative participation. Other principles, like non-consumerism, non-spectatorship, full participation and gifting one another have been very useful in realizing the Vision of the EmoMen.

But really, what can I expect?

Will it rain that day? Hard to say. The next event hasn't happened yet, so no one knows. Expectations get in the way. Expect nothing for yourself. Expect to make the event special for others.

What about clothing?

For ritual body painting, a larger canvas is good to work with. If you have big issues about your body, EmoMen is not for you.

Clothing has two purposes: warmth and cultural costume. If we're going to wear a costume to keep warm, we drop the 90s mall look and might explore creative anachronism or something forward looking.

What's with the body paint?

Painting each other has become a signature ritual for our annual EmoTAZ event. Inventing our our own "tribe," we are re-enacting a ritual that has existed in many cultures for a very long time. It works on many levels that you must discover for yourself. This is a no-spectator activity and photos are taken only with permission.

Should I become a member of Tazopia? 

Tazopia membership is open to those who have attended at least two residential retreats with the Society over slightly more than one year — for example, two consecutive EmoTAZ retreats. EmoTAZ participants must apply to become members of Tazopia and membership must be approved by two thirds of the Society's elected Directors.

Our goal is to encourage those who participate at EmoTAZ to become members of the Society once they have met the membership requirements. Members provide financial and in-kind support to keep the Society going and to continue creating projects like EmoTAZ in the years to come.

But, really, is this a cult?

A religion or religious sect generally considered to be extremist or false, with its followers often living in an unconventional manner under the guidance of an authoritarian, charismatic leader.

Nope.

The followers of such a religion or sect.

Nope.

A system or community of religious worship and ritual.

No religious worshop, but shared values, yes and a ritual of body painting at an annual retreat, sure.

The formal means of expressing religious reverence; religious ceremony and ritual.

Huh?

A usually nonscientific method or regimen claimed by its originator to have exclusive or exceptional power in curing a particular disease.

Uh, no.

Obsessive, especially faddish, devotion to or veneration for a person, principle, or thing.

We don't take ourselves that seriously.

The object of such devotion.

No objects of devotion, nope again.

An exclusive group of persons sharing an esoteric, usually artistic or intellectual interest.

Do you mean like a non-profit Society? We share social, creative and intellectual interests, sure.