It’s true! Have we forgotten this?<\/p>\n
Solnit cites Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh<\/a> who said before he died four years\u00a0ago that the next Buddha will be the Sangha: \u201cThe Sangha, in Buddhist terminology, is the community of practitioners. It\u2019s this idea that we don\u2019t have to look for an individual, for a saviour, for an \u00dcbermensch.\u201d She believes the counter to the American president\u2019s excesses \u201calways has been and always will be civil society … Maybe changing the world is more like caregiving than it is like war. Too many people still expect it to look like war.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n What effects change, then, is things like forming alliances, looking after neighbours, connecting with other people, respecting women, weeding out racism, caring for the earth, as billions do.<\/p>\n More, say, nannasphere than manosphere.<\/p>\n Cuppas, calm and community<\/p>\n Hear me out. Recently, after Jeremy Fernandez and I discussed Louis Theroux’s documentary Inside the Manosphere on our podcast Not Stupid<\/a>, a listener called Lisa contacted us to suggest a different way of being.<\/p>\n “I’m starting a rival sphere,” she wrote. “It’s called the Nannasphere and it’s all about cups of tea, bush walks, gardening, yarn craft and playing music. It’s really just taking off at my house, I’m not really on the socials but shall perhaps get some T-shirts and stickers made up.”<\/p>\n I’d probably add reading books and eating cake to this list. Story telling. With a rule that phones be left at the front door, once the New York Times puzzles, including Wordle, Connections, Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee are completed, in a gently competitive spirit. AI is not invited.<\/p>\n These women know the healing power knitting can bring<\/a><\/p>\n The steady click of needles and hooks on couches around Australia tells us that knitters have been onto the very real therapeutic benefits of crochet for a long time.<\/p>\n After we mentioned Lisa’s idea on the podcast, Judy wrote: “We don’t have a nannasphere but I have a group of friends that participate in ‘extreme’ sewing. Lots of care, lots of cake lots [of] talking and sometimes sewing.”<\/p>\n Vanessa said: “This needs to be the new term for self-care. It really embodies what self-care should be, rather than always going for a ‘spa day’; which no one can afford right now.”<\/p>\n Not just self-care, but care for others, particularly the vulnerable.<\/p>\n The nannasphere has immense possibilities for encouraging people to calm and breathe.<\/p>\n We could bring in those women who have transitioned from girl boss to girl moss<\/a>, a mode of living which encourages “lying on the floor of the forest and being absorbed back into nature”. Again, nature and solitude are crucial, but we also need community.<\/p>\n No one walks away from a cuppa with a nanna feeling angry. Your belly might hurt from laughter and over consumption of baked goods, but that’s where the discomfort should end.<\/p>\n It’s about activism, too<\/p>\n I should stress I’m not barring nannas from political activism; many of them often rally to remind people of the needs of our children and grandchildren, that we are caretakers of this earth and need to care for descendants as well as offspring.<\/p>\n There are a host of these groups: Grandmothers for Refugees, who argue for humane treatment of asylum seekers and Grandmothers Against Removals, started by First Nations grannies concerned about the high rate of removal of Indigenous kids by child state protection agencies.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Strong Grandmothers of the Central Desert<\/a> are, according to a report in the Sydney Morning Herald, “academics, artists, traditional owners, elders, activists, healers and teachers” who have “worked cleaning and mustering, and caring for kids, country and community.” They work to keep children out of jail, conducting night patrols and advocate for “on country” learning. Their art has “illuminated the sails of Sydney’s Opera House and lit up walls with the red ochre of the outback. They have travelled the world and Australia campaigning for a better future for the next generation of children, including an end to what they say is the worst racism they have experienced.”<\/p>\n Members of the Knitting Nannas on the steps of the NSW Supreme Court in 2023. (Supplied: Environmental Defenders Office\/Cassandra Hannagan)<\/p>\n Then there is a group I grew particularly fond of, after encountering them at the Margaret River Writer’s Festival \u2014 the Knitting Nannas. Their website describes them as “an international disorganisation where people come together to ensure that our land, air and water are preserved for our children and grandchildren.” According to their “Nannafesto”, they “sit, knit, plot, have a yarn and a cuppa, and “bear witness to the war against those who try to rape our land and divide our communities.” They are intent on protecting the environment, are non-partisan, and “annoy all politicians equally.” At festivals and protests, they sit grinning in tents with various knitted goods.<\/p>\n And that’s just a sample.<\/p>\n Loading\u00a0The nannasphere isn’t just for grandmothers<\/p>\n There are so many reasons I love the idea of the nannasphere. First, it is a reminder that, although online there is eye-popping hate, and short-sighted world leaders are baiting each other with barbs and bombs, many of us don’t want to hop onto a computer and fire shots of abuse.<\/p>\n We’d rather have a cup of tea and marvel at the sunset, which somehow blazes across our skies every night of the week. Then again in the morning!<\/p>\n Second, nannas remind us of the kind of love everyone deserves \u2014 the kind that beams with pride, that stocks the pantry with your favourite treats, makes the best grilled cheese on toast and fresh baked cookies, that tucks your toes in under a warm blanket when you’re on the couch battling a flu. And in a world of disconnection and loneliness, being reminded of this love, or being shown this love, surely means something. Even if you are just popping a home-made pie on an unwell neighbour’s doorstep.<\/p>\n Sometimes we just need to be reminded of how many good humans exist, how much decency abounds.<\/p>\n Third, I think Solnit is right. We can peer into groups like the manosphere any time and bemoan the hate, the misogyny, the racism, the homophobia and superficial values, along with broader polarisation and distrust. But surely one of the best ways to combat them is to foster communities driven by decency, calm and care. Watch some of these blokes say horrible things about women in front of their nan, see how that goes. Find out if they would accept anyone describing their nans the way they describe other women.<\/p>\n The nannasphere isn’t just for grandmothers, but anyone who wishes to join. It’s just a nanna vibe.<\/p>\n So, this is my call to those of you wondering what on earth to do about the grief and horrors of the world, how to manage overwhelm. It’s not about looking away or distracting yourself. It’s not about disconnecting, but about pooling strength, gathering together.<\/p>\n Gather the nannas around you \u2014 nannas in spirit, male and female, young and old \u2014 and nurture a community. Look after each other.<\/p>\n Julia Baird is an author, broadcaster, journalist and co-host of the ABC podcast, Not Stupid<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/e0037884b26f917ffe82882ca2cf214e.jpeg\")
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