"The bank loan committee asked why my husband wasn’t at the meeting"
Meet the Sauna Sirens – women doing sauna their way, and discover an elemental ice sauna build
How do you counter sexism in a male-dominated industry? Sauna Sirens is a female+ collective of 35 North American sauna operators founded by seven entrepreneurs in response to the challenges and misogyny they encountered. Megan Kress of Sauna du Nord, Jackie Stratton of Cedar Grove Sauna, and Katie Usem of Sisu + Löyly shared their experiences at the Culture of Bathing Gathering, and we caught up with Megan to hear more about the Sirens’ vision for a new sauna culture.
CULTURE OF BATHING: Why did you set up Sauna Sirens?
MEGAN KRESS: It was very organic. It began with a desire to share knowledge on sauna operations and has grown into a space to connect over how we have been treated as women and to celebrate the type of spaces women make. We wanted to be very inclusive with the Sauna Sirens.
There is a certain magic in women supporting women. Here we are, doing something for ourselves and feeling very empowered and confident to do it. For example, Jackie at Cedar Grove took up carpentry to build saunas for her start-up. (See Jackie’s journey moving to a new site in her Instagram post.)
We realized we were all running into the same casual sexism that men wouldn’t face. For example, the bank loan committee asked Katie of Sisu + Löyly why her husband wasn’t at the loan meeting, although the business is 100% hers. Others have received unsolicited advice on how to back up a sauna trailer or on the type of wood to build their sauna.
CoB: How is a female-led sauna space different?
MEGAN: Sauna construction is a male-dominated industry but building and hosting a sauna are very different things. I don’t want to stereotype women, but historically, culturally, women have been nurturers, right? Women have created community. So who better to take on the challenge of bringing people into bathing spaces where it might not be something that they already know.
“The bank loan committee asked why my husband wasn’t at the meeting, although the business is 100% mine.”
Katie Usem, Sisu + Löyly
CoB: There’s a strong tradition of the sauna as a female space, as the film Smoke Sauna Sisterhood captures so beautifully.
MEGAN: It’s such a great example of how sauna can be a healing space very organically, right? On the surface, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood is simply women bathing but then conversations emerge. We see women being able to let their guard down and these very deep, intense stories come out – rape, miscarriage, raising the family, domestic abuse.
There's just so much power in that, particularly juxtaposed to the modern-day re-emergence of bathhouses and sauna, which is sometimes very orchestrated.
CoB: Recently you came up with the term ‘sauna bro’ to describe a certain type of sauna-goer. Where did that originate?
MEGAN: I come from an adventure sports background and I've learned that having all the gear and the bravado on the trail can be really off-putting to newcomers. This ‘adventure bro’ mentality has crossed into sauna. There's this competition vibe, both in the industry as operators or builders and as bathers. It’s performative, all about quantity and measuring goals, bio-hacking. The posturing… I have no time for it.
CoB: You created a Venn diagram showing the core characteristics of a sauna bro – what are they?
MEGAN: I love a Venn diagram and I boiled down the essence of this character – who can be male or female – into three core traits:
elitism – the most expensive kit and sauna build, or the best body
misogyny and sexism – we all have biases that are baked into us, but we need to be better aware of it. Like, just taking up a lot of space in the room… manspreading!
ascribed status – Something that you did not earn. The American phenomenon of people thinking they know better about sauna because they are 20% Finnish becomes problematic. But I’ve never encountered that with Finnish citizens – they are just so happy that sauna is being adopted elsewhere.
The Sauna Sirens (@sauna.sirens) founder members:
Margaret Selva of Forest Floor Wellness, MN; Jackie Stratton of Cedar Grove Sauna ME; Halina Kowalski-Thompson of Gather Sauna House, Bend, OR, Lusa Langski of SeaTsu Sauna, Blyn, WA; Whitney Bulterman of Driftwood Sauna Club, CA; Katie Usem of Sisu + Löyly, Grand Marais, MN; and Megan Kress of Sauna du Nord, Duluth, MN
Here’s Megan’s Sauna Bro Bingo card. “We all have elements of Sauna Bro in us as we are passionate about sauna and bathing. But if you score 5... check yourself!”
Happenings
National Sauna Week
Put on by Finlandia Foundation National, Sauna Week explores Finnish sauna tradition through online sessions and in-person meet-ups. All online sessions are free and open to all - so book now.
February 16-22, online and in-person events around the United States
European Sauna Marathon
The European Sauna Marathon is held annually in Otepää, Estonia, where teams of four visit as many designated saunas as possible within a set time, spending at least three minutes in each, with bonus points for hot tubs and cold plunges - there’s still time to sign up.
March 1, Otepää, Estonia
Bathing in the news
“Wild swimming communities are often primarily women – some retreats are advertised as women only. Still, even if they’re not, they end up with mostly female guests.” How wild swimming retreats became a haven for women seeking deeper connections.
Condé Nast Traveller, January 18, 2025
“Culture of Bathing hosted a variety show to celebrate spas and saunas as an “evolving social scene”. After the show, there was a “bathhouse bathe-around”…” Laura Pitcher features us in her review of NYC’s social bathing culture.
Dazed Digital, January 30, 2025
“Rask… works as a receptionist at Copenhagen’s only gay sauna. When he meets transgender William, things get complicated. They also get good.” Mathias Broe’s film Sauna, selected for World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival, is making history.
Variety, January 27, 2025
One last thing
The ice sauna is a rare winter phenomenon exclusive to exceptionally cold climates – our friends at SaunaDay shared this incredible build by a group of friends in Finland. Sited on frozen water, with timber benches and a wood-fired stove, what could be more elemental?
“The atmosphere inside was magical, with water flowing on the surface of the ice and bubbles trapped inside the ice creating beautiful patterns. We ended the sauna session with a swim in the ice pool we made during the sauna’s construction. We’ve already decided this won’t be the last sauna we build."
Jaakko, Paulus, Eetu, Heikki, and Tapio
We’d love to hear from you - please send a DM, or email hello@cultureofbathing.com
I’ve been lucky (probably because most of my sauna experiences have been at cedar grove!) to not encounter many sauna bros, but I too just have no time for that. thanks for featuring the sirens and introducing me to more fine sauna folk!
I enjoyed learning about Sauna Sirens-good going! And then almost fell of my chair while reading the SaunaBros Bingo card...I have two nice saunas of my own-so don't often use public ones,but I'm sure you all have encountered all sorts of goofy "performances" that will occur there! IYIYIYI...I try to stay calm, and have an open mind for all of the World' peculiarities-but I'm sure this stuff gets old...