SwatFems is a feminist group that has been on campus since the 1980s, where members meet weekly to discuss a current topic or multiple topics of interest relating to feminism. Tessa Rhinehart ’17, a member of SwatFems, describes the group’s meetings as “a very open and safe space, a community both for people who are feminists and people who aren’t really feminists or haven’t made up their minds on a lot of feminist issues, a place for open discussion, undecided discussion.” Emma Remsberg ’17, SwatFems’ treasurer, echoed this sentiment by sharing, “What’s most important to me is keeping it a safe space on campus where people feel comfortable coming and having fun and talking about these things that are really important to us.” When asked about her personal vision for the group, she said, “Learning from each other and supporting each other,” adding that group members are constantly “learning from each other to become better feminists.”
Many members of the club do not identify as female, disproving the notion that only people who identify as female can be feminists. SwatFems member Darbus Oldham ’17 emphasized that “Feminism is a label that can apply to men, to people who are bigender or agender … I think that the fact that we’re very intentionally open to people of all genders is something that’s really important because feminism is not a women’s issue.”
Regarding the group’s weekly meetings, Oldham stated, “A lot of what we do is education.” He clarified that they often pick issues to discuss from blog posts, or “just news articles”—for example, the group’s next meeting topic will be the discussion of an article titled “Words, Words, Words: On Toxicity and Abuse in Online Activism” about uncomfortable discussions in online activism.
Another SwatFems member, Ariel Pearson ’16, said that one of the goals of the group is to incorporate intersectionality. Intersectional feminism examines the intersection of feminism and other topics such as race, class, queer and trans issues, gender, and religion. Oldham added that by discussing intersectional feminism, SwatFems is “both working to try to make SwatFems itself a more open and accepting space for people who don’t just identify as feminists but identify as one of these other things, and also just trying to make people who are already in SwatFems more aware of the different sort of facets and dimensions of feminism.” Pearson added, “Feminism is not just this one thing.”
That said, SwatFems members often are involved with many organizations and events that deal with rape culture and political activism. Another current goal that SwatFems’ members have is to receive training to become escorts at health clinics for women who are seeking abortions but feel unsafe walking through crowds of protesters at the clinics. During the election last semester, Leanne Krueger-Braneky, the Democratic nominee for State Representative in Swarthmore’s district, came to a SwatFems meeting to talk with the group. Many SwatFems later volunteered with Planned Parenthood and went to rallies for the general election.
SwatFems is currently working on projects with Nina Harris, Swarthmore’s Violence Prevention Educator and Advocate, to raise awareness about the Women’s Resource Center. Last spring, SwatFems’ members helped with the Clothesline Project, an Abuse & Sexual Assault Prevention project in which survivors or supporters of survivors of sexual assault made t-shirts with personal statements to raise awareness about sexual violence and then displayed the shirts on Parrish Beach and in upper Tarble. According to Oldham, this project gets out “the message of both that there are people on campus who are affected by this, and that there are people on campus who care.” SwatFems’ members also participated in Carry That Weight, a nationwide movement on October 29th to carry a mattress around campus in order to raise awareness about sexual violence and challenge rape culture on college campuses.
While this club is involved in very serious topics and discussions, the members are definitely there to have fun as well. Oldham said, “We’re … just people who do just enjoy hanging out and talking about these issues.” For example, last semester, the group looked at sexy Halloween costumes, discussing why certain costumes are problematic but also having fun looking at some of the more ridiculous costumes. The group also looked at pop culture music videos as one of their more light-hearted activities.
SwatFems has proven successful in not only raising awareness and advocacy for important and serious issues, but also in providing a safe space for friends to meet, talk, and have fun. A friendly group of students, SwatFems is definitely open to new members and feminists from all backgrounds.
