Swimming suffragists

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1919 magazine cover illustrating a woman's 'plunge' into suffrage politics JudgeMagazineCover25Oct1919.jpg
1919 magazine cover illustrating a woman's 'plunge' into suffrage politics

Swimming suffragists (or swimming suffragettes) was the name for women who opposed the social norms that enforced restrictions on both what a woman could wear for public swimming as well as a woman's right to vote. They were active in the 1910s and 1920s across both America and England, culminating in a greater ability of women to wear bathing suits in public and achieving the right to vote with the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment in the United States and reforms passed in the United Kingdom in both 1918 and 1928.

Contents

History

In the early 1900s, public pools and beaches required women to wear a full-body "swimming costume". [1] Public opinion at the time expected women to be covered "from head to toe" in swimwear that was made of heavy wool and included shoes. [2] In 1906, professional swimmer Annette Kellerman was arrested in the city of Boston for "showing too much of her arms and legs while wearing a one-piece bathing suit". [3] In 1911, swimming coach Charlotte Epstein established the National Women's Life Saving League (NWLSL) in an effort to improve safety for girls and women in the water. [4] She argued strongly against the push for women to wear stockings that covered their legs, as it would hamper a woman's ability to swim and impede their safety in the water. [3]

1914 saw a suffrage protest in Hyde Park, London, where a group of women wore robes spelling out the word 'suffrage'. They removed the robes to reveal their bathing suits, and were arrested by police. [5] Epstein and the NWLSL staged a similar protest a year later at Manhattan Beach in New York City. [6] A group of swimmers wore sashes reading "Votes For Women" and they competed in a swim race to rescue a mannequin wearing an "Anti-Suffrage" sash. [7] Epstein went on to found the Women's Swimming Association (WSA) in 1917, an organization dedicated to teaching swimming skills to women. [6] Epstein also convinced the Amateur Athletic Union to recognize women's sports and allow women's swimming in the Olympics. [4] [8]

The overlap between women fighting for freedom to swim at the same time as they fought for the right to vote earned them the nickname "swimming suffragists". [5] Author Jenny Landreth stated: "There is a direct link between suffrage and other rights for women, a correlation between our participation in voting and our fight for swimming equality." [5] Olympic gold-medalist Tiffany Cohen described swimmers like Kellerman as "pioneers". [9] The Nineteenth Amendment was ratified in August 1920, recognizing the right of women in the United States to vote. [10] The United Kingdom granted voting rights to women over the age of 30 with the passage of the Representation of the People Act 1918 followed by granting voting rights to women over the age of 21 with the passage of the Representation of the People Act 1928. [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Swimming Toward Liberty". Aqua. August 16, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  2. ↑ Ehrmantraut, McKenna (October 20, 2022). "The Evolution of Women's Swimming: From Then to Now". Swimming World . Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  3. 1 2 Lee, Marie (September 12, 2000). "Swimsuit controversy reminiscent of past". Western Michigan University . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  4. 1 2 Wingert, Katie (March 8, 2025). "Setting the Pace: 5 Women Who Changed the Sport of Swimming". Swimming World . Retrieved September 29, 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Laskow, Sarah (May 11, 2018). "The Surprising History of Swimming's Suffragists". Atlas Obscura . Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  6. 1 2 Landreth, Jenny (May 4, 2017). Swell: A Waterbiography. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 126–127. ISBN   9781472938978 . Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  7. ↑ Jenkins, Jessica D. (April 20, 2020). Exploring Women's Suffrage Through 50 Historic Treasures. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 190. ISBN   9781538112809 . Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  8. ↑ Bennett, Betsey (October 25, 2018). "Charlotte Epstein and the Swimming Suffragettes". WomenInSwimming.com. Retrieved September 28, 2025.
  9. ↑ Doup, Liz (November 7, 2007). "Suffragette Swimmers". South Florida Sun-Sentinel . Retrieved September 29, 2025– via newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Mortimer, Gavin (May 28, 2024). "Gertrude Ederle: the first woman to swim the English Channel". historyextra.com . Retrieved October 1, 2025.
  11. ↑ Sen, Swagata (January 4, 2019). "The Battle That Led to the Voting Rights of Women in the United Kingdom". RightsOfEquality.com. Retrieved October 1, 2025.
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