Anthropologists, for one, have long been uncomfortable with the way in which the notion of ‘culture’ has been used in pernicious or problematic ways which can result in racism, essentialism, ‘othering’, exotification or simply a lack of precision. This discomfort is captured in James Clifford’s often quoted phrase in the introduction to The Predicament of…
Category: Social Tension & Inclusivity
The campaign for bodily autonomy and belonging in Grenoble France: resisting epistemic violence, media discourse and othering.
It has taken quite a long time, but I’m happy to say that the article written with Souad Boumechaal on the experience of a group of brave campaigners fighting for more inclusive swimwear regulations at municipal swimming pools in Grenoble, France has finally been published. I plan to update the research and literature pages of…
Observations from a small island
So, while I don’t want the website to be given over to my holiday snaps plus flying as a substantial part of Europe is burning in the summer is not the best idea, I did go to Menorca with swimming in mind. It is a fantastic place to swim. OK, so it might be seen…
They did it! For now, at least.
On Monday 16 May, 2022 the Municipal Government of Grenoble, France voted to remove the restrictions on full-bodied swimsuits in local swimming pools. This vote was in part sparked by the long and tireless struggle by Citoyenne Alliance who ran a creative, resilient and imaginative campaign not helped by the attempts to reduce the debate…
Swimming Accessibility Protests in France: Alliance Citoyenne in Grenoble
In many places in the world, day-to-day survival takes precedent over all other activities and swimming is just another non-essential activity that gets very little thought. Yet, in places where swimming pools are abundant, the suggestion that swimming should be made available to all is not unreasonable. On the surface, France is one of those…
Lane Rage!
Most regular indoor swimmers will have witnessed or even been involved in a lane rage incident. In an article in the Sunday Times, Josephine Perry reports how a male swimmer went beyond lane rage to what was tantamount to a physical assault. Perry was held under water by the ankles by a man in the…
Racial Discrimination in Pools
ASw is following the progress of Alice Dearing the Olympic hopeful who is aiming to be the first black woman to represent the UK in the Olympics. She has now spoken out about the challenges that she has faced as a black swimmer in a recent BBC article below. Racial discrimination in publicly- accessible pools…
Full-bodied Swimsuit Protest in France
The issue of inclusivity in public swimming pools can be one which is fraught with tension. Pool management often relies on categories of swimmers (lap, general, free, aqua aerobics, women only, adults only etc) to regulate pool access. An additional layer of regulation relates to swimwear. In France, a number of pools have issued swimwear…
An Anthropology of Swimming 