A battle cry with needle and thread

“It sparked conversations, was a brighter element in an otherwise gloomy media offering, and we started to be interested in the community responsible for many of these accounts,” says Drion, lecturer in Swedish.

She and Karin Milles started thinking about why so many people invested so much time in embroidery when witty digital memes can be created in a few seconds?

Their study, “The Fierce Fabric of Feminism. Feminist Embroidery as a Tool against Sexual Violence in Sweden” highlights embroidery activism as an example of slow politics.

“It has to do with the craft itself, that there is value in taking time, that it creates opportunities for community and networking, for developing ideas through conversation and in your own mind while embroidering. What’s more, if the embroidery is on a canvas or hung on a wall, it could give people food for thought for many years to come. This type of political activism can win in the long run,” says Milles, professor of Swedish.

Embroideries are often properly thought out because they take quite a long time to do, the researchers say.

Embroidered messages are powerful

“The underlying handcraft is what gives the message its force: if I write a post on social media it can take a few minutes to formulate my message, but if I embroider it everyone can see that I actually spent days or weeks producing what I want to say,” says Drion.

In the study, they examine cases of contemporary embroidery activism that gained momentum following an acquittal in a rape case and debates on consent.

“They were clear demonstrations of the energy that exists in these embroideries. We could see how embroidery, in combination with digital media, can play a role in the political debate,” says Milles.

They describe how history is filled with examples of fascinating embroidery activism.

Women contributed to political movements

“Embroidery used to be a ‘harmless, feminine’ pastime: women would sit in a corner, eyes fixed on the fabric, working on their small pieces of handiwork. They didn’t disturb anyone, and so they were left in peace and could express things they wouldn’t otherwise have been allowed to,” says Drion, who also mentions a 19th-century movement in the United States, which not only aimed to abolish slavery, but also to ensure that newly freed slaves could move from the South to safer places.

“This movement needed money, and many women embroidered tapestries and sold them at special markets. The money was used to finance the Underground Railroad. Women from the upper classes, who would otherwise be ‘apolitical’, could therefore contribute to political movements,” she says.

What is the study’s most important finding?

“That embroidery activism is an interesting form of political activism, reshaping and developing historical forms of women’s activism to suit today’s digital political debates,” says Milles.