Swimming against sexism

Across April and May of this year, Georgia Horsell swam the 33km width of the English Channel in a pool, raising £1,180 for This Ends Now (a charity seeking to end violence against women and girls). Here, we dive into Georgia’s story and the inspiration behind her swim.

Following in Virginia Woolf’s footsteps

On choosing King’s, Georgia explained: ‘I was excited by the prospect of studying Modernism so close to Bloomsbury, and the home of Virginia Woolf. It felt so immersive focusing on modernist literature set in London and walking through the very streets that had been written about around 100 years before.’

Inspired by her time on our campus, Georgia is now doing a second master’s in Crime Fiction Creative Writing at the University of East Anglia. She balances her studies with a full-time job at an accountancy firm and a volunteer role with This Ends Now.

This Ends Now

Georgia told us: 'This Ends Now is an amazing organisation working to end misogyny, through a preventative approach to male violence against women and girls. I’m incredibly proud to volunteer for them through my role as Senior Content Creator.’

The charity’s campaigns include ‘Words Matter’, which challenges victim-blaming and misogyny in police reports, and #AllMen, a social media campaign highlighting the link between rape culture and instances of violence.

Diving in at the deep end

On taking on the fundraising challenge, Georgia reflected: ‘throughout the swim, I really saw my stamina build. Before the challenge, I would swim around 50 lengths a session, but by the end I could comfortably do 100.

‘My biggest difficulty was struggling with flu in the last few weeks. On the last three days, I had 285 lengths left to swim. The tail-end of the flu disrupted my breathing, so I had to spend a lot more time above water. This meant progress was slow but made completing the challenge even more rewarding.

‘I was blown away by the support I received along the way. My initial fundraising goal was £250, and I have now raised over £1,000.’

Defying expectations

Georgia’s swim was also about defying expectations and challenging a one-size-fits-all approach to fitness. She remarked: ‘As a plus-size woman, I’ve rarely seen myself reflected in the fitness world, especially on social media. The constant barrage of slim bodies reinforces the misconception that larger people are lazy or incapable.

'There was a part of me that wondered if I'd even be able to complete the challenge, due to internalised fatphobia. Through this swim, I helped prove those voices wrong, both inside and outside myself. I want to show everyone that you can be strong and capable at any size.'