By Emma Large.
Content Warning: References to Sexual Assault.
The one thing that we all tend to take for granted – knickers.
The crucial undergarments that not only provide the foundation for the rest of our clothes, but underpin and permit the routines and solaces of our regular lives. They keep us warm; they keep us clean; they can make us feel sexy and they can make us feel comfortable. We can stick pads into them when we are on our periods, and constantly they provide that valued additional barrier to the outside world; whether we keep this barrier on or take it off is a matter of our own choice. They really are indispensable – all at once I think emblematic of consent, privacy, comfort and sexiness.
Hence why the absence of pants is the core focus of Durham University student Serena Chamberlain’s charity campaign. I sat down with Serena to discuss the movement and ask her a few questions about what she thinks pants really mean to people.
- To start things off, can you give me a brief explanation of who you are and what the campaign involves?
Hi, yes. I’m Serena, I’m in my second year at Durham, and my campaign is called ‘Let’s Get Our Knickers in a Twist’ – a female student-led operation which aims to provide vulnerable women with access to brand new underwear. We ask for donations of brand-new packaged pants of any size or style, or we fundraise monetary donations in order to buy these items. We then take the pants to various women’s refuges in Durham, London and Somerset and drop them off.
- Can you explain what you mean by the term ‘vulnerable’?
I use the term ‘vulnerable’ as an umbrella word for women in lots of different kinds of situations. We provide new underwear for women who are involved in sex work; women who are victims of domestic violence and addiction; and women who have become involved in the criminal justice system, often through no fault of their own. Many of these circumstances often lead to homelessness, which exacerbates their current vulnerability.
- Why is there such a dire need for underwear specifically, for women in these vulnerable situations?
While it is great that clothes donations and charity shopping are becoming increasingly popular, lots of people forget that the one item which cannot be donated to charities nor bought from charity shops is underwear, due to personal hygiene reasons. There is consequently an underwear deficiency for those who cannot afford new pairs. We know having spoken to women’s refuges that they get very few donations of female underwear, and they so desperately need them.
- Why do people forget or choose not to donate underwear?
Many people are not aware of the issues I have just mentioned, so forget to donate underwear; moreover, people often choose not to donate pants because it requires a greater sacrifice. It’s easy to donate old jeans you haven’t worn in a few years, but having to go out and buy brand new underwear is a bigger effort requiring more money and time, so it is not done as much.
- What inspired you to start the campaign?
My mum and I have been volunteering at a women’s refuge local to us in Somerset for quite a few years now, and when we have asked what they need the most, it has always been underwear. Two years ago, my mum threw a large fundraising event for women’s knickers, and ever since I have wanted to do something similar but didn’t know what. Timing is key and I wanted to do it at university, because here it is easy to get more people on board and build a support network.
I would say I had two key parallel experiences that incited my determination to set up this campaign. The first was when I was volunteering at the Somerset women’s refuge, when I was lucky enough to sit in on some ‘advisory sessions’ (as I believe they call them) with the ladies who came in. The second was during my volunteering in Zambia on a female-empowerment project. I conversed with the ladies on both occasions, and a common theme across both sets of conversations was that when these women were bleeding vaginally – either from menstruating or, unfortunately, from assault – they did not even have a pair of underwear to stick a pad to (if they had one).
- Now, I know about this next question because I was there (and it was indeed epic), but what is a ‘pants party’?
So, the ‘pants party’ movement is an initiative to increase donations to the campaign. It was a large all-women gathering in one of our university houses, with the dress code of pink or pants, where those attending were either encouraged to wear their knickers if they were comfortable – or if not, wear pink. This helped to create a really fun atmosphere and a united sense of femininity. We wanted the party to be ‘all-girls’ was so that we could create a safe space, especially in the current climate where I know my friends and I have felt a lot of unwanted male sexual attention. For me, I felt it was freeing to be in our underwear just for ourselves, free from external judgement and discussion. We had a camera and took some great pictures (with people’s permission of course) – which is where the cover picture for this interview came from.
We had a firm ‘no knickers no entry’ policy, which meant you had to bring a brand-new pack of underwear to the door in order to be let in. We collected 380 pairs of pants that evening, which we took to a women’s refuge a few days afterwards.
We are trying to encourage students at lots of different universities to hold their own pants parties and do their own take on it to collect donations of underwear – if you would like to do so, please get in touch with me!
- How many pairs of pants have you collected so far?
1882.
- What are your plans for the future?
Alongside spreading the ‘pants party’ initiative, we are hoping to collaborate with some more underwear brands and charities to host joint fundraising events. Bravissimo has already sent us 500 pairs of underwear and we have a current collaboration with ‘Bottoms Up The Brand’, in which they’re giving us 10% of their profits from November.
There are plans in the works with some of the Durham University fashion shows and for further collaborations with Durham charities, like the City of Sanctuary through Durham Refugees Club, by matching their clothing donations with knickers donations to local asylum seekers.
- Do you think the problem of underwear might be difficult to talk about for some women? Do you think that female underwear has a certain taboo about it?
Yes, I do – and it’s a strange taboo because underwear is such a basic necessity. I think for some reason a sense of dignity is tied up in our idea of female underwear, maybe precisely because it is so fundamental to our lives, and is a symbol of our sexuality, and helps us with all our ‘embarrassing’ bodily functions that have been kept secret and underground by society for years. I think the stigma around pants could be similar or linked to the stigma around sanitary products. We know that many women in vulnerable situations may find requesting underwear humiliating or embarrassing, and we want to provide knickers for women without them needing to ask. But ultimately, we’d love to remove the stigma around female underwear which shouldn’t even be there in the first place.
- If people want to donate to the campaign or help in some way, what should they do?
Please keep donating pants by dropping them around (contact us via email!) or donate at the GoFundMe link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/provide-knickers-to-ladies-who-need-them-most?member=22146243&sharetype=teams&utm_campaign=p_na+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer
Have your own pants party and help us to fundraise either physical pants or monetary donations.
Furthermore, if anyone has any ideas or connections that could help with fundraising please drop me a message – this kind of stuff really helps and opens up new pathways for the campaign!
Social media for ‘Let’s Get Our Knickers in a Twist’: Our Instagram and TikTok handle is @letsgetourknickersinatwist – follow us to get regular updates on the campaign, pant counts and to see where your donations are going and the impact they are having.