BROOKLYN CENTER, Minn. — For Signe Harriday and the Subversive Sirens, the pool is a meaningful space.
“When I'm in the water, it is the closest embodiment that I can find that feels like freedom,” Harriday said. “Water is life, it is what sustains us, it is what fuels us. It is what breathes us into existence."
Signe is one of the co-founders of the Sirens. The Minnesota based artistic swim team, is dedicated to Black liberation, queer visibility, equity in aquatics and radical body acceptance.
The team has competed around the world - utilizing a special blend of art and activism. Every leg kick and dive sends a message.
“We use the water to heal." Signe said. "We use the water to transform our trauma so that we can have an embodied sense of moving through the world with love.”
Suzy Messerole helped found the Subversive Sirens.
"Our routines look a lot different than the other routines that we compete against because we bring a certain flair and a certain vibe," Messerole said.
Member Tana Hargest said she has been a fan of the sport for decades.
“I've been watching artistic swimming since it first started at the Los Angeles Games in the 80s,” Hargest said. “It's a little bit different than us, definitely.”
But the team still competes internationally, making their debut at the Gay Games in Paris in 2018 and winning a gold medal for their performance.
Now watching artistic swimming at the Paris Olympics this year, team members say they would love to see the sport embrace diversity.
“What we know is that when you've been historically excluded from something, it takes a long time once you are allowed to do something to sort of build up that group of people," Suzy says.
For the first time in Olympic history, men were allowed to compete this year.
“The rule changes that they made this go around, even though no men made it to the team sport for artistic swimming, it's heading in the right direction," Hargest said.
Until then, these Sirens will continue to speak up for underrepresented communities with events and advocacy.
"There is so much pain in this world and it is our duty to see that pain and try to transform it," Signe said. "But we can't do that without love, and we can't do it without joy.”