Overview of The Swoletariat: a history of leftist fitness
This NPR "It's Been a Minute" episode (host Brittany Luce) traces a throughline from 19th‑century revolutionary gymnastics to contemporary leftist gym culture, exploring how fitness and politics have long been intertwined. Reporter Margaret (Marge) Serino and guests explain the origins of the “swoletariat” lexicon, historic examples of politicized physical training (the Turners, Black Power/Black Panther practices), and how modern leftist fitness both responds to and differs from right‑wing “manosphere” or warrior‑style fitness.
Key takeaways
- Fitness has always been political; the question is how that politics shows up.
- Organized, community‑centered physical training has historically been used as a tool for civic formation, self‑defense, and revolutionary preparedness.
- Modern leftist fitness (the “swoletariat”) mixes class consciousness and bodily practice as a counter to individualistic, commodified gym culture.
- Both left and right use rhetoric of preparation and readiness, but leftist approaches often emphasize collective practice, mutual aid, and bodily autonomy.
- For many practitioners today, working out restores a sense of agency that capitalism tends to externalize.
Historical examples
The Turners (early 1800s → mid‑1800s)
- Origin: Founded by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn (known as “Turnvater Jahn”) in Germany as gymnastics clubs (Turnvereine/Turnplatz) under philosophies like gutheil (“good health”).
- Function: Combined physical training with civic education — gyms had lecture halls and social spaces that fostered community and political discussion.
- Political role: Turners were involved in the 1848 liberal revolutions across the German states; when those uprisings failed many emigrated to the U.S. and remained politically active (including abolitionist causes) and organized into volunteer regiments during the Civil War.
- Cultural note: Archival images show elaborate group calisthenics and human pyramids that doubled as communal display and physical training.
Black Power era (1960s–1970s)
- The Black Panther Party and related movements integrated martial arts and disciplined physical training into their programs for self‑defense, internal discipline, and youth education.
- Training was often collective and community‑embedded (e.g., martial arts classes for kids in Oakland), reflecting the idea that physical readiness served communal and political goals, not just personal aesthetics.
Contemporary manifestations and dynamics
- Term origin: “Swoletariat” — a portmanteau of “swole” (muscular) + “proletariat” — surfaced on niche forums like r/swoletariat and on social creators like Angel Gonzalez, who frame muscularity alongside class consciousness and collective politics.
- Social media: Leftist figures (and left‑leaning influencers such as Hasan Piker) have brought visibility to fitness practices that reject or reframe the conservative/manosphere gym aesthetic.
- Commodification and atomization: Modern commercial fitness culture tends to individualize gains and sell optimization; many guests argue this reflects capitalist values (self‑improvement as a product). Leftist fitness attempts to reclaim the practice as community‑oriented and politically meaningful.
- Overlap with the right: Both sides deploy narratives of preparation, readiness, and bodily discipline — the difference is often in aims (community defense and mutual aid vs. dominance, warrior identity, or personal status).
Notable quotes and lines
- “What a swoletariat is, is a person that lives with class consciousness in mind.” — Angel Gonzalez (as cited)
- “Fitness has always been political.” — recurring framing in the episode
- “When you are in the gym, every single movement that you're making, it's up to you.” — Angel Gonzalez on restoring agency and bodily autonomy
- Turners’ ideal: “sound mind, sound body” (used by guests to describe the political-philosophical link between physical training and civic preparedness)
Actionable suggestions / next steps
- If you want to explore leftist fitness:
- Look up r/swoletariat and content creators who use the term (e.g., Angel Gonzalez) to see how communities blend politics and training.
- Seek community‑based classes (group calisthenics, martial arts, co‑op gyms) rather than purely commercialized, individual workouts.
- Study historical models (Turners, community martial arts programs in Black Power movements) for ideas on combining education, social organizing, and physical training.
- Reflect on your fitness goals: consider collective and political aims (mutual aid, defense training, community health) in addition to personal aesthetics.
Credits
- Host: Brittany Luce (It's Been a Minute)
- Reporter/guest for this segment: Margaret Serino (Life Kit producer; CrossFit coach)
- Guests referenced: Devin Thomas O’Shea (writer on the Turners), historian Hassan Kwame Jeffries, and activist/content creator Angel Gonzalez
- Producers/editors/engineers listed in the episode credits (as recorded on the show)
This summary condenses the episode’s arc—historical roots, through mid‑20th‑century Black Power practices, to the present‑day “swoletariat” movement—and highlights how fitness can be a locus for political identity, community formation, and reclaiming bodily agency.