Remembering Norma Meras Swenson

Norma Meras Swenson was a passionate global feminist activist who never stopped working to improve the health of women and our communities. 
 
A co-author/editor of most editions of the groundbreaking book "Our Bodies, Ourselves," Norma worked with colleagues throughout the United States and globally to help define and create the Women's Health Movement by asserting that women, not doctors, were the experts on their bodies. She was an internationally recognized leader and expert in reproductive and sexual health and rights, and in maternal and child health. An early leader in the maternity care reform and natural childbirth movement, Norma was a past president of both the International Childbirth Education Association and the Boston Association for Childbirth Education.  
 
Her rich childhood was shaped by her immigrant grandparents from Poland and Spain, and by her parents, a Catholic and a Christian Scientist. They gave her an appreciation of nature; a love of words, ideas, debates, the value of challenging authority; and the skills to immerse herself deeply in every experience. Norma excelled at the Girls’ Latin School in Boston Class of 1949, at Tufts University as an undergraduate, at Brandeis University for post-graduate studies in medical sociology, and at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health where she earned her Master of Public Health, and later became an adjunct lecturer of twenty years to medical and Ph.D. students.

Norma was the first to say that she learned the most from listening to other women, first in the maternity care movement, then in the Boston Women’s Health Book Collective as its eldest member. Its book, "Our Bodies Ourselves," reached into the dorm rooms, bedrooms, and delivery rooms of millions of women worldwide. Norma was the first Director of International Programs of the Our Bodies Ourselves (OBOS) organization birthed by the book, as well as being a board member from 1972-1996 and 2015-2018. She traveled and made meaningful alliances around the world, particularly in Brazil and Italy among many other countries. Her work resulted in numerous translations/adaptations of "Our Bodies, Ourselves." 
 
Norma also consulted internationally for the World Health Organization and major foundations. As OBOS’s oldest founder, Norma was always passionate about capturing and documenting its history. She was unwavering in her commitment to the central vision and feminist principles throughout changing times. Norma’s eloquent spoken words enthralled people from Beijing to Nairobi, in small groups and huge conferences. She was a gifted raconteur, and could expand perspectives to encompass the global and the intimate; she was open to all of womankind, every class and color, age and identity.
 
As an academic, Norma created and taught Women, Health and Development from a Global Perspective at the Harvard School of Public Health, the first and longest-running Women and Health course at Harvard University. In addition to her work on "Our Bodies, Ourselves," Norma was also a contributing author to the popular guide "Ourselves, Growing Older," produced in collaboration with OBOS, as well as "Ourselves and Our Children." 
 
In her personal life, Norma married John Swenson in 1956, a decorated WWII hero from the 100th Bomb Group and followed remembrance events for his military career until almost the very end of her life. Her last trip abroad was to the 100th Bomb Group Museum established on the original WWII air base in Diss, UK. After John’s death in 2002, she re-met a college boyfriend, Leonard van Gaasbeek, and had fifteen rewarding years visiting his tranquil Greenpeace Farm in the corner of Maine she loved best, as well as traveling together internationally. Norma also always acknowledged her debt to Uwe Kitzinger, widower of her friend Sheila Kitzinger, the British natural childbirth pioneer who had a powerful influence on her life and perspective. She spoke at Uwe's memorial service at Oxford in 2024. 
 
Norma took enormous pride in her daughter, choreographer Sarah Swenson, and travelled far and wide to see her performances, as well as delighting in visits to Italy when Sarah moved there to live with her husband. 
 
Norma’s ability to befriend everyone took her literally all around the world. Even those who met her relatively briefly remember her. The beam of her attention was intense and focused, evoking new understanding and insight into both the broadest policy and philosophical questions, and the everyday dilemmas of women’s lives. Norma used to say, "How do I know what I know if there is no one to hear it?” She freed up so much "knowing" in so many people. In addition, Norma’s gift for creating memorable experiences was extraordinary, whether that meant taking an adopted granddaughter to the ballet, or showing a middle-aged plant lover a “silver bells” tree for the first time. She always had time, and placed no value on being on time.
 
Norma loved the ocean – eating the freshest fish or lobster or chowder beside it, sailing on it with her admirers, watching a melting sunset over it. An amateur botanist, she worshipped flowers, plants and trees, and knew many of their Latin names by heart. Her determination to save beautiful old buildings and trees in Newton Centre continued into her nineties. She was most recently involved with Dignity Alliance Massachusetts which works toward transformative change to ensure the dignity of older adults, people with disabilities, and their caregivers.
 
Norma will live on through so many whose lives she changed – both we who cherished her, and those who never had the good fortune to meet her. 
 
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College, where Norma’s archives will be preserved. Please donate here, and note the Norma Meras Swenson Archive.
 
Norma will be buried at Mount Auburn Cemetery in a private gathering. A larger memorial event is being planned for next year.

Remembrances can be submitted on Norma's website here.
 
With thanks to Joan Ditzion, Hannah Doress, Mary Fillmore, Miriam Hawley, Judy Luce, Elizabeth MacMahon-Herrerra, Judy Norsigian, and Hilary Salk.