For your listening pleasure
The BBC’s AntiSocial on “queering” museums.
The debate sparked by reviewing historic collections through a queer or LGBT lens. A “queering the collection” blogpost from the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth was criticised for making what some saw as tenuous links between historic objects from the ship and the experience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people. Supporters of “queering” museums and galleries say it’s needed to redress a traditional approach to history that has often ignored non-heterosexual people or stories. But it’s led to controversy and criticism that some institutions have gone too far by focusing on the LGBT angle at the expense of others or imposing a modern interpretation that wouldn’t have made sense at the time.
Dominique Bouchard, Head of Learning and Interpretation at English Heritage
Mary Harrington, Contributing Editor at UnHerd
Jackie Stacey, Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester
Josh Adair, Professor of English at Murray State University
It won’t surprise you to be told that Mary Harrington was especially good.
But anyone who isn’t L, G, or B is heterosexual, so demands for recognition of anyone outside LGB is still focusing on heteros, just heteros with custom pronouns and blue hair, neither of which preserve well over time.
It begins to feel like they plan to promote being ‘queer’ as a dominant narrative, while still claiming to be a marginalized minority. The amount of ‘queering’ they do misinterprets not only history, but the present.
I believe that this is what is referred to as “centering.” That it drives all other views or interpretations into the margins is the whole point. It’s perfect narcissism. Everything starts and ends with them; any other perspective is
needless distractionhateful bigotry.Center moi.