Making Histories of Sexuality and Gender

Sexuality is a topic fundamental to human existence in every culture and epoch. Yet it is almost uniformly neglected by museums. In addressing this apparent conundrum, this book uses original research to explore the processes by which museums construct exhibitions and accounts of the past.

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Sexuality is a topic fundamental to human existence in every culture and through every epoch. It certainly pervades - even suffocates - almost all contemporary culture. Yet, simultaneously, it is striking that sexuality is almost uniformly neglected by museums. Why? In addressing this apparent conundrum, this book draws upon original research to explore in some detail the processes by which museums construct exhibitions and accounts of the past. The traditional neglect of women's history, coupled with the rising significance of this perspective in the work of many museums, is an interesting parallel and helps to shed more light upon the continuing neglect of sexuality by museums. The book also focuses upon museum visitors, examining both their reception of museum accounts, as well as their potential influence upon the processes of exhibition construction. The implications of these research findings are potentially profound, and the book concludes by predicting a transformation in the treatment by museums of themes such as sexuality, as the validity of the topic is increasingly acknowledged.
One can already identify tangible moves in this direction and there is certainly greater pressure upon museums for more inclusion of perspectives on sexuality from a variety of sources and for a variety of reasons. Ultimately, museum accounts of the past may never be the same again.