LGBTQ families have a growing source of support in museums—including children’s museums—that have been reaching out with inclusive and welcoming programs.
As far back as 1991, the Boston Museum of Science included a page about a family with “Two Moms” in a laminated book that was part of its “How Your Life Began” exhibit. The page explained that the two women in the picture were raising their two children together and that each mom had been pregnant with one of them.
It wasn’t a perfect placement—the bulk of the book depicted various traditions associated with new children around the world. There were pages for baptisms of several denominations, the Jewish bris (ritual circumcision), and the Chinese tradition of a ceremonial first haircut. “Two Moms” wasn’t a religious or cultural ceremony like the other events in the book. Still, when I first wrote about this in 2009, I gave the museum credit for trying to be inclusive, even if the execution was awkward. The woman whose family was depicted, Kathy MacDonald, then wrote to me and explained:
Eighteen years ago when our younger daughter was born, there was no same sex marriage in MA or anywhere else. There was also no second parent adoption in MA. The only kids book about families like ours was Heather Has Two Mommies and there were very few times when kids with same sex parents saw families like theirs reflected in the larger culture. Our families were often largely invisible. It was a very different time. The Museum approached us about being part of the exhibit while I was pregnant. We explained, just as you noted in your column, that lesbian couples are part of many cultures and that there were no particular “LGBT customs” that came with the births of our children…. They wanted their exhibit to be inclusive of all kinds of families. Though I have to agree with you. “A for Effort and C for Execution.” Of course, it would have been better if one or both of us was from China, India, or Romania where there was a particular custom and we just happened to be a lesbian couple. However, we have met several families (especially 10 or 15 years ago) who told us about how their kids didn’t know any other families with 2 moms and how important it was for their child to see that photo. [Posted with permission.]
Kudos to her for letting her family be shown at a time when LGBTQ families were still a public rarity—and kudos to the Museum of Science for its willingness to show them.
Some museums are still leading the way in inclusion of and education about LGBTQ families. Most recently, as part of LGBT History Month in the U.K., the Museum of London partnered with Schools OUT UK to hold a free day of talks, workshops and events for families and teachers, along with a performance by the London Gay Men’s Chorus. Speakers included the venerable actor Sir Derek Jacobi, transgender author Juno Dawson, playwright and novelist Bonnie Greer, activist Stuart Milk, and author and illustrator Ros Asquith. Among the activities was a session of Jacobi reading LGBTQ-inclusive kids’ books, including Lesléa Newman’s Heather Has Two Mummies (the new U.K. edition of her classic Heather Has Two Mommies
And a few weeks ago, the Queering the Museum (QTM) Project, which works to increase representation of LGBTQ people in museums (for adults and children), reported on an initiative from the Chicago Children’s Museum “to welcome and engage the LGBTQ community.” The project had been seeking an intern—and they got Theresa Volpe, who had testified before the Illinois Senate on behalf of marriage equality and was invited to the White House for her efforts. Volpe helped the museum create inclusive activities, make the museum’s family bathrooms into all-gender bathrooms, reach out to the LGBTQ community about these efforts, and offer a bevy of resources:
On three, free-admission evenings in May and June, we transformed the museum’s multi-purpose workshop room into a warm and welcoming place full of LGBTQ family-friendly children’s books, snacks, and music. We also had a resource table with materials about school safety, reproductive resources, support groups, organizations, gender identity clinics, and LGBTQ family-friendly children’s books.
The Boston Children’s Museum also recently ran a show titled “Mimi’s Family,” a collaboration of photographer Matthew Clowney, a Providence-based artist and professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, and exhibit designer Margaret Middleton. It shows the everyday life of Erica (aka Mimi) Tobias, a transgender grandparent, and her family. Clowney worked closely with them so that the photographs respectfully depict their love and commitment. The exhibit also contains “open-ended questions [in English and Spanish] that encourage visitors to discuss their families and reflect on differences and similarities.” Clowney and Middleton are seeking additional donations so they can bring the exhibit to additional locations.
On February 27, Boston Spirit magazine will be hosting its first-ever LGBT family event at the New England Aquarium (which one could think of as an aquatic museum). They will be taking over the venue from 6 to 8 p.m. with special activities and presentations about the animals as well as about some local organizations and services available to LGBT families.
At a time when LGBTQ inclusion in school curricula is still often a fraught subject, it is heartening to see other kid-focused venues unafraid to do their part for equality and visibility.
Have I missed any museum events or exhibits about LGBTQ families? Please leave a comment!
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has LGBTQ Family Days!
Cool! Thanks for sharing!