Museum of American Women to feature ‘transgender women’ to be ‘inclusive’
The Smithsonian is reportedly in the process of creating an American Women’s History Museum, and its director has proclaimed it will take an “inclusive” approach.
The Smithsonian Institution describes itself as “the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo—shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.”
While the organization was founded in 1846 with funds from an Englishman named James Smithson, it has increasingly been associated with the most cutting-edge topics of modern culture-war politics.
“On Monday, the institution announced more than $55 million in gifts that will help solidify its financial future, though it has yet to receive final Congressional approval,” The New York Times reported. “Together, we will create a museum that celebrates the women who have helped build this country,” Lisa Sasaki, the museum’s interim director, said. “These donations are pivotal in the realization of this vision.”
“There is no monolithic experience of womanhood,” The Times claimed, noting, “Sasaki said that she plans to include transgender women, who have been subject to increasing harassment and violence at a time when there is a national discussion, and deep partisan divide, about the acceptance of transgender identities.”
“We have a job to build a museum that’s going to serve the public for a very, very long time,” Sasaki said. “From the DNA of this museum, there has been a desire to be inclusive.”
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, or NMAAHC stirred up massive national controversy in 2020.
The museum was widely condemned for releasing a chart that suggested qualities such as “rugged individualism,” “delayed gratification,” and “objective, rational linear thinking” were “Aspects and Assumptions of Whiteness and White Culture in the United States.”
As it stands, the museum has an extensive page on whiteness today, where it argues that “Whiteness (and its accepted normality) also exist as everyday microaggressions toward people of color,” and that “Being white” implies “you have not faced hardships or oppression based on the color of your skin.”
Smithsonian’s website dedicated to its American Women’s History Museum includes an entry dedicated to racial activist and former fugitive Angela Davis.
“In August 1970, activist Jonathan P. Jackson’s attempt to free three prisoners led to a shoot-out outside a California courthouse,” the website reads. “Jackson, a judge, and two others died in the attempt. Davis had not been present but was alleged to have purchased the guns used in the incident. She was charged with murder, kidnapping, and criminal conspiracy.”
The website also includes an entry dedicated to trans activist and U.S. Navy veteran Monica Helms, who designed the first transgender pride flag in 1999.
