Trans Narratives in Children’s Museums

ABSTRACT

In 2015 Mimi’s Family: Photographs by Matthew Clowney opened to the public at Boston Children’s Museum. The first of its kind, this groundbreaking exhibit told the story of a family with a transgender grandparent through a series of large, color photographs. This case study describes the process, challenges, and outcomes of creating the exhibit and offers suggestions that all museums can use to create more welcoming spaces for transgender visitors and staff.

KEYWORDS:

• Children’s museums
• transgender
• LGBTQ
• inclusion
• family
• photography

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

About the authors

Margaret Middleton is a Providence-based exhibit designer and museum consultant with a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design. Middleton’s work has been featured in the American Alliance of Museums magazine Museum as well as Exhibition, the journal produced by the National Association for Museum Exhibition. In 2014 Middleton created the Family Inclusive Language Chart.

Alicia Greene is the Community Engagement Program Developer at Boston Children’s Museum. She has worked with nonprofit organizations for more than 20 years in community engagement, community organizing, performing arts and education. Alicia is an alumna of Kansas State University, American Academy of Dramatic Arts-NYC and Brown University’s Arts Literacy Project. Ms Greene is also a member of the New England Consortium of Artist Educator Professionals.

Notes

1 National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and HIV-Affected Hate Violence.

2 De La Cretaz, “What’s Life Like with a Transgender Grandmother?”

3 Jacobs, The Behavior Breakthrough.