Interpreting Transgender Stories in Museums and Cultural Heritage Institutions

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Intended Audience

Members of a community, including but not limited to:
• Institution's internal community, from volunteers and front-line staff to trustees.
• Institution’s core audience, who can both learn from and help in developing the exhibitions and programs.
• Local transgender and LGBTQ+ community: artists, activists, archivists, and people who can find the exhibitions or programs as a community gathering space.

American Alliance of Museums LGBTQ+ Alliance Task Force for Transgender Inclusion

2022

“…museum professionals may have difficulty confidently representing them in museum exhibitions and programs due to the rapid evolution of language, the marginalization of transgender identities throughout history, and the politicization of transgender identity in the twenty-first century. This guide is designed to recognize and address these challenges. It is intended to support museums, libraries, archives, and other cultural heritage institutions in recognizing queer and transgender possibilities within their collections, advocating for these possibilities within their institutions, and forming meaningful relationships with their local queer and transgender communities.” (p.3)

“There’s no single best way to include transgender narratives in exhibitions and programming. Instead, this guide suggests potential best practices for your institution based on this project’s interviews, published studies, and related tools and examples.” (p. 5)

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This open-access guide helps museum and cultural heritage practitioners better engage and/or work with visitors, colleagues, artists, people who are of the transgender, non-binary, gender-nonconforming and broader LGBTQ+ communities. Contents covered in the guide correspond to SDG targets 4.7 (education for gender equality), 5.1 (end all forms of discrimination against all genders), 5.2 (eliminate all forms of violence in the public spheres), 5.C (strengthen policies for promotion of gender equality), 10.2 (empower and promote inclusion of all), 11.7 (universal access to safe and inclusive spaces), 16.7 (inclusive and participatory approaches), 16.10 (protect fundamental freedoms), 17.16 (partnerships and participation from different stakeholders) and 17.17 (civil society partnerships).

Click on the SDG Target to discover Our Collections Matter indicators

SDG 4.7: Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Numbers of people in each type of programme drawing on collections from different demographic groups.
Increases in numbers of people in each type of programme from different demographic groups.
Proportion of people involved in such programmes in relation to overall audience size.
Evidence that learners have acquired knowledge and skills to promote sustainable development.
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SDG 5.1: End Discrimination Against Women and Girls
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Collections development to ensure that collections effectively meet the needs of all, irrespective of sex or gender.
Number and proportion of educational and participatory programmes that promote participation irrespective of sex or gender.
Numbers and proportions of girls, women and gender-diverse people making use of collections in relation to the demographic of the local population.
Numbers and proportions of girls, women and gender-diverse people involved in focused programmes aimed at promoting social, economic and political inclusion.
Numbers and proportions of girls, women and gender-diverse people from different demographic groups involved in decision-making processes relating to collections and collections-based institutions.
Number and types of partnerships that build relationships with people of different sex and gender.
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SDG 5.2: End All Violence Agains and Exploitation of Women and Girls
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Collections development, to ensure collections can be used as a basis for programmes that aim to raise awareness of, and reduce, all forms of violence against women and girls.
Number of educational, awareness-raising and partnership programmes drawing on collections that aim to reduce, prevent and eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
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SDG 5.C: Adopt and Strengthen Policies and Enforceable Legislation for Gender Equality
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Number and proportion of policies relating to collections and collections-based institutions that incorporate gender perspectives to promote gender equality and empowerment of all women and girls at all levels.
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SDG 10.2: Promote Universal Social Economic and Political Inclusion
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Collections development to ensure that collections effectively meet the needs of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
Number and proportion of educational and participatory programmes that promote participation irrespective of social or other status.
Numbers and proportions of people making use of collections in relation to the demographic of the local population.
Numbers and proportions of people involved in focused programmes aimed at promoting social, economic and political inclusion.
Numbers and proportions of people from different demographic groups involved in decision-making processes relating to collections and collections-based institutions.
Number and types of partnerships that build relationships with marginalized groups, individuals and communities.
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SDG 11.7: Provide Access to Safe and Inclusive Green and Public Spaces
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Numbers of people accessing collecting institutions from different demographic groups, notably women, children, older people and persons with disabilities.
Increases in numbers of people accessing collecting institutions from different demographic groups.
Measures taken to remove barriers to access green and public spaces.
Extent of green space provided by collections institutions.
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SDG 16.7: Ensure Responsive, Inclusive and Representative Decision-Making
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Proportions of positions (by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups) in public institutions (national and local legislatures, public service, and judiciary) compared to national distributions.
Proportion of population [audience/users/non-users] who believe decision-making is inclusive and responsive, by sex, age, disability and population group.
Decision-making addresses societal, environmental and economic challenges related to the community, considering short-term and long-term risks and opportunities.
Decision-making draws on diverse backgrounds, viewpoints and interests, reflecting a broad base of stakeholders, and working to promote inclusion and provide effective services for all of society.
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SDG 16.10: Ensure Public Access to Information and Protect Fundamental Freedoms
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Adopt and implement constitutional, statutory and/or policy guarantees for public access to information.
Plans in place, and plans implemented to enhance public access to information relating to collections.
Plans in place, and plans implemented to support fundamental freedoms, in line with human rights, national and international agreements and legislation.
Plans and procedures in place for public access to information relating to the operation and management of collections-based institutions.
Complaint mechanism in place for public to use where public access to information and fundamental freedoms not supported or fulfilled.
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SDG 17.16: Enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of global and international multi-stakeholder partnerships involving developing countries that share collection-related knowledge, expertise, technology and financial resources to address the SDGs.
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SDG 17.17: Encourage Effective Partnerships
Our Collections Matter indicators:
Amount of United States dollars committed to public-private and civil society partnerships.
Number and/or increase in number, and diversity of local, national and regional multi-stakeholder (public, public-private and civil society) partnerships that address the SDGs drawing on collections, or that otherwise involve collections-based organisations and institutions.
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