2SLGBTQIA+ Resource Collection

This glossary was written to help give people the words and meanings to help make conversations easier and more comfortable. LGBTQ people use a variety of terms to identify themselves, not all of which are included in this glossary. Always listen for and respect a person’s self identified terminology.

When thinking through workplace diversity, inclusion, and accessibility, museums need to move way beyond just an inclusion statement, as potential candidates need to know that your institution is a safe place to work before they even apply.

The Institutional Guidelines found here can be used by museum professionals at any level, but, ideally, institutional buy-in for transgender inclusion should come from top levels, including governing authority and executive support.

Museums across the world have recently been creating “safe spaces.” However, safe spaces can be a problematic concept, as they often incorrectly assume that all space can be “safe” to all people in the same way. What is safe for white, ableist individuals may not feel safe for a person of colour, queer, and/or disabled individual. Sometimes, regardless of what a museum does, spaces will never feel safe due to the institution’s founding in colonial history.

This is not a ýnal document. It has been reviewed by the CMA LGBTQ2+ Working Group and is currently under community review. The document is intended as an introduction to LGBTQ2+ inclusion for Canadian museums, which will help launch a series of inclusive strategies to help guide cultural institutions on how to engage, reþect, and celebrate diverse Canadian communities.

The LGBTQ+ community and the disability community intersect in significant ways. Below, you can find articles, books, and other resources on the intersection of Disability and LGBTQ+ issues.

This article explores both some of constraints facing museums and the strategies, ethical considerations and curatorial practices they might explore and adopt to reflect and document our rich LGBT histories and heritage in their collections, and to highlight these histories in mainstream and special exhibitions and public programming such as events, talks and conferences hosted by museums.

This paper addresses the question, What makes an object queer? through the context of a regional museum's exhibition about the LGBT experience in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia.

Susan Ferentinos, Public history researcher, writer and consultant spoke at MuseumNext Indianapolis in September 2015 about ways that museums might begin thinking about expanding their interpretation to include Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) stories.

This article will explore queer inclusion in four tiers: programming, temporary exhibitions, interpretive strategy, and broad institutional commitment.