Wonders of Women
Women’s Museum shows strong future, past

Story by Reagan Duplisea ¥ Photos by Jennifer Klein ¥ Photo Illustration by Jamie Zwilling

The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future opened its doors in Dallas’ Fair Park Saturday and has displayed its wares, not with pink frills and lace, but with images of strength.

To reach this effect, a dichotomy of material is used in the museum’s interior. Warm, classic wood paneling combines with exposed metal pipes and a metal and glass elevator straight out of Gotham City.

t’s a contrast of elegant and modern, but each works together for an ambiance of fortitude.

Right after one mounts the staircase — also of metal and wood — one comes face to face with a glass case containing a time capsule. The case is divided, with one side representing life at one turn of the century, 1900, and the other representing 2000.

When they were deciding what items would best represent American women today, the museum staff decided to ask American women. A post card was sent at random to women across America asking, “What tokens of daily life would you send to women 100 years from now?”

Hanging above a staircase that leads to the museum’s lower level are several portraits that show the great strides women have made in spirituality.

Items are juxtaposed, showing how the “necessities” of life have changed, not just for American women, but for American society. A learner’s permit and car keys are displayed across from an advertisement for bicycles, showing how transportation has changed. A business card is displayed across from a calling card and a phonograph across from a Discman.

From the time capsule, the museum-goer progresses down a long, dim corridor lined with a colorful timeline on one side and display cases highlighting notable American women on the other. The timeline begins with the 1500s, revealing how the Western Pueblos trace their family history through the lineage of their mothers.

Just by reading the entries on the timeline, it becomes evident that the museum is not just about those historic women, such as Susan B. Anthony or Harriet Tubman, but also about those whose achievements have not often been brought to attention. The wall tells the story of such women as Emily Geiger, who rode 100 miles through enemy territory to deliver information to General Sumpter during the Revolutionary War. Geiger memorized her message and swallowed it when captured by enemy soldiers.

The timeline, which progresses from right to left, was a little hard to follow. But the timeline presents enough interesting tidbits to keep the reader going.

Glass cases containing displays relating to the various eras of American history are interspersed in the timeline wall. A black crepe mourning bonnet from the Civil War and liquid stockings from World War II are on display.

Drawers at the bottom of the timeline lie in wait for a curious soul to open them, revealing treasure chests of more memorabilia. The drawers are arranged by subject, such as nursing or money. However, if a staff member hadn’t pointed the drawers out, few probably would have known to open them.

As expected, mostly women explored the chambers and corridors of the museum on its opening day. Older women reminisce as they see items that spark their memories.

“Do you see that old metal credit card?” one woman asked her younger companion. “I had one of those. They each had a notch for each store you wanted to use it in.”

Walking down the wall of time, laughter could be heard from a large crowd gathered at the “Funny Women” display. Clips from “The Carol Burnett Show” and “I Love Lucy” on four TV screens gained chortles of appreciation.

Around the corner are multi-colored boxes the size of a large computer screen stacked upon each other. Each section has a theme such as gender roles and health issues, but the cubes are seemingly arranged at random. The multi-media boxes contain quotes, photographs, comic strips and more memorabilia. The square theme is repeated throughout the museum — building blocks of women’s progress throughout American history.

Other highlights include memorabilia such as Amelia Earhart’s flight suit and Gloria Steinem’s appointment book.

With all its glass cases, bevies of information and interactive displays, the museum explores the contradictory role of women in American society. They have fought against the sex symbol and barefoot-pregant-and-in-the-kitchen image, yet women such as Martha Stewart and Mary Kay are revered.

Reagan Duplisea
elsinore_skye@hotmail.com

By Wendy Meyer
staff reporter

Last year the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old student attending the University of Wyoming who was brutally beaten and left to die, struck the nation as an example of the extremity of hate crimes, particularly gay bashing.

In an attempt to raise consciousness, a newly formed straight-gay coalition of the TCU Triangle and TCU Student Allies, the EQ Alliance, will honor National Coming Out Day, Oct. 11, by showing a six-hour British series about the lives of gay men.

This semester Allies, a support group for gay students and Triangle, a gay awareness club, joined forces into the EQ Alliance, a gay-straight coalition.

“Queer as Folk,” a controversial show that received 160 complaints when it first aired in Britain, will be shown 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday in Moudy Building North, Room 141. The showing is $10 for adults and $5 for students.

Showing this film is an example both of how far Triangle has come, but also how far they have to go, said Todd Camp, the artistic director of Q Cinema, a Fort Worth gay and lesbian film festival.

The group has had a hard time keeping their advertisements for the film posted on campus. The posters keep getting torn down, Camp said.

“I was hoping people would be a little more mature,” Camp said. “I can’t say that I am surprised but I am disappointed.”
The film is an honest approach and portrayal of the gay community, Triangle President Jakobus Wolf said.
Filmed in Manchester, the show was written by novelist Russell T. Davis and directed by Charles McDougal. Featuring under-age gay sex, it caused outrage when it was first shown last year.

“It doesn’t go into the realm of pornography by any stretch of the imagination, but it does break a lot of taboos of gay sex,” Camp said.

Charlie Hunnam plays Nathan, a 15 year-old school boy who hasn’t experienced much in life, but knows who he is and where he is going.

He meets Stuart, played by Aidan Gillen. The successful public relations executive has an entourage of boyfriends.

“The characters drink a lot, take a lot of drugs, have a lot of sex and they don’t necessarily pay the consequences for it,” Camp said. “I think that’s very refreshing.”

Meeting Nathan causes Stuart to settle down, as he develops a fascination for the young boy.

Besides the entertaining aspects of the series, the show honors those who chose to come out, despite the discrimination they will face.

“The series is a celebration of people who have come out in a stifled environment that doesn’t accept diversity as much as it should,” Wolf said.

Nathan goes from being a shy boy to an empowered adult who comes out to his parents, classmates and the world, Camp said.

The problem with many movies and television shows about gays is they are often portrayed as either clowns or victims, Camp said.

The vital theme of this show is that Nathan, Stuart and their gay friends are not role models and not victims in any greater way than the rest of us.

“We are a minority that is often overlooked and we are still struggling to make headway in the political and social world not only at TCU but also nationally,” Wolf said.

Wendy Meyer
w.m.meyer@student.tcu.edu

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