The very idea of a queer pop up museum is a step forward for society. By recognizing “queer” as a culture progress has been made from the time when it was considered a disorder. That being said, the museum itself tells a story of oppression and persistence.

The most interesting part of the museum, to me, was the photo of the gay “porn” that was passed off as athletic models. This was important to me because of the importance of labels and labeling. IT is obviously NOT athletic modeling, but by labeling it as such it went unquestioned. This reminded me of the label “Woman” which we have talked a lot about in class and the connotations that may or may not be true of women.

Another interesting aspect of the museum was the book that told the stories of lesbian women for the past 50 or so years. This book included photography which was jokingly referred to as “a look at lesbian fashion for the past 50 years”. This book tells these stories of women who managed to “survive”, for lack of a better term, being queer in an anti-queer society. That book breeds hope and understanding inside of the queer community because it shows that as bad as it may be now, it used to be worse.

The overall message of the museum was a message of hope, yet it told a story of sadness. Through the oppression and fighting of the people depicted and the stories of these people the rights of the queer community have been advanced.

-Ashland