Kvinnor och män på museum. Fördjupad Studie av Genus på Museiutställningar

Abstract

In this essay, the purpose was to analyze four different exhibitions from four different museums and how they represent women and men through objects, texts, and images with the help of gender theory or a gender perspective. The methods used were participatory observations at the exhibitions, semi-structured interviews with museum employees, and a comparative analysis. A research overview of other museum studies, and a review of the history of gender theory was conducted to get an overview of the current research area. A detailed review of the exhibitions was carried out and many differences and similarities were found. Among other things, it emerged that men were most often associated with weapons and war, while women were associated with responsibilities in the home and textiles/clothing. Conclusions were also drawn about the reasons why women and men are portrayed in a certain way in the exhibitions. Among other things it emerged that there has long been a masculine focus in research even though political decisions have improved the situation over the years, and museums are affected by the society in which they are situated.