University of Denver Digital Commons @ DU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 1-1-2017 We Call It Pulling a Thread: Deconstructing Femininity at the Molly Brown House Museum Emily J. Starck University of Denver Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd Part of the Anthropology Commons, Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Commons, and the Museum Studies Commons Recommended Citation Starck, Emily J., "We Call It Pulling a Thread: Deconstructing Femininity at the Molly Brown House Museum" (2017). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1345. https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1345 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at Digital Commons @ DU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ DU. For more information, please contact [email protected],[email protected]. WE CALL IT PULLING A THREAD: DECONSTRUCTING FEMININITY AT THE MOLLY BROWN HOUSE MUSEUM __________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of Social Sciences University of Denver __________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts __________ by Emily J. Starck August 2017 Advisor: Esteban M. Gómez Author: Emily J. Starck Title: WE CALL IT PULLING A THREAD: DECONSTRUCTING FEMININITY AT THE MOLLY BROWN HOUSE MUSEUM Advisor: Esteban M. Gómez Degree Date: August 2017 ABSTRACT Despite making up around half of the global population, women are consistently underrepresented in museums. Where women’s experiences are present in exhibitions and programming, they are often misrepresented within an entrenched heteronormative and patriarchal framework. Through this thesis, I show how Denver’s Molly Brown House Museum works to upset traditional narratives through their dynamic interpretation of the life of their namesake, Margaret Tobin Brown. Using new museology, feminist anthropology, and performance theory, I analyze data from staff interviews and tour participant observation to explore how the museum deconstructs popular understandings of historical femininity. Through visitor surveys, I measure the extent to which the museum is changing visitors’ perceptions of womanhood in the past. By relating Mrs. Brown’s experiences to those of modern-day visitors, the museum joins several other notable institutions nationwide in re-shaping the way museums represent women. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost, I wish to thank the staff and volunteers at the Molly Brown House Museum for opening up their museum and their thoughts to my questions and wonderment. Without your kindness, this project could not exist. Secondly, to my advisors and mentors at the University of Denver, who helped me turn a vague desire to research “women and, uh, old stuff” into a thesis. To my classmates, for making Colorado feel like home. To everybody back in Wisconsin, who kept me supplied with cheese curds and emotional support over these two years— I’ll be home soon. And finally, to Mrs. Brown herself, who showed me how to reach not for the possible, but for the impossible. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Key Terms and Concepts ........................................................................................ 6 Thesis Layout ........................................................................................................ 10 Chapter Two: Background ................................................................................................ 12 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 12 Gender and the Historic House Museum .............................................................. 13 The Molly Brown House Museum ....................................................................... 18 The Life and Times of Margaret Brown ............................................................... 23 Gentility and Femininity ....................................................................................... 28 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 45 Chapter Three: Theory ...................................................................................................... 47 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 47 Feminist Anthropology and Gender Theory ......................................................... 49 Literature Review...................................................................................... 49 Responses and Critiques ........................................................................... 52 The New Museology ............................................................................................. 55 Literature Review...................................................................................... 55 The New Museum ..................................................................................... 58 Objects, Exhibits, and Collections under the New Museology ................ 61 Museum Learning and the New Museology ............................................. 63 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 69 Chapter Four: Methods ..................................................................................................... 70 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 70 Methodology ......................................................................................................... 71 Research Design.................................................................................................... 75 Variables and Dimensions .................................................................................... 76 Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 78 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 81 Limitations of Research Design ............................................................................ 84 Chapter Five: Analysis ...................................................................................................... 89 Introduction ........................................................................................................... 89 Are They Deconstructing? .................................................................................... 91 What (Exactly) Are They Deconstructing? ........................................................... 95 How Are They Deconstructing It? ...................................................................... 102 The Tour: Acting and Atmosphere ......................................................... 105 How Effective is the Deconstruction? ................................................................ 133 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 142 Chapter Six: Conclusion ................................................................................................. 144 iv Suggestions and Possibilities for Future Research ............................................. 146 Pulling the Thread ............................................................................................... 150 References ....................................................................................................................... 153 Appendix A ..................................................................................................................... 164 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 164 Appendix C ..................................................................................................................... 166 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1a. The first floor of the MBHM…………………………………………………20 Figure 1b. The second floor of the MBHM……………………………………………...21 Figure 1c. The third floor of the MBHM………………………………………………..22 Figure 2. The stages of a woman’s life…………………………………………………..30 Figure 3a. 1850s-1860s dress…………………………………………………………….32 Figure 3b. 1870s-1880s dress……………………………………………………………32 Figure 3c. 1890s dress…………………………………………………………………....33 Figure 4. Hoopskirts……………………………………………………………………...33 Figure 5. Mrs. Brown…………………………………………………………………….35 Figure 6. Back Parlor…………………………………………………………………….35 Figure 7. African American women and corsetry……………………………………….44 Figure 8. Caricatures of femininity………………………………………………………44 Figure 9. Visitor survey………………………………………………………………….80 Figure 10. Significant objects at the MBHM…………………………………………...110 Figure 11. Aggregate Changes in Survey Responses Before and After Tour………….136 Figure 12. Percent Change in Adjective Selection after Tour………………………….136 vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION “Woman” What should a woman be? At the first all leal and true When the song of love sing two. What should a woman be When her love is pledged to thee? All purity. What should a woman be When the two to one have grown? When each heart has found its own? What should a woman be When her life is linked to thee? Sincerity. What should a woman be (Still more love the