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.
","abstract_html":"<p>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.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Starck, Emily J."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A.","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Esteban M. Gómez, Ph.D.","Bonnie Clark","Hava Gordon"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2017,"date_issued":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2017-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:03Z","subjects":["Femininity","Molly Brown","Museum","New museology","Performativity","Victorian","Anthropology","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Museum Studies"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1345","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Esteban M. Gómez, Ph.D.","Bonnie Clark","Hava Gordon"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Starck, Emily J."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-10-02T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Femininity","Molly Brown","Museum","New museology","Performativity","Victorian","Anthropology","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Museum Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["en"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1345"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["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.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["We Call It Pulling a Thread: Deconstructing Femininity at the Molly Brown House Museum"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Esteban M. Gómez, Ph.D.","Bonnie Clark","Hava Gordon"],"dc:creator":["Starck, Emily J."],"dc:date.available":["2017-10-02T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.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.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1345"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Femininity","Molly Brown","Museum","New museology","Performativity","Victorian","Anthropology","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Museum Studies"],"dc:title":["We Call It Pulling a Thread: Deconstructing Femininity at the Molly Brown House Museum"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:03Z"}