Smithsonian Voices

From the Smithsonian Museums

Girlhood (It’s complicated) opened to the public on October 9, 2020. Artwork by Krystal Quiles for NMAH.

Why Did the Smithsonian Create an Exhibit About Girlhood?

The museum had a bold new idea—it was going to create an exhibition about girlhood

The Story Behind the Iconic Photo of Gay Dads Kissing

Title page to Garrard Conley's workbook from the gay-conversion camp Love in Action (NMAH)

The History of Getting the Gay Out

Matt Shepard in high school, taken in Lugano, Switzerland (NMAH)

Matt Shepard's Objects at the Smithsonian Show Us the Familiarity of an Icon

Leo Baker's personalized skateboards (NMAH)

How LGBTQ Skateboarders Have Carved Out a Place at the Park

Transgender flag designed by Monica Helms (right), and friends. The flag's stripes represent the traditional pink and blue associated with girls and boys and white for intersex, transitioning, or of undefined gender. Helms served in the United States Navy and became an activist for transgender rights in the late 1990s in Arizona where she grew up. She designed the flag in 1999. (NMAH)

Can an Object Be Gay? LGBTQ Collecting

Picket signs carried by protestors at the White House and Independence Hall in Philadelphia, 1960s (Frank Kameny Collection, NMAH)

The Most Radical Thing About Stonewall Wasn't the Uprising

Miscellaneous objects from the museum’s collection that feature rainbows, including “That’s So Gay!” trivia game, coasters, and flags promoting marriage equality and immigration equality (NMAH)

Where Did the Rainbow Flag Come From, Anyway?

Speaker’s card advertising Walker’s services as a lecturer. Walker described herself as

Mary Walker, the Original "New Woman"

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Conserving Pieces of the History of Uncle Tom's Cabin

Bringing the Forgotten History of Black Firefighting to Life

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