Museums have been traditionally a public sphere of heteronormativity; that is, an institution which privileges the narrative of two sexes from a heterosexual perspective. Recent exhibition makings...Show moreMuseums have been traditionally a public sphere of heteronormativity; that is, an institution which privileges the narrative of two sexes from a heterosexual perspective. Recent exhibition makings around the world have attempted to go beyond this gender norm and coincide with the latest LGBTIQ social rights movements. This thesis asks how LGBTIQ-theme exhibitions can challenge the normalized gender and sexuality in the museum. It addresses this question by proposing a theoretical framework of queer curating based on Judith Butler’s performativity theory and aims to rethink ways of exhibition display. Bringing queer theory into curatorial practice, the thesis explores the critical intervention of the Schwules Museum*(the Gay Museum* in Berlin) and examines how the curators reflect on displaying approaches in exhibition space. To rethink human sexualities in a more nuanced way, critical exhibition makings not only display diverse sexualities but also reveal the institutional neglect of non-conforming gender subjects and open up possibilities of performing diverse sexualities in museums.Show less
