This thread of discussion has particularly interested me because I am
one of the (seemingly rare) females who goes to museums/historic sites
alone. I think it would be interesting to see why an individual chooses
to go to a museum alone versus in a group. Many ticketing/tour systems
provide survey capabilities that could begin to collect this sort of
information. I do not know that it is a question typically addressed -
similar to going across borders "are you traveling on business or for
pleasure."
I travel for business. If I have a weekend free in a town I am visiting,
or a half day to triangulate I will often do historic house tours. I
have discussed my "independent" traveling experiences with many other
female business travelers and have found that they typically stay
retreated in their hotel rooms unless a customer goes out with them. I
do not typically visit museums or historic sites when I am at home,
unless I have guests or friends in town who request such an excursion.
It is possible that the fact that more men travel for business then
woman has an impact on this scenario.
I would agree that safety concerns for woman traveling alone are
typically an issue that prevents them from braving the process of
visiting a museum. I would be more apt to visit a site that offered
group tours rather then show up to a more remote site. And I would also
think twice about having a personalized tour provided by a male tour
guide. However, I also typically call ahead to arrange the most
convenient scenario.
Alexis Parker
Consultant
Jacobson Consulting Applications, Inc.
Helping non-profits work smarter
Phone: 412-745-1701
Fax: 412-745-1701
http://www.jcainc.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Candace Perry
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 1:04 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [MUSEUM-L] Men on walk-in tours
Okay, but now I'm curious, does it really go that deep?
I asked a friend of mine, a male museum goer, what he would do. He said
he
would be more likely to go alone than with a male friend (and this is
aside
from going with me) , but he WOULD go with a male friend. He noted that
he
was trying to organize a trip to the local art museum with his fellow
longshoremen.
As a woman, I happily will go alone if I can. But it also serves as a
nice
outing with female friends.
Candace Perry
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
Behalf Of Rizzo, Mary
Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 12:27 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Men on walk-in tours
My original intent was to focus less on the issue of security for female
staffers and more on the cultural scripts that potentially discourage
women from visiting sites alone (or, alternately, empower men to do so),
but since the security and safety issue has become tantamount I'd also
like to throw in that females who volunteer in museums may be very
young, like high school age. We used minors to conduct tours at one
museum I worked at--where it was likely that there would only be one
staff person and a volunteer on the site at any one time--and it became
an issue. I won't get into details, but it involved a visitor who
offered a gift to his tour guide, who was a girl under 18. She saw
nothing wrong with this, though the staff did and took actions to alert
parents and police.
So, not just gender, but age plays in as well.
Mary Rizzo
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