As a museum director married to a man who used to travel on business, I
can tell you that many men have a great interest in museums and tend to
search them out while traveling alone away from home on business. I was
always rather grateful that my husband chose to find an interesting museum
rather than head for the bar.

This is not to say that women alone should not be cautious and alert. A
violent act takes only seconds, and lasts a lifetime for the victim. Those
male readers of the list who take umbrage at being treated with suspicion,
think for a moment about how it would feel to be viewed as an un-person,
an opportunity. There are harmful people in the world. Some of them like
the quiet, hidden spaces of a museum. And many of them are looking at the
museum objects as opportunities as well, so if you as observer could be
thought of as a threat by such a person, they could certainly feel you
need to be removed.

On a less hostile level, I agree with the reader who said it's social,
women travel in groups (partly for protection) and men confidently strike
off alone.

Micki Ryan
Director, Orcas Island Historical Museum

> Dear List Members:
>
> I'm curious about your experiences.. At all the museums I've worked at
> (all in New Jersey) I can only think of one instance where a solitary
> woman came for a 'walk-in' or unreserved tour. Women come in pairs or
> groups, but hardly ever alone. Men, however, come in regularly by
> themselves, which can pose an interesting problem as a great deal of
> museum staffers are women. I can pose some possible reasons for this,
> but I was wondering if all of you have had the same experiences or
> whether a study has been done about single male v. single female
> visitation.
>
> Just curious!
>
> Mary Rizzo

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