Hi Bill

I think you misunderstood.
The subject matter was not questioned!
What was requested, is that the heading of the email be altered, to not
embarrass some people.
Whether you believe this should or should not be an acceptable title in this
puritan country, is of irrelevance to the request.
Thank you however, for sharing your thoughts and concerns about how society
stigmatizes our bodies. I agree, we should all feel proud and non-ashamed of
ourselves. Talking about the subject matter in an open-door fashion, as in a
museum exhibition, might be one way of getting people to relax their
attitude about the subject.
However, fact remains, that this e-mail title might be currently
inappropriate for professional office use.
Changing it slightly, will not harm.


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Bill Mulligan wrote Subject: Re: Enough please

Sorry, but this IS an issue of general professional concern and importance,
and is, therefore, highly appropriate for this list to discuss OPENLY. The
fact that the heading is seen as a cause of concern suggests just how
sensitive an issue nudity is for U.S. audiences. I must strongly disagree,
however, with the suggestion that we discuss such sensitive issues offlist,
that defeats the purpose of having a list; or use euphemisms - that would be
silly and compound the problems associated with exhibits that might offend
certain elements of our communities.
It is interesting that the nudity of the subjects is seen as a concern,
rather than that an exhibit about human beings is in a museum that largely
deals with geology and animal life. I know there are historical reasons for
the delineation between natural history museums and history museums and the
assignment of non-white peoples largely to the former rather than the
latter, but is the continuation of this practice ethically neutral?

Bill Mulligan, Murray State University

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Erica Nash

Consultant Specializing in:
Accessible Environments,
Access for People with Disabilities,
Sensitivity Training,
Museum Collections Management, and
Electronic Access to Museum Collections.

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