Guest post by Margaret Middleton
Margaret Middleton is an American independent exhibit designer and museum consultant based in Manchester, England. With a degree in industrial design from the Rhode Island School of Design and nearly 20 years of experience in the museum field, they work at the intersection of design and social justice. margaretmiddleton.com
I was recently in Cambridge to attend “Backlash: a Queer Cultural State of the Nation,” a symposium to discuss the findings of the LGBTQIA+Cultural Barometer research project.
Their research reveals what queer artists and culture workers already know: in recent years there has been significant anti-queer backlash in the cultural sector. Though this data was collected in the United Kingdom, anecdotally, I know the same trends are occurring in the United States. There never was a golden era of widespread queer cultural programming, collecting of queer artists, and queer history in museums, however the negative response we are experiencing now is unique in that it represents a more coordinated, political effort to dismantle queer cultural production.
This backlash has resulted in cancelled programming, targeted hate campaigns, protests, threats of violence, and withdrawn funding. Queer artists lose income and face harassment, and queer culture workers lose trust in their organisations as they cope with the mental toll of dealing with anti-queer bigotry. Culture workers experience increased labour as they run crisis management, and some organisations report they are less likely to programme queer work in the future because of their fear of queerphobic responses. This last sentiment represents self-censorship, the most insidious knock-on effect of the widespread backlash we are facing. Self-censorship does the work of our detractors for them.
The symposium, however, did not dwell on these findings for long. Most of the day was spent discussing how we will respond: taking care of ourselves, one another, and continuing the work. Here are three recommendations for proactive solutions I gathered from speakers at the event.
1. Anticipate backlash and plan ahead
It takes time and resources to respond to backlash, so anticipating it before it happens is crucial to effective response. It may seem like a mark of allyship to not even consider the possibility of homophobia or transphobia, but true allies must pay attention to the particularly harsh political climate queer people are experiencing right now. Culture worker Adam Carver of Fatt Projects recommended creating a two-part document to prepare the organisation for potential negative responses from the public. Part one consists of an internal vision statement to remind your team of the goals of your programme and who it is for. Part two is what Carver calls an F.A.B. (Frequently Asked Bigotry), a document with a list of anticipated questions and challenges alongside approved language for responding to them. This second part is intended to support all staff as they are called on to aid in response.
2. Have a clear anti-harassment policy
Annabel Turpin described her team’s response to backlash they received for queer-themed family programming, a common target of anti-queer activists and politicians. Turpin, the chief executive of Chester-based arts centre Storyhouse, noted they were able to refer to a solid anti-harassment policy they already had developed. Their policy had a list of clearly identified behaviours that they had agreed upon as unacceptable and by focusing on stopping these behaviours, the team avoided getting distracted by the viewpoints of the actors involved. This helped the team stay focused on the well-being of visitors and staff members and gave leadership a path of response that they could utilise confidently.
3. Support queer artists
Museums and other cultural venues have a lot to gain from working with queer creatives. “If you want cutting edge trans work,” said writer and performer Travis Alabanza, “you’ll also receive [backlash].” Alabanza recommended drawing up a harassment rider outlining how an artist can expect to be supported in the event of negative responses from the public. Acknowledging that budgets are tight in the cultural sector, consider all the forms of support your venue can offer including PR training, pro bono legal support from a board member or even accepting letters of support from the public on behalf of an artist receiving harassment.
We must not allow ourselves to be recruited by bigots to serve their queerphobic goals with our silence. Keep working to include queer visitors, support queer staff, and interpret queer themes in our museums. As performer and writer Felix Mufti reminded us in their closing of the event, “Despair is easy. Cynicism is easy. Hope, on the other hand, takes work.”
In other news…
Trump administration withdraws appeal, securing historic victory for libraries and IMLS: “On April 6, a federal court granted the Trump Administration’s request to withdraw its appeal of a federal judge’s earlier ruling that struck down the Administration’s dismantling of the IMLS. The dismissal brings to an end a lawsuit filed by the Attorneys General of 21 states in April 2025.”
IMLS Spared in Legal Battle—But Threat of Budget Cuts Looms: “The threat to the IMLS, NEA, and NEH continues as Congress looks to the 2027 fiscal year budget.”
Inside the Holocaust Museum’s quiet changes: “In the first year of President Donald Trump’s second term, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington quietly removed from its website educational resources about American racism and canceled a workshop about the ‘fragility of democracy.’"
Smithsonian’s governing body quietly losing members: “The Smithsonian's Board of Regents, the governing body of the Smithsonian Institution, is down to 15 members after two of its trustees’ terms expired on 2 March. Their replacements have yet to be announced.”
The American Association for State and Local History is organizing a two day, virtual summit May 27-28 as part of their new History and Democracy Initiative. Learn more about the summit and register here.