DR, Female, Age 24

Exhibit: Lady Desperado

One of the pieces that stood out to me the most was the section about Belle Starr. She is the only female with her own section in the museum compared to the numerous displays dedicated to men. I noticed that in this particular section her physical appearance is used to describe her, and she is referred to as “flamboyant” and compared to Cleopatra. Out of all of the plaques with men on them none of them described what they looked like, dressed like, or how they drew attention to themselves like hers did. They were remarked on for their accomplishments or their wrong doings, but she is noted for how she looked.

Exhibit Detail: Photo of Belle Starr

Another point concerning the Belle Starr section is that any time she is mentioned so are the men in her life. This particular picture shows her picture with a short description underneath that talks about her brother and her father. The museum uses her pictures and titles the boards with her name but doesn’t give any real information about her as her own person.

Exhibit: The Starrs

This is the piece that upset me the more I thought about it. This is a section of the board dedicated to Belle Starr and in this piece it talks about how the men in the Starr family were already well-known before she was around. This piece also talks about all of the men in her life and their accomplishments. I see this as a way of taking away her “success” and crediting it to others in her life. It sounds to me as if they want it to be known she wouldn’t have been heard of if not for those men who came before her, like she doesn’t have her own identity. I noticed this often in the museum. They rarely showcase women, and when they do it paints them in relation to a man in their life.

Exhibit: The Jailers of Fort Smith

This image shows the jailers of the Fort Smith jail. It stood out to me that they are all white males. I had a hard time finding anything about people of different races while in the museum.

Comments

A.R., Female, Age 24

Exhibit: Fort Smith in Fact and Fiction These posters are one of the first things you see when walking into the museum. I find it interesting that between the two there is only one woman pictured and she is sexualized. Both of these movies came out in the late 60’s. When the movies were produced they had the option to give women a story as well, but from the look of these posters I would say they did not. Exhibit: Women Behind Bars Near the very back of the museum they had this exhibit “Women Behind Bars.” I completely looked over this exhibit at first. If you notice at the top of it is a picture of a group of men. I noticed the men and just assumed that’s what the entire article was over until I went back and actually read the entire thing. Exhibit: Lady Desperado All of the women that are in the exhibits who are named are named because they are criminals. Each one who is named their brother and father are also named. This exhibit is about Belle Starr. It

DS, Male, Age 24

Exhibit: Domestic Life at Fort Smith When observing the exhibits at the National Historic Site, they show how most of the political establishments and arrangements where created by men with little involvement from women. The exhibits in regards to politics where mostly pictures and summaries of men, with a very few exceptions like Florence Hammersly being a deputy clerk. When it comes to the focus of women in the exhibits, I feel like it was mainly based of domestication. A good example of this is the exhibit "Domestic Life at Fort Smith", where it focuses on the lives of the wife's of political leaders in Fort Smith. Exhibit: Music Class I think this photo is relevant to the idea of women being seen in more of a domesticated role during this time. In my opinion, this photo of Chickasaw girls at Bloomfield Academy in a music class shows how women were even educated in more domesticated roles like the arts, instead of politics. Exhibit: Women

DN, Female, Age 19

Exhibit: Photo of Bonneville House This beautiful house is a very interesting place that hold history within itself. This house has different owners, but the latest owner was a woman. Even with changes, this place still holds a sense of fanciness and historical. Many years ago, the latest owner of this place was a well-known person. According to the Fort Smith National Historic Site, this was the place where many formal parties were being held. I personally passed through this house many times, and yet the sight of this place still got my attention. Exhibit: Photo of Clayton House This is the famous Clayton House in Fort Smith. When I first saw this picture of the Clayton House, I was not much surprise. In fact, this gorgeous place is up for rent for many different occasions and is still well-known today. The Clayton House was own by one of the most famous people in Fort Smith. Even though there is not much history about this place related to women, however, because

Infinitely Obscure Lives: Invisibility of Women in a U.S. Historic Site

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