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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. 


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A.R., Female, Age 24

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