Our Herstory
Lesbian history has long been hidden and for decades, lesbian culture was inaccessible or simply unknown except to a few academics. Against a lived experience of discrimination, violence, and institutionalisation still held in our communities many lesbians feared sharing their stories with the wider world. And it wasn’t until the 1970s, by virtue of second wave feminism and Gay Liberation movements that lesbian culture experienced a renaissance. However despite this, much of the material from this era was at risk of being lost as lesbian elders in our communities began to age and pass away.
In 2001, as a response a small group of lesbians in Auckland established an archive group to document their own stories and encouraged others to contribute stories with theirs to Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa (formerly known as LAGANZ, Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand) in Wellington. In February 2003, one of the group’s members, Dr. Miriam Saphira NZCM, attended a conference in Wellington, bringing with her a T-shirt quilt (crafted from 48 lesbian-themed t-shirts) and her badge collection as a gift for the archive. However, at that time Kawe Mahara Queer Archives Aotearoa was a document-only archive, so would not accept the items which had to be returned to Auckland. Even now they only collect a limited number of objects. This led the archive group to ask themselves crucial questions like: What happens to things like lesbian art that is misunderstood or overlooked by family? This question sparked the creation of a museum.
In 2007, Dr. Miriam Saphira NZCM founded the Charlotte Museum and became the secretary of the charitable trust whose mission was to preserve, collect, and showcase the herstory of lesbians. The museum wanted to emphasise celebrating the lives of everyday lesbian women and their shared cultural experiences. The name ‘Charlotte’ was chosen in honour of two so-called ‘ordinary lesbian women’, both active in the community, who passed away around the same time. Their shared name represented the museum’s mission to honour the lives of women like them.
Miriam, leading the archive group, started fundraising and in 2007, the museum hosted its first exhibition, a poster exhibition called ‘Remember This One’. It opened its first premises in 2008.
A response to changing times
By 2020, the understanding and nuance of Queer identities had evolved significantly. We began to use the term ‘sapphic’ alongside ‘lesbian’ to recognise the complexities of gender and sexual identities within our communities. This reflected individuals’ experiences whereby someone who would have identified as a lesbian in 1990 now might include identifiers such as non-binary, genderqueer, or something else entirely – and we can no longer assume lesbian as an identifier is the default for anyone, especially younger generations.
We also updated our name to include ’Te Whare Takatāpui-Wāhine o Aotearoa’ in te reo Māori which translates to ‘the house of queer-women in New Zealand’. A reflection of our commitment to honouring both Māori as tangata whenua, (the people of the land) with mana whenua, (custom authority), and the dynamic nature of lesbian and queer identities. The Māori term ‘Takatāpui’ historically referred to an ’intimate companion of the same sex’. The term was reclaimed in the 1980s by people whose identities included non-heteronormative variances of gender, sexuality, or sex characteristics so fits as a more nuanced expression of lesbian sapphic identity.
As our organisation evolves alongside the changing landscape of Queer identities, we face challenges from all parts of the politicised spectrum. At one end some argue that the museum should exclusively focus on a narrow interpretation of lesbian women only and be a lesbian-only space, while at the other end, some claim that identifying as a lesbian sapphic museum is discriminatory and makes us exclusionary. Balancing these perspectives (and all those in-between!) to everyone’s satisfaction is simply impossible, and we could never perfectly align ourselves to satisfy every viewpoint.
What we are doing now
Along with our name, the museum’s mission - while remaining true to our beginnings - has also shifted. We are an institution of cultural heritage that collects, preserves and exhibits lesbian sapphic herstory and cultural experience and the cultural heritage of Rainbow+ Communities.
This shift is also an acknowledgement that none of our histories are stand alone, isolated ‘occurrences’. Lesbian sapphic people have always been involved in wider Rainbow+ and mainstream movements, causes and protests, organising and agitating, taking part in events, festivals and celebrations and living within many communities as part of their lives - for example as mothers, parents, siblings, children, migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities and professional, and especially as part of queer communities.
For example within our collections we have a significant amount of ephemera, objects and oral history content about the anti-apartheid movement and protests in Aotearoa New Zealand from the early 1970s through till the mid 1980s because dozens of lesbians were know to have been actively involved in the running and organising of this movement.
And we have shifted our perspective as a response to the needs of our communities. We know that other institutions are not collecting on behalf of queer communities or are doing so selectively. And we know some institutions are intentionally turning away queer items, objects and ephemera. A lot of the queer cultural heritage we are collecting simply has no where else to go.
As an organisation we have two specific functions – firstly as a museum, gallery, archive and research library and secondly as a safe inclusive community space hosting events, activities and exhibits. We support queer artists, creatives and performers offering them support and space and opportunities to collaborate. The events and activities we host relate to the exhibitions we host but also can be for a social purpose, creating opportunities for our communities to gather and connect, especially intersectionality and cross-generationally.
And we support young people through our student internship programmes. We have students from the University of Auckland’s Museum and Cultural Heritage course, and from Pathways, a work experience programme for secondary school students, and we have hosted international students for the last few years from universities in France and America.
It is all about access
The most important part of our mission is making our collections accessible to our communities and to researchers and students who are studying topics about queer communities. Over the last few years and as a huge on going project, we are creating online catalogues for our collections and for the research and document library so access is easier and possible from anywhere.
We hope that providing access to the herstory of our lives will help reduce discrimination and prejudice and support our young people, letting them know they are not alone, that there are those that have gone before and that we are here.
Women’s History Month is a great time to celebrate women’s history as nuanced, complex and diverse across many multiple communities. And remind ourselves collecting and preserving women's history not only continues to correct European male centric and other biased interpretations but also should ensure heteronormative assumptions and constructs are not being applied to our stories, lives and histories.
The Charlotte Museum Te Whare Takatāpui-Wāhine o Aotearoa is a cultural institution facing a challenging funding environment under a conservative government intentionally reducing funding for diverse, marginalised communities. Any support you are able to give would be greatly appreciated.
