Celebrating Women’s History with Historian Dr. Tiya Miles

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What do you think is important for preservationists to understand about telling the stories of women at historic sites?

Diverse women’s stories and the social dynamics of gender relations are crucial elements of the past and of historical change. We can’t fully understand the meanings of historic sites or fulfill the responsibly of interpreting them for and with the public without attending seriously to these themes.

While domestic spaces may lend themselves more readily to interpretations of women’s stories, struggles, and contributions, all places have gender histories. Military forts, merchant shops, medical offices, factory floors, churches, entertainment halls, and places in nature are as much about women’s historical presence—or enforced historical absence—as kitchens, homesteading cabins, or Victorian abodes.

We may have to dig a little deeper for these stories and spend more time connecting the dots for audiences, but the additional work is worth it. Telling the stories of women and girls represents the past with greater complexity and also enlivens the past for diverse constituencies.