Auckland War Memorial Museum has a new exhibit which purports to celebrate the 125th anniversary of woman’s suffrage in New Zealand. The exhibit entitled Women and Equality in Aotearoa, opened on Friday 6th July and concludes on Wednesday 31st October.
Despite celebrating 125 years, the vast majority of the displays are from modern history. The walls are adorned with many quotes from famous or outspoken women on a variety of topics including equal pay and leadership. However a significant portion is dedicated to the so-called “freedoms” very vocal, influential and well-funded ideologues are aggressively promoting with rather great success.
Equality and Gender
The first indication that the word “equality” encompasses far more than the usual feminist cry for those constructing the exhibit came with this quote from Lexie Matheson, ONZM:
The problem is gender identity and gender expression are not covered by the Human Rights Act. You can’t discriminate against people on the grounds of colour, sexual orientation or gender but gender identity can be a grey area depending on where people are in their transition. They might be taking female hormones but not everyone can have surgery – it’s expensive and some people simply don’t want to do it. Gender is what’s between your ears, not what’s between your legs.
Matheson is the Academic Equity Leader at AUT and in 2016 was made a member of the New Zealand Order of Merit. She is a trustee for Transadvocates and a member of the Auckland City Rainbow Communities Advisory Panel.
Woman’s Activism
Forty years of women’s activism is celebrated with an introductory panel stating that
Protest is a powerful thing. It involves claiming public space, speaking out, demanding choice and freedom, putting your name to something.
Reproductive rights, criminalisation of violence against women and the decriminalisation of prostitution (known as sex work in the feminist, liberal world) are all touted as major victories won through activism and protest. A significant amount of wall space is dedicated to the feminist “victory” of the decriminalisation of prostitution which in reality has harmed women through exploiting them and stripping them of their true dignity.
And then there is this:
“If you could only vote for one cause which would you choose?” viewers are asked. “Pick a pronoun and tie a ribbon to the cause that means the most to you.”
What are those pronouns? They, He and She. Yes, you read that right. A display about “everyday” issues such as affordable housing, clean waterways, equal pay, less tax and climate change (put that where you will), becomes another method of pushing the gender revolution sweeping the western world.
It would appear that affordable housing is an issue that concerns most people who prefer to use the pronoun “they”. For those who identify with “she”, the issue is equal pay.
The Women’s March which gained momentum across several nations in January 2017, and which was given extensive media attention, is glorified in the exhibit as an important global mobilisation espousing the notion that “women’s rights are human rights.” With several images, the March is depicted as a great success in woman’s activism.
Reproductive “Rights”
No feminist propaganda is complete without mentioning the holy grail of contraception and abortion. The exhibit at the Museum is no exception.
Under the title “Choices” reproductive sovereignty is described as “the power to make decisions about your reproductive health and having access to birth control.”
An entire wall is taken up with a graph showing the various methods of birth control available since 1870. The graph makes a particular mention of abortion and the Pill – the two “advancements” that feminists believe led to the emancipation of woman.
Haters
In bright pink, the exhibit designers remind all those who enter that “haters gonna hate”. Lamenting the comments made on Auckland Museum’s Facebook page when they asked for protest material from the Women’s March they explain that “being deliberately offensive or derailing the conversation is nothing new.”
The current zeitgeist demands that tolerance only works one way. If one sees through the deception, immediately that person is classified as a hater. Yet it is love which motivates one to speak the truth even when it is unpopular and goes against the current trends.
This exhibit is a blatant propaganda tool for those ideologues who wish to ensnare as many people as possible. As a publicly funded museum, Aucklander’s have unwittingly contributed to the exhibit.
Auckland Museum welcome feedback.