The Great North Museum (GNM) in Newcastle has come under fire for refusing to loan certain pieces for display purposes in case they are seen by females.
Female staff working at the museum may also be prevented from handling certain artefacts, such as secret-sacred Australian Aboriginal objects, in case this offends the culture from which they originated.
Anyone remember that scene in 'Crocodile Dundee' when the aboriginal man uses a cellphone to contact Mick Dundee, who has tried to contact him using a bullroarer? I couldn't help but think of it reading this, and wondering if they think some tribal elder is Googling 'Newcastle' right now...
But the move has sparked fury among Newcastle residents, who branded it 'PC gone mad' and accused the museum of not maintaining 'our cultural standard' of treating men and women equally. Others claimed it was 'hypocritical' of the museum to enforce such measures seeing as they 'shouldn't have these items in the first place'.
Good point, outraged Geordies! The museum itself is pooh-poohing the very idea!
A Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums spokesperson said: 'Like many museums in the UK, the Great North Museum: Hancock cares for objects in its collections that are sensitive in nature. These include sacred and non-sacred objects from countries and communities around the world.
'To ensure that we manage these collections legally and ethically, several policies govern our work, including our Sacred Objects policy. This policy has been publicly accessible on the Museum website since 2018.
'We work in accordance with this policy on a case-by-case basis. However, no items have been removed from display, nor are any planned to be removed, and we have not been approached by any museums, institutions, or cultural groups about borrowing or viewing sacred objects. Therefore, no action has been taken whatsoever.'
Always the safest course of (no)action, eh?
