Gender Stories
Embark on a thoughtful, creative exploration of gender with Gender Stories – a reflective exhibition that explores how gender has been shaped, expressed and lived across cultures, eras and everyday experience.
Featuring works by Grayson Perry, David Hockney and Catherine Opie, the exhibition delves into the multifaceted world of gender, exploring how artists and communities have questioned long-held ideas about gender and creating a space to understand how gender shapes our lives, communities and histories.
Importantly, Gender Stories centres community voices alongside more well-known artists. Personal stories sit alongside museum objects, grounding the exhibition in real lives and lived experience. Brighton specific artifacts and photography on display include a portrait of Sarah Savage, children’s author and the CEO of Trans Pride Brighton, items from LGBTQ+ rugby team the Sea Serpents and photography capturing historical protest and celebration on the streets of the city.
Gender Stories weaves together art, history, personal narrative and theory, challenging traditional binaries and inviting audiences to contemplate questions such as: What is gender? How do we experience it? Who defines it? And how does our understanding of it continue to evolve?
Created in collaboration with Bristol Museums, National Museums Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Museums, and communities from all three cities, Gender Stories showcases real and inspirational stories.
How do you ‘do’ your gender?
We all ‘do’ gender.
We send signals about gender to those around us through speech, movement and clothing. Gender stereotypes affect how we read these messages. Gender stereotypes are the ways we expect men and women to look and behave in our culture. Some people sit outside these stereotypes or play with the gender signals they send to challenge them.
Gender Stories is an invitation for everyone seeking a deeper understanding of different experiences and emphasises the importance of respectful dialogue and discovery.
Tell us your story
Please note that we will not tolerate any discrimination or abuse aimed at any community, including members of the artist community that we work with. Any submissions that contain abusive language or seek to demean or attack will be deleted.
Thank you for supporting Brighton & Hove Museums with your story submission.
This is contributing to permanent digital records in the museum’s collection.
Your participation in this project will allow future historians and the general public to gain a greater understanding of how people engaged with Gender Stories.
You agree that your text, image, audio and/or video file is subject to the following terms and conditions:
- At the time of your submission, you must be 18 years of age or older.
- Your submission must be created by you, wholly original, except that: you may include things that are in the public domain.
- Any text/images/audio/video submitted must be your own copyright.
- By ticking the box/submitting you agree that you are the copyright owner of the content.
You retain ownership in your submission, but by making a submission you give Brighton & Hove Museums, and those authorized by Brighton & Hove Museums, your irrevocable perpetual permission to disseminate, modify, and use your submission, in whole or in part, in all media now known or later developed, for standard museum purposes.
This permission includes publication in communication channels (websites, social media, print and online publications, newsletters), publicity and promotions, fundraising, educational programming and publications, and exhibitions.
We will archive content submitted to us and may include them in our exhibits and website; we don’t guarantee that your content will automatically go up or stay up forever. By filling out this form, you agree to allow Brighton & Hove Museums to post the information in the exhibit space or on our website for others to read.
Do not submit anything that is commercial, off-topic, partisan-political, contains personal attacks or expletives, or is otherwise abusive, threatening, unlawful, harassing, discriminatory, libellous, obscene, false, pornographic, or that infringes the rights of any third party. Once you make a submission, Brighton & Hove Museums reviews it for compliance with these rules. Brighton & Hove Museums is under no obligation to keep, post, or use any image.
By making a submission, you waive any privacy expectations you may have with regard to your submission. If Brighton & Hove Museums selects your submission for inclusion in the digital section of the exhibition, on its museums, website or social media channels, Brighton & Hove Museums will make the submission, in whole or part, available to the general public.
The public may use and share your submission in various ways including via social media such as Facebook, X, Instagram, and Pinterest, and applications such as “share this,” all of which operate independently of Brighton & Hove Museums (i.e., have their own policies and terms), and commentary with which you disagree may become associated with your submission.
If selected for inclusion by Brighton & Hove Museums for use, Brighton & Hove Museums will only use the information featured in the text, image, video, or audio file.
By making a submission you agree for Brighton & Hove Museums to contact you via email if we require any further information about your submission. Brighton & Hove Museums will ensure that your personal information is fairly and lawfully processed and will not provide your personal information to anyone else or use the information to contact you about other issues without your permission except as required by law.
You are solely responsible for your submission and any consequences of submitting it Brighton & Hove Museums shall not be responsible or liable for any breach of these terms and conditions by you, claims by a third party that your submission violates the third party’s rights, or claims by you that a third party is misusing your submission.
If you have questions about any aspect of these terms and conditions, you may contact Brighton & Hove Museums.
