[Nhcoll-l] [EXT] Photograph attached to herbarium specimen 'Primordial Women'

Fri Oct 7 15:49:02 EDT 2022

I would have to say that the “photograph” described does not sound like it adds any scientific or academic context but is instead a mass-produced image added to the specimen by someone trying (and failing) to be funny at some point in the past. Unless it is showing the actual specimen as collected, it doesn’t seem related in any way to the specimen itself.

When we have encountered problematic content like this in past digitization projects, we have not removed it but have chosen not to document it while digitizing or put it online, as all it does is further sexist and orientalist ideas that don’t add to the description of the specimen. But for me it might be field notes or something on a vial label, not an image glued to an herbarium sheet!

Of course, that may be of interest to someone who is studying the act of collecting or experiences in the field, but if you don’t know who added it or why, to me it does not add value. And if it remains with the physical specimen, it can always be examined in person or mentioned if someone asks a question making it relevant in the future.

I think things like trigger warnings or call out statements are fantastic for collections that have colonial context needing clarification or content like place/common names that have racist or sexist associations. But this sounds like just an individual item and that excluding a sexist advert or illustration would not be re-writing or judging the past of the specimen itself. It seems more like practicing professional stewardship, and not adding content to your collection records that has no relevance to the scientific or academic value of the specimen.

This doesn’t seem any different to me than when you choose to use a preferred/non-racist term from a thesaurus when describing an historical item. I ask myself question like: would I want school children searching my database to find this content without interpretation? Does it add to the description in a way that other methods of conveying information do not?

Just my two cents, without seeing the image or knowing the context of the rest of the collection.

Very interesting question!

Elizabeth Barbeau
she/her/hers
University of Connecticut | Institute of the Environment
Connecticut State Museum of Natural History
Program/Administrative Coordinator & Museum Informatics Specialist
75 N. Eagleville Rd, Unit 3023
Storrs, CT 06269-3023
phone: 860.486.4460
email: elizabeth.barbeau at uconn.edu<mailto:elizabeth.barbeau at uconn.edu>
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From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> on behalf of Valerie Tomlinson <VTomlinson at nature.ca>
Date: Friday, October 7, 2022 at 2:53 PM
To: Megan King <megan.king at rutgers.edu>, nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu <nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu>
Subject: Re: [Nhcoll-l] [EXT] Photograph attached to herbarium specimen 'Primordial Women'
*Message sent from a system outside of UConn.*

You wrote:
"I am looking for some advice on a specimen image we were about to upload ... contains what seems to be a picture cut out from a publication of two women in partial clothing, and what some may find as a distasteful description...”

I'm inclined to not re-write history, nor judge the past by modern standards. However, I would probably include a "trigger-warning" as an introduction (e.g. "contains images that some may find offensive"; or "old-fashioned, politically incorrect values expressed in the following images. These do not represent the values of the Chrysler Herbarium").

Valerie Tomlinson

-----Original Message-----
From: Nhcoll-l <nhcoll-l-bounces at mailman.yale.edu> On Behalf Of Megan King
Sent: Friday, October 7, 2022 9:58 AM
To: nhcoll-l at mailman.yale.edu
Subject: [EXT][Nhcoll-l] Photograph attached to herbarium specimen 'Primordial Women'

COURRIEL EXTERNE. Ne cliquez sur aucun lien ou pièce jointe à moins que vous ne connaissiez l'expéditeur.
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Hello everyone,

I am looking for some advice on a specimen image we were about to upload to our Symbiota portal where host our herbarium records. The specimen contains what seems to be a picture cut out from a publication of two women in partial clothing, and what some may find as a distasteful description below… “Primordial Women Plucking Fruit from a Living Fossil.”

Has anyone come across this before, and what have you done regarding to uploading the image of the specimen?

All suggestions and comments welcome!

Regards,
Megan

Megan Ryan King | Assistant Curator Education and Outreach | Collections Manager, Chrysler Herbarium | Graduate Student | Rutgers University, New Brunswick | Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Natural Resources | Department of Ecology & Evolution | Email: megan.king at rutgers.edu | Office: 848-932-4158

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