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  • 1.  Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-12-2021 11:37 AM
    Hi,

    Do you have a policy regarding visitors wearing offensive attire and tattoos?  If so, what is your policy and how do you enforce it?

    Thank you,
    Shelly Sickbert
    Director of Visitor Services
    Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site

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    Shelly Sickbert
    Associaite Director, Visitor Services and Operations
    Eastern State Penitentiary Historic Site
    Philadelphia PA
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  • 2.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-13-2021 07:36 AM
    Our policy is that we do not judge our customers, by appearance or any other measure.   

    What may be deemed "offensive" to someone is most likely deemed stylish to the wearer.

    Setting a policy with subjective criteria is a very slippery slope.

    --Ken

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    Ken Avallon
    Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame
    kavallon@phillyhall.net
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-14-2021 07:44 AM
    Well said Ken. Behaviors should be managed, not clothing. Who is to say what is offensive? There are people out there that can take offense to anything and as an organization we should never want to possibly put ourselves in a position of violating someone's freedom of speech.

    As I stated, behavior is what should be being assessed. Are they being aggressive? Disregarding the policies of your institution?

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    Warren Duane
    Deputy Director of Protection Services
    Philadelphia Museum of Art
    Philadelphia PA
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-14-2021 09:01 AM
    "Who is to say what's offensive?" We are. While a visitor coming in with shorts that say "JUICY" across the butt is merely in poor taste, t-shirts with racial or ethnic slurs or obscenities are actively creating a hostile environment for staff and other visitors, and a very real possibility in this day and age that somebody is getting punched in the nose, which doesn't do anybody any good. 

    Just my two cents and not not necessarily the position of any institution or organization with which I am affiliated.

    Jay

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    Jay Templin
    Historic Site Supervisor
    The Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation
    Williamsburg, Virginia
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-14-2021 10:57 PM
    Might I add here that there has been more than one occasion on which I did speak to speak to a visitor about apparel.  This was perhaps not so much of what was being worn, but maybe not worn.  Specifically too much was being shown of his or her backside.  Do I need to be more specific?  Also this has happened with both sexes.  Perhaps some consider this as a 'style' but to me it is indecent.  When telling my superiors about it they agreed with me.

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    Jerry Foley
    GPO
    National Gallery of Art
    Washington DC
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-19-2021 10:42 AM
    Just a few days ago there was a young man in our galleries which was walking around with his shirt completely unbuttoned exposing a bare chest.  I did not say anything to him about this.  Later in the day I mentioned this to a supervisory and he said that yes it would have been better if I did, because we are supposed to be more of a family-friendly environment.

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    Jerry Foley
    GPO
    National Gallery of Art
    Washington DC
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-13-2021 09:42 AM
    I'd be interested in any policies you find, especially as it pertains to slurs on things that visitors wear.

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    Stephanie Arduini
    Deputy Director, and Director, Edward L. Ayers Center for Civil War & Emancipation Studies
    American Civil War Museum
    Richmond VA
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Offensive Attire and Tattoos

    Posted 07-14-2021 10:37 AM
    Edited by Corey Timpson 07-14-2021 10:59 AM
    There may be an issue in how the question is composed, which can read as a statement that tattoos are offensive (not that some people might have exposed tattoos that contain hate messages/symbols, for example) which would offend me and no doubt several other museum/cultural professionals in this forum. Perhaps a clarification on nuance is warranted.

    Having clear guidelines re: hate or sexualized materials (no matter how they're expressed) that are publicly available within a code of conduct and a bill of rights of the visitor (this is a multi-directional relationship) that manages expectations of everyone (visitors and staff) before people arrive is critical. Where the needle lands between offensive and admissible is a good subject for an environmental scan to inform (if that is your intent) where ultimately decisions get made by institutions themselves, reflecting their own stated values and the unique contexts in which they exist. Expect that any org is unlikely to land on a perfect solution where all stakeholders are perfectly satisfied or that anyone will get this right on the first try. A plurality of perspectives is necessary in forming a good policy that reflects the diversity of your audience.


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    Corey Timpson
    Principal
    Corey Timpson Design Inc.
    Ottawa ON
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    Original Message


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