Peter,
You are absolutely correct; it had not been my desire to call out a single person, nor to lay blame at any one person's feet. It was company policy and, as I have come to learn, a tone-deaf cultural policy that is at play here. It seem that in parts of the world it is "normal" to:
- REQUIRE that people filling out forms list an honorific-meaning you cannot submit the form without responding.
- Limit the list of honorifics (in this instance to only Mr. and Mrs.) from which one can select.
The museum community in particular has worked so hard to be sensitive to the discussion of gender, I could not believe that this form had been approved by AAM.
But you are correct, Peter, attacking the messenger was equally insensitive and I have already apologized.
- Steven
Steven Rosen, FIALD
President & Creative Director
he/him/his
Available Light
31 State Street, 6th Floor, Boston MA 02109
p: 617.944.6800 x123 m: 617.645.5488