ABSTRACT
Since the 1980s the term ‘queer’ – historically a derogatory term aimed at gay men – has been used as an umbrella term by people who identify as other than heterosexual and/or as gender diverse. Rather than attempting to replace erroneous views of the past with true and correct ones, a queer approach is instead concerned with problematising heteronormative ways of knowing and the inequitable effects of such, and opening up possibilities for being, knowing, doing otherwise. In the museum sector, ethics is generally understood in terms of codes of practice consisting of rational, objective principles and/or minimum standards that museum professionals are expected to be familiar with and guided by. As Helen Rees Leahy and Tony Bennett have demonstrated, from their inception, museums have cultivated suitable publics through the use of changing strategies and techniques.
