‘Queering the Mary Rose’: Feud breaks out as museum labels objects from Tudor warship as ‘strange’ – including a NIT COMB and a mirror that reflects feelings of ‘gender dysphoria’ (despite admitting it’s impossible to understand people’s sexuality on board)
- Objects from the warship have been interpreted as representing LGBTQ+ stories
A nit comb, mirror and ring recovered from the Mary Rose have been adopted as “strange” by the museum that houses the shipwreck.
In a bizarre attempt at diversity, objects from the Tudor warship have been interpreted as representing LGBTQ+ stories.
The museum claims in a blog that nit combs reflect how hair is a “central pillar” of queer identity.
It adds that a gold ring represents the “long history of queer people getting married or seeing themselves as married,” and that an octagonal mirror “can evoke many emotions in both straight and LGBTQ+ people.”
The blog, titled “Queering The Mary Rose’s Collection,” adds, “For queer people, we can experience a strong sense of gender dysphoria when we look in the mirror.”
The museum says a total of 82 nit combs were found on the ship. It claims that nit combs represent how hair is a “central pillar” of queer identity
A wood engraving of the Mary Rose is depicted. The warship served in Henry VIII’s Tudor navy and fought in several wars against France between 1511 and 1543
An octagonal mirror is depicted. A reflective surface would have been in the frame. The museum claims that ‘looking at your own reflection in a mirror can evoke many emotions in both straight and LGBTQ+ people’
The museum also claims that a gold ring – found on the lowest deck of the Mary Rose – represents the “long history of queer people getting married or considering themselves married.”
It continues, “By ‘subverting’ and playing with gender norms, queer people can find hairstyles they feel comfortable wearing.” However, the Portsmouth museum admits that the 82 combs on the ship would have been used by the men to remove nits, not to style their hair.
It also admits that establishing crew members’ sexuality or gender identity was an “impossible task.” Commissioned by Henry VIII, the ship lay at the bottom of the Solent outside Portsmouth harbor for 437 years. It was extracted from the seabed in 1982 after an 11-year operation.
A spokesperson for The Mary Rose Museum said: “Queering the collection is an approach used by museums around the world,” adding that staff had offered “their own personal reflections through our blog.”
The wooden wreck of the warship Mary Rose is pictured being preserved in the ship’s hall, Portsmouth, July 1987
Pictured is an exhibit from the Mary Rose Museum, Portsmouth. Commissioned by Henry VIII, the ship lay at the bottom of the Solent outside Portsmouth harbor for 437 years
The Mary Rose Museum is pictured in Portsmouth. It displays artifacts from the ship after it was lifted from the seabed in 1982 after an 11-year operation
The wreck of the Mary Rose, a battleship of King Henry VIII, is lifted from the seabed in a giant 500-ton cradle in 1982 after 437 years at the bottom of the sea
But historians criticized the blog. Professor David Abulafia, from the University of Cambridge, said: ‘With all due respect to the authors, the highly speculative comments about Queering the Mary Rose have as much connection to the shipwreck as a tin of Heinz baked beans.’
Historian and author James Heartfield added, “I’m afraid people will just laugh at these captions. I don’t think it makes them very serious historians and I don’t think it makes them good gay rights activists.’