Today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to establish a National Women’s History Museum on the National Mall. The measure requires Senate confirmation before anyone breaks ground but as the measure was approved by voice vote in the House, it will likely fly through the Senate chamber.
While the prospect of a “women’s” museum on the National Mall brings up a whole list of questions (like, why do we need such a thing? and aren’t women’s issues such as suffrage covered in the American History Museum?), the biggest issue for conservative women will be how “women’s” issues are couched and whether the more controversial women’s issues are handled fairly and equally.
Also, will the museum include conservative women alongside liberal feminists? Certainly, Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and NEA activist Phyllis Schlafly deserve prominence in such a museum. It’s also interesting to imagine how this museum might address the first female Republican Vice Presidential nominee…