Museums, Friends, and Lovers in the New South Laura's Web, 1909-1931

• Published in: Journal of homosexuality Vol. 40; no. 1; pp. 105 - 144
• Main Authors: Sears, James T., Allen, Louise A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Taylor & Francis Group 01-01-2000; Haworth Press; Taylor & Francis LLC
• Subjects: Bragg; Bragg, Laura; Charleston; Charleston Museum; Discrimination; Education; Employment; Female; Gays & lesbians; History; History, 20th Century; Homosexuality, Female - history; Homosexuality, Male - history; Human relations; Humans; Interpersonal communication; Interpersonal Relations; Lesbians; lesbians in the turn-of-the-century South; Male; Museums; Museums - history; Personal profiles; Personal relationships; Simmons College; Social conditions & trends; Society; South Carolina; USA; South Carolina; Southern states
• ISSN: 0091-8369; 1540-3602
• DOI: 10.1300/J082v40n01_05

Laura Bragg, a member of the first graduating class at Simmons College, journeyed to Charleston as a New Woman in 1909. As the first woman director of a major scientific museum in the United States, Bragg transformed the Charleston Museum into a public education institution and became an innovative leader in museum education. This article documents Bragg's contributions within the context of antebellum culture where the Southern Belle was placed on a Victorian pedestal and Boston marriages were an unknown phenomenon. Using extensive and hitherto unpublished correspondence, the authors detail Bragg's lesbian relationships and describe her network within the homosexual male community during the era of the Charleston Renaissance.