New exhibit on girlhood explores the history of Minnesota girl’s basketball
The Minnesota History Center exhibit "Girlhood (It's complicated)" runs until June 1, 2025.
Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society
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How many times have you heard, perhaps especially when you were younger, the old rhyme that says “sugar and spice and everything nice, that’s what little girls are made of?”
History shows that young women are made of stronger stuff. That’s the focus of a new exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society that opened in September. The exhibit is called “Girlhood (It’s complicated)” and it focuses on the history of how the concept of girlhood has changed throughout history.
One curator of the exhibit, Kate Roberts, joined Minnesota Now to talk about what went into covering the complicated topic of girlhood.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
EMILY BRIGHT: Maybe you've heard this old rhyme that goes, "Sugar and spice, everything nice. That's what little girls are made of." Well, history shows that young women are made of stronger stuff. That's the focus of a new exhibit at the Minnesota Historical Society that opens this month. The exhibit is called Girlhood (It's complicated) and it focuses on the history of how the concept of girlhood has changed throughout history.
One curator of the exhibit, Kate Roberts, is here to talk about what went into covering this complicated topic. Hello, Kate.
KATE ROBERTS: Hi, Emily. Thanks for having me on.
EMILY BRIGHT: Thank you. So why focus on girls and not women, first of all?
KATE ROBERTS: Well, first of all, I'll say that this is a traveling exhibit that was put together by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and then we added a local component on girls' basketball. Maybe we can talk about in a minute. But let me back up and say that the genesis for the exhibit was in 2020 when the United States was focusing on the 19th Amendment, which gave women access to the vote, some women access to the vote.
And the Smithsonian decided at that point that girls had been unstudied as a discipline, and specifically the way that girls have promoted change over time and they have challenged expectations. They have worked within their realms and far beyond. And they thought telling the story of the past century through the lens of girlhood is a powerful way to learn some new lessons.
EMILY BRIGHT: Yeah. And we'll get to basketball in just a moment. But first, tell me about some of the objects that the Smithsonian has collected that represent this American Girlhood experience.
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think the one that speaks to me, I think, more specifically is a dress that was made in 1958 by Minnijean Brown. She was one of the Little Rock Nine. And what happened was that she was not able to finish her high school education in Little Rock. She actually had to move to a relative's house in New York, and she graduated from high school there.
And she made this dress for her high school graduation. And the power of that dress to me is just it speaks to a girl's dream of having a brand-new dress to wear for a graduation, and it also speaks to the greater context of what was happening in her life. And that's what I love about this exhibit is that it makes things personal, and then brings you into the broader context over and over again.
EMILY BRIGHT: Oh, yeah. So the local component focuses on girls' sports, especially basketball here in Minnesota, and it features some really wonderful photographs. So tell me how you went about collecting those and putting all that together.
KATE ROBERTS: Well, it was great because what we found when we started looking into basketball in Minnesota, specifically girls' basketball, it has a tremendously long history. In fact, we were arguably playing basketball, women and girls were playing basketball, just very shortly after it was introduced and created by James Naismith in 1891.
So it has a long history in Minnesota. Girls have been playing it since very early and it's been documented. And that's what's great about it is that girls' teams from across the decades and across the state, there are some wonderful, as you say, some terrific photos. We have some great objects in our collections. And then we worked with local athletes to borrow even more special objects. So we were able to, thanks to the basketball community here, able to really amass a wonderful set of stories.
EMILY BRIGHT: Looking at those photographs, could you just describe them to our listeners? How about the jerseys and the clothing and how they have changed over time?
KATE ROBERTS: Oh, yeah, I mean, I think a lot of our listeners can probably conjure up the idea of an early basketball costume, and they were called costumes, being a big full skirt, sleeves covered. I mean, you could not show any form or any skin.
EMILY BRIGHT: The hair bows got we got.
KATE ROBERTS: Oh my gosh, yes.
EMILY BRIGHT: Big hair bows.
KATE ROBERTS: Isn't that great. And the big hair bows. Yeah. And then you move through the '20s and into the sort of bloomer suits. And then, obviously, today, you know, we see a whole different outfit. One of the really cool things in the exhibit is a 2005 outfit that was designed by a girls' team at Cedar-Riverside. And it is culturally appropriate in that it includes a hair covering, but also allows for much more movement than the girls were able to have before they designed their own outfit.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, I love this conversation that's happening as the links are in the playoffs. And we saw just an unprecedented outpouring of support for women's college basketball earlier this year. Obviously, such a different tune, but did all of that energy-- have you felt that energy come into this exhibit either when you were creating it or as people are visiting now?
KATE ROBERTS: Well, both, I would say. But in creating was really fun. One of the aspects that I think we all love is a section, a media piece, videoed interviews with girls across the street called Why Basketball? And we asked them why they play the sport, how it affects them mentally, physically, et cetera, and their hopes and dreams for their own futures.
And that's where you see that this basketball boom that we're experiencing now is filtering down and energizing younger girls and young women. And that's so powerful and it's so great to see these wonderful messages filtering down and then being explored by young players. It's terrific.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, another message of the exhibit is how girls and girlhood are politicized and how politics are more than just being aligned with one political party or another. Can you tell me more about that?
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, politics in the context of girlhood I think means advocacy and it means pushing for change. And that's what's powerful about this exhibit is that it takes the sort of divisiveness out of the conversation and brings back the fact that we are looking for change. We are all hoping to make a difference in this world. And that's what comes across in the exhibit is that they are girls collectively and individually who have seen a way to make a difference and have gone for it.
EMILY BRIGHT: What are you hearing from visitors about the exhibit?
KATE ROBERTS: I think we're hearing a couple of things. What I hear over and over every time I'm in the gallery is, oh my gosh, my mom would love this. My grandma would love this. My daughter would love this. I have to come back with my relatives. We're also hearing a surprising number of people saying, my son needs to see this. My husband needs to see this. We're going to come back as a family group, or we're going to come back as a whole class.
Because that's the thing about this exhibit. It focuses on girlhood. But the messages span everybody. And we've heard many, many times that boys and men connect to these same messages in different ways.
EMILY BRIGHT: Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like a really fun, multigenerational experience, conversation starter.
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah, that's exactly right, Emily. It's a conversation starter.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, Kate, thank you for your time for telling us about this exhibit today.
KATE ROBERTS: You bet.
EMILY BRIGHT: That was Kate Roberts, senior exhibit developer at the Minnesota Historical Society. And that exhibit Girlhood, (It's complicated) will run through next may.
One curator of the exhibit, Kate Roberts, is here to talk about what went into covering this complicated topic. Hello, Kate.
KATE ROBERTS: Hi, Emily. Thanks for having me on.
EMILY BRIGHT: Thank you. So why focus on girls and not women, first of all?
KATE ROBERTS: Well, first of all, I'll say that this is a traveling exhibit that was put together by the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, and then we added a local component on girls' basketball. Maybe we can talk about in a minute. But let me back up and say that the genesis for the exhibit was in 2020 when the United States was focusing on the 19th Amendment, which gave women access to the vote, some women access to the vote.
And the Smithsonian decided at that point that girls had been unstudied as a discipline, and specifically the way that girls have promoted change over time and they have challenged expectations. They have worked within their realms and far beyond. And they thought telling the story of the past century through the lens of girlhood is a powerful way to learn some new lessons.
EMILY BRIGHT: Yeah. And we'll get to basketball in just a moment. But first, tell me about some of the objects that the Smithsonian has collected that represent this American Girlhood experience.
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah, I think the one that speaks to me, I think, more specifically is a dress that was made in 1958 by Minnijean Brown. She was one of the Little Rock Nine. And what happened was that she was not able to finish her high school education in Little Rock. She actually had to move to a relative's house in New York, and she graduated from high school there.
And she made this dress for her high school graduation. And the power of that dress to me is just it speaks to a girl's dream of having a brand-new dress to wear for a graduation, and it also speaks to the greater context of what was happening in her life. And that's what I love about this exhibit is that it makes things personal, and then brings you into the broader context over and over again.
EMILY BRIGHT: Oh, yeah. So the local component focuses on girls' sports, especially basketball here in Minnesota, and it features some really wonderful photographs. So tell me how you went about collecting those and putting all that together.
KATE ROBERTS: Well, it was great because what we found when we started looking into basketball in Minnesota, specifically girls' basketball, it has a tremendously long history. In fact, we were arguably playing basketball, women and girls were playing basketball, just very shortly after it was introduced and created by James Naismith in 1891.
So it has a long history in Minnesota. Girls have been playing it since very early and it's been documented. And that's what's great about it is that girls' teams from across the decades and across the state, there are some wonderful, as you say, some terrific photos. We have some great objects in our collections. And then we worked with local athletes to borrow even more special objects. So we were able to, thanks to the basketball community here, able to really amass a wonderful set of stories.
EMILY BRIGHT: Looking at those photographs, could you just describe them to our listeners? How about the jerseys and the clothing and how they have changed over time?
KATE ROBERTS: Oh, yeah, I mean, I think a lot of our listeners can probably conjure up the idea of an early basketball costume, and they were called costumes, being a big full skirt, sleeves covered. I mean, you could not show any form or any skin.
EMILY BRIGHT: The hair bows got we got.
KATE ROBERTS: Oh my gosh, yes.
EMILY BRIGHT: Big hair bows.
KATE ROBERTS: Isn't that great. And the big hair bows. Yeah. And then you move through the '20s and into the sort of bloomer suits. And then, obviously, today, you know, we see a whole different outfit. One of the really cool things in the exhibit is a 2005 outfit that was designed by a girls' team at Cedar-Riverside. And it is culturally appropriate in that it includes a hair covering, but also allows for much more movement than the girls were able to have before they designed their own outfit.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, I love this conversation that's happening as the links are in the playoffs. And we saw just an unprecedented outpouring of support for women's college basketball earlier this year. Obviously, such a different tune, but did all of that energy-- have you felt that energy come into this exhibit either when you were creating it or as people are visiting now?
KATE ROBERTS: Well, both, I would say. But in creating was really fun. One of the aspects that I think we all love is a section, a media piece, videoed interviews with girls across the street called Why Basketball? And we asked them why they play the sport, how it affects them mentally, physically, et cetera, and their hopes and dreams for their own futures.
And that's where you see that this basketball boom that we're experiencing now is filtering down and energizing younger girls and young women. And that's so powerful and it's so great to see these wonderful messages filtering down and then being explored by young players. It's terrific.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, another message of the exhibit is how girls and girlhood are politicized and how politics are more than just being aligned with one political party or another. Can you tell me more about that?
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, politics in the context of girlhood I think means advocacy and it means pushing for change. And that's what's powerful about this exhibit is that it takes the sort of divisiveness out of the conversation and brings back the fact that we are looking for change. We are all hoping to make a difference in this world. And that's what comes across in the exhibit is that they are girls collectively and individually who have seen a way to make a difference and have gone for it.
EMILY BRIGHT: What are you hearing from visitors about the exhibit?
KATE ROBERTS: I think we're hearing a couple of things. What I hear over and over every time I'm in the gallery is, oh my gosh, my mom would love this. My grandma would love this. My daughter would love this. I have to come back with my relatives. We're also hearing a surprising number of people saying, my son needs to see this. My husband needs to see this. We're going to come back as a family group, or we're going to come back as a whole class.
Because that's the thing about this exhibit. It focuses on girlhood. But the messages span everybody. And we've heard many, many times that boys and men connect to these same messages in different ways.
EMILY BRIGHT: Yeah, absolutely. And it sounds like a really fun, multigenerational experience, conversation starter.
KATE ROBERTS: Yeah, that's exactly right, Emily. It's a conversation starter.
EMILY BRIGHT: Well, Kate, thank you for your time for telling us about this exhibit today.
KATE ROBERTS: You bet.
EMILY BRIGHT: That was Kate Roberts, senior exhibit developer at the Minnesota Historical Society. And that exhibit Girlhood, (It's complicated) will run through next may.
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