British Museum in sexism row after suggesting ‘confused’ women can attract men at Roman exhibition
British Museum syas the uploaded TikTok video via its official account was a ‘playful joke’
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The British Museum has been accused of sexism after it suggested women should “walk around looking confused” to attract men at its new Roman exhibition.
The museum shared the “playful joke” in a now-deleted social media post as it attempted to promote the exhibition Legion: life in the Roman Army - but the move was met with criticism from users.
The post shared a viral TikTok video that showed men telling shocked women how often they thought about the Roman Empire.
With it, the museum added a caption which said: “Girlies, if you’re single and looking for a man, this is your sign to go to the British Museum’s new exhibition, Life in the Roman Army, and walk around looking confused. You’re welcome x.”
It then added: “Come for the Romans, stay for some romance.”
But the joke did not go down well with many on social media.
Dr Claire Millington, a visiting research Fellow at King’s College London, wrote on X: “Unrelenting fascist imagery and sexism dolloped on top.”
Oxford Brookes University Professor Alexandra Wilson wrote: “Really misguided marketing approach, British Museum - really alienating to your (very broad) audience to presume they would ‘get’ the intertextual reference to something on TikTok. This ‘irony’ was bound to go wrong.”
Another social media user, named Vixen Science, added: “I got the reference; I still thought the post was crap. The last thing we need is more stereotyping of history as belonging to men, whether tongue-in-cheek, or not.”
But others saw the funny side of the post.
Hari wrote: “You’re just old and bitter that a joke went over your head. How dare the British museum make jokes Alexandra Wilson doesn’t understand. Head should roll.”
A British Museum spokesperson told The Independent: “We reposted a viral video from a female influencer on TikTok and Instagram to our own account. It was meant to be a playful joke linked to the ‘Roman Empire’ trend and we apologise to anyone who was offended which was never our intention.”
The viral TikTok trend started when Swedish-based influencer, Saskia Cort, urged her followers to ask their male partners how often they thought about the Roman Empire.
The meme, called Roman Empire, took off with millions posting their reactions to partners’ responses.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments