Go "Beyond the Binaries" at Milwaukee Public Museum

What does it mean to be yourself—and how have ideas about gender, identity and self-expression changed across time and cultures?

Beyond Binaries is an hour-long guided Milwaukee Public Museum tour that invites visitors to explore the extraordinary diversity of human expression across history and around the world. Using exhibits throughout the museum as a starting point, the tour challenges assumptions about gender and social roles while encouraging visitors to consider how culture shapes the ways we understand identity.

The tour takes visitors on a fascinating journey through history, with stops exploring Milwaukee's own story, the origins of the term Two-Spirit, third-gender identities in Hawai'i and Samoa, the first recorded same-sex partnership in ancient Egypt, and much more. By looking at familiar exhibits through a different lens, Beyond Binaries reveals stories of gender and identity that can easily be overlooked—and demonstrates that there has never been just one way to be human.

At its heart, the tour is about representation. Visitors are invited to see themselves reflected throughout the museum and to recognize the remarkable breadth of human experience across cultures and centuries. At a time when opportunities for self-expression can feel increasingly constrained, these stories offer an important reminder that human identity has always been diverse, complex and evolving

Due to adult content, this tour is recommended for visitors 15 and older. Parental guidance or approval is strongly encouraged for younger visitors.

Each tour is limited to 20 participants. All of last year's tours sold out, so be sure to book tickets early. 

The exploration continues throughout October with LGBTQ+ History in Milwaukee, a drop-in program available across the museum's floors throughout the month. Visitors can follow a timeline highlighting important people, places and events that shaped Milwaukee's LGBTQ+ history.

Together, these programs offer an opportunity to discover how stories of gender, sexuality, identity and community have shaped both Milwaukee and the wider world—and to see history from a new perspective.

Plan your visit