A woke academic has accused the British Museum of sexism and fascism after the iconic institution posted a humorous Instagram video advertising its Roman Army exhibit. The now-deleted video on the Legion: Life in the Roman Army exhibition was captioned: “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.”
The museum’s video was playing off a former TikTok trend where women asked the men in their lives how often they think of the Roman Empire. As a result, many were shocked to learn how frequently their boyfriends, husbands, and/or fathers thought about it throughout the day. The trend quickly became a meme popular amongst Gen Z social media users.
Despite its innocent attempt at cultural relevance, the Museum’s post quickly sparked outrage from progressives online who accused the campaign of both sexism and fascism.
Dr. Claire Millington, a writer and Roman archaeologist, posted a screenshot from the video to her now-private X and captioned it: “Unrelenting fascist imagery and sexism dolloped on top. This is the [British Museum’s] Insta today.”
Continuing in a thread, Millington pointed out that in addition to the post being sexist, the image used in the video featured “fascist imagery,” including legionary eagles, which she claims parallel right-wing political extremist groups and Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.
Although many shared Milington’s sentiments about the theme of the museum’s post being sexist, others disagreed with her view that the image shared included fascist imagery, and noted that Roman aesthetics long predated their fascist adoption.
“To me, the museum’s communication seems more naive than malicious, but I understand how modern sensibilities may be moved by it. But, and I beg your pardon, what is all this nonsense about fascist imagery? It’s [far-fetched] at best, and I am being lenient!” wrote one user.
“The majority of the population, who are normal, will enjoy this exhibition, because they are normal,” added Tom Jones, a political commentator.
Despite the mixed responses, the museum explained in the comments of its post that it was only “poking fun at the TikTok meme called ‘Roman Empire,’ where mansplaining is the butt of the joke,” and it was in no way implying women should pretend to be stupid or that they need to find dates.
“We can assure you that we are *not* actually suggesting that women need to look for dates or pretend to be stupid!” read one comment. “Apologies to anyone who wasn’t aware of the wider context who felt offended by this meme!”
