What if it were your job to infuse the zoo with Critical Race Theory, radical feminism, and LGBTQ+ instruction and insight?

As noted in the previous post, President Trump signed an executive order that "directs the Vice President, who is a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, to work to eliminate improper, divisive, or anti-American ideology from the Smithsonian and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo."

Now, maybe the zoo is thrown in there because it's run by the Smithsonian. But I had to wonder what the zoo might be doing and what it could do if it wanted to lean into the kind of ideology that the Trumpian vision sees as improper, divisive, and anti-American.

So I asked Grok to assume the job of infusing the zoo with Critical Race Theory, radical feminism, and LGBTQ+ instruction and insight. I told it to write some placards to be posted in front of particular animals and displays. If you're one of those people who won't read things written by A.I., you'd better bail out now, because what follows is 100% Grok:

Giant Panda Exhibit—“Pandas and Power: A Study in Black and White” — The giant panda’s iconic black-and-white fur invites reflection on racial binaries constructed by colonial systems. Critical Race Theory asks: Who decides what’s ‘exotic’ or ‘valuable’? Western zoos historically exploited pandas as symbols of diplomatic dominance, reinforcing global inequities. Today, their conservation reflects intersectional struggles—capitalist exploitation of nature meets the fight for marginalized species’ survival. Are we saving pandas, or our own narrative?

Lion Enclosure — “The Pride of Patriarchy” — Lions embody radical feminist critique: the male’s mane signals dominance, yet lionesses do most hunting, challenging the myth of male supremacy. In human terms, this mirrors unpaid labor by women under patriarchy—lionesses feed the pride while the king lounges. Dismantling these gendered roles requires rethinking power, not just in the savanna but in our homes. Roar for a world where strength isn’t gendered. 

Peacock Display — “Feathers of Fluidity: Queering Nature” — Peacocks strut with flamboyant plumage, defying rigid norms of masculinity. LGBTQ+ insight sees their display as a celebration of gender nonconformity—nature’s drag show. Yet human bias labels it ‘male’ behavior, ignoring how many species blur sex and identity lines. From hermaphroditic snails to same-sex penguin pairs, the animal kingdom teaches us: identity isn’t binary, and beauty thrives in diversity. 

Elephant Habitat — “Matriarchy Marches On” —Elephants live under female leadership, a radical feminist triumph over male-driven hierarchies. The herd’s matriarch guides with wisdom, not brute force—proof that power needn’t be patriarchal. CRT adds: colonial hunters targeted elephants for ivory, a racist plunder of African ecosystems that still scars their numbers. Their resilience echoes marginalized communities resisting systemic erasure. Strength is collective, not conquerable. 

Komodo Dragon Exhibit — “Reptilian Rebellion: Beyond the Binary” — Komodo dragons can reproduce via parthenogenesis—females birthing without males—upending heteronormative assumptions. Radical feminism celebrates this as nature’s middle finger to male dependency, while LGBTQ+ lenses highlight how sex and reproduction defy traditional scripts. CRT notes: Western science ‘discovered’ this trait, but Indigenous knowledge of nature’s complexity was long ignored. Who gets to define ‘normal’?

Grok off. Althouse back.

Someone told me it's all happening at the zoo. 

Orangutans are skeptical of changes in their cages.