The Museum of Sex is not your typical day out. It’s a museum with a twist, and equal parts informative and fun. Learn about a wide range of topics relating to sex; from the history of porn, to the sex lives of animals, to even reflecting on your own attitude towards sex. You can bounce in a booby bouncy castle, and if you’re feeling extra saucy, maybe you’ll have a look around their shop afterwards.
The first exhibit is Hardcore: A Century and a Half of Obscene Imagery, which documents the sex lives of our ancestors; with artifacts including a New York City Brothel Guide from 1855; an illustrated sex manual from the nineteenth century; turn of the century photographs featuring interracial sex, group sex, same sex and sex toy use; a twentieth century ‘glory hole;’ as well as a newly found collection of erotic artifacts. Documenting the past century and a half through explicit and hardcore imagery allows us to understand lesser known history of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It’s also socially relevant today, as it progresses through the origin of porn and how it developed to be what is it today.
The next exhibit is Splendor in the Grass: Kinesthetic Camping Ground, which is a camping ground setting turned adult playground. Using physical, visual, auditory and olfactory experiences, this exhibit explores the complex layers of sexuality and asks us to reflect on how we experience sex. It studies the different elements and senses that go into sexual feelings. This is definitely the most personal, interactive and creative sections, which results in it being arguably the most fun.
In The Sex Lives of Animals, we are encouraged to move beyond the idea that animal sexuality is purely reproductive. This exhibit explores orientation, sex acts that mirror ours, and how we can apply the sex lives of animals to issues about sexuality in general. It asks us to see sex as more than biology; we explore the more ‘human’ aspect of sex in other species.
The objects documented in Objectxxx: Selected Artifacts from the Museum of Sex Archive are symbolic of past eras, beliefs and social taboos. There are toys, fetish items, medicines, costumes and more. They are crucial in the preservation and presentation of the history of sexuality, especially as it explores a lesser known aspect of the world of sex. Learn about fetish items that you might not have known about before, and understand a new perspective of sex.
Finally, Jump for Joy is a booby bouncy castle, inspired by traveling fairs, and their encouragement of otherwise ‘unacceptable’ or silly behaviour. It encourages its users to explore intimacy and increase physical awareness. It’s a really fun way to end your trip around the museum, and it’s not every day you get to bounce on some huge boobs.
