My Encounters in the Museum of Sex
If I were asked to catalog the various galleries, I would say that the lower level exhibit was a digital view of sex that crossed the realm of pornography; its goal seemed both to educate and to titillate the guest. The second floor was an amalgam of an educational setting and one that intends to arouse its viewers, as was evident by the sprinkling of touchable demo sex dolls and medical abortion instruments. The third floor could be categorized as mostly an educational forum, as the exhibits delved into the biology behind the sexual behavior of animals, such as species which can choose to undergo asexual reproduction, and the risk this runs in regard to evolution.
One element that the museum emphasized is the increasing digitalization of sex. This was expressed by the posting of the online Facebook conversation between former U.S. Congressman Anthony Weiner and an ardent fan. This display put into stark terms the loss of privacy individuals are facing when they digitalize their sex lives, as well as the inability to control one’s bedroom antics once they have been sent into cyberspace for time immemorial.
Another noteworthy aspect was the gift shop that led into the museum, the former of which was open to the general public, while the museum only permitted entry to those over the age of eighteen. The age restriction to the museum conveys the fact that graphic material is shown inside, rather than highlighting the historical and biological deconstruction of sex. The museum shop offers gag gifts and personal artifacts intended for self- pleasuring, rather than historical mementos. Perhaps most telling is the small print on the museum’s website which indicates that discounts are not valid on Valentine’s Day weekends, indicating that the masses tend to associate racy images as within the confines of romantic relationships. This phrase, above all, is the fulcrum that teeters the museum as belonging to the ars erotica, rather than scientia sexualis.
-Ariella Medows
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Tags: Behavior, Michel Foucault, Museum of Sex
March 13th, 2013 at 7:42 am
Hey Ariella,
I agree that the people within the museum and the way they interact with each other and with the exhibits was definitely one of the most interesting aspects of the museum. I would question you, though, on your comments about society still being repressed, and that sex still has an aura of mystique around it. But only the word “still.” How old is this mystique, where does it come from, and are we moving away from it or embracing it? I feel as if MoSex serves to amplify this mystique rather than diminish it. Rather than help visitors make sense of so much information, it seemed like it’s effect would be far more likely to simply prompt visitors to Google some further details about something presented. MoSex is definitely teetering between ars erotica and scientia sexualis, but I think it serves more to promote diversification of ideas and polarized reactions to sexuality more than anything else.
Looking through a book in the gift shop titled “The New Topping Book,” an educational book about BDSM, the authors mentioned that the BDSM scene has changed dramatically in the ten years since the original version of the book. They described how the growth of the internet encouraged more people to reach out and join the BDSM community, a portion of which only participated in virtual domination relationships. While praising the growth of the community, they also lamented the fragmentation of the community as more people are leaving the general BDSM community in favor of communites with more narrow interests. We are still in the throes of scientia sexualis, and our ideas about sexuality are still being increasingly classified and diversified.
March 13th, 2013 at 4:14 pm
Rachel & Ariella: It’s interesting that both of you came up with the idea to film other museum-goers as they interacted with the different installations. Is this its own kind of voyeurism? How does our interest, which is potentially the result of our self-attributed superior comfort with sexuality, in how others respond to the museum reflect our own participation in scientia sexualis? Are we all doctors, eager to assess each other in hope of deducing some grander theme?