Sex sells, but how do you sell a museum about sex? It’s hard. One of our favorite museums,The Museum of Sex in New York City, is going through a re-branding. The museum, which features in-depth exhibitions that “view art, fashion, history, science and more, through the lense of sex” has been around for 14 years, and is more probing and interesting than ever.
But even before it opened, founder Daniel Gluck had to fight the New York State Board of Regents, who rejected its application for non-profit status, objecting that the idea of a “museum of sex made a mockery” of the concept of a museum. Meanwhile, William Donohue, of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, an organization that actually believes most of the sex people are having is a sin, called it a “museum of smut.” (Mr. Donohue needs to have some good, sweaty, “dirty” sex asap.)
But Mr. Gluck wanted to start a museum dedicated to “the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality.” “People have baggage about what a ‘sex brand’ can be” he says; that’s what we’ve been fighting against since we’ve started. The Museum of Sex is for those who seek a deeper understanding of sexuality.”
Current exhibits include “Hardcore, A Century of Obscene Imagery,” and “Object XXX, Selected Objects from The Museum Of Sex Archive,” which includes two silicone sex dolls to ogle, a couture dress made from condoms, and a bicycle powered sex machine.
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