Explicitly Educational — Gracyn Doctor

If you’ve ever wanted to know the history about the porn you watch, the Museum of Sex is where you want to go.

Originally written for my NYC Capstone during my spring semester as an AJ at Cuse - January 2020; adapted for TGS

When someone hears you’re going to the Museum of Sex, their head tends to jump back a little as they say “ok… cool” in an obscure voice while giving a slightly astonished look. One can only imagine what on Earth would be inside the Museum of Sex. Sex toys? Pictures of people in different sex positions?

Honestly, you’re not totally wrong. Some of these things do exist in this space, but more to this museum is history and exhibitions that explore sexuality and identities. The purpose is to provide a safe space, information intended to educate, and a place to just have a little nonjudgmental fun.

It’s your average museum, only more intimate, in more ways than one. Enter in through the quaint yet quirky little sex shop. From nipple clamps and ticklers to skyscraper-shaped dildos, this tiny store has everything needed for any kind of sexual, and consensual, escapade. There’s even a little “420 friendly” section with CBD oils and flowers and mini bongs. It’s the place for everyone, 18 and up of course.

You might think it’s just the shop based on the inconspicuous design, but so much more awaits you up a few flights of stairs. Check your coat and head to the first floor to learn about the “illicit origins of pornographic film.” You’ll see some of the world’s first pornos! Wrapped around the room are historical pornographic facts that lead to a small, open theater in the back. Catch a quick flick before moving onto the most tender part of the museum.

The third floor is dedicated to two exhibits featuring work that celebrates the many faces of the LGBTQ community. “Mariette Pathy Allen: Rites of Passage, 1978-2006” is a heartened exhibit that documents the lives of transgender and gender-variant people and their families. Allen spent years building relationships with and documenting an array of people, lovingly and beautifully exposing their lives to the world, in an attempt to break the barriers held around gender and sexuality. This exhibit, along with her other work, acts as a “rite of passage out of the tyranny of sexual stereotypes altogether.” This community often deals with the hate, discrimination, and constant judgement, especially back when Allen’s work began, in the late 70’s. This exhibit lifts up the lives of the community, showing the world, at a time when it was taboo, that LGBTQ people are people who live regular lives full of love, family, careers, relationships, heartache and success like everyone else.

The “James Bidgood: Reveries” exhibit showcases drag culture, for the purpose of showing that masculinity and femininity exists in all of us, despite what our sex, sexuality or gender may be. Using both straight and gay men as models, Bidgood gives visual proof that identity does not signify sexuality. His work was a part of the “physique photography” movement, a time where “highly-coded gay pornography” came through the form of fitness and health magazines, making it easy to focus on male sensibility. He staged and shot the photos from this exhibit in his apartment in Hell’s Kitchen, using everyday men instead of Hollywood starlets, actors or models.

Finally, before you head back down to purchase your goodies and souvenirs, let loose in the Funland, the museums newest pop-up exhibit. Bounce around on the giant boobs or slide down the tunnel that dumps you right out of an actual backside. Play some games like tabletop skeeball or give the gypsy a whirl. There’s even a mini “rollercoaster.” Sit back and literally feel the small squirts or the sensation of having your legs caressed as you travel through a maze of unclad bodies. It’s a unique experience that’ll make you laugh and maybe even turn you on a little.

If you’re ever in NYC, make sure you visit the Museum of Sex for a hell of a time.