Museum of Sex: New York, NY
It looked so simple from the outside. The Museum of Sex in white text hung above the glass windows. The mannequins showcased in the windows wore little or no clothes. It resembled a lingerie shop. Next to them was a white chair with playboy bunny ears sticking out at the top. It was a chair for “her.” In the other window, there was a brown chair with large moose antlers attached. This chair was for “him.” The simplicity of the exterior did not mimic the explicit contents of the interior.
When I walked into the Museum of Sex, I automatically was in the gift shop. There were a plethora of products that covered every fetish and desire. In addition to a variety of sex toys, there were educational materials that informed its readers on how to improve or further enjoy their sex lives. Also in the gift shop was a long line of people who were waiting to purchase tickets to see the exhibits.
Upon entering the museum, there were life-size hardcore photos of men and women engaging in their pleasurable moments in the earlier centuries. It was captured intentionally by a camera as a form of documentation of the various sexual positions. However, the photographs weren’t only about sex; it had a historical spin to it as well. The Victorians were one of the first to document porn; according to the “Seeing Obscenity” exhibit. As technology evolved in the 1800’s, photography and a stereoscope was used to capture porn. By 1839, porn made its big debut when it went from being sold secretly out of basements to appealing to consumers sexual appetite’s when sold publicly. Paris, France was the primary hub for selling prints, novels that were pornographic and photos.
IT wasn’t until the 1900’s that the United States entered into the Erotica Industry. Lower Manhattan in New York City eventually established itself as the headquarters for adult entertainment in the United States. As business continued to boom, the interest of the Erotica Industry evolved from two consenting people to the pornographic documentations of group sex or orgies, gay and lesbian sex, interracial sex, sex with animals and clerical/office sex. Upon the invention of video cameras, filmmakers began recording reels. This increased sales and profits dramatically. After checking out these exhibits, I walked up the stairs to the next floor and entered the room.
The interactive room played with your senses. There was an ice house that turned red when a loving couple entered it. Then there was the Cloud Chamber that is known for causing arousal by the scents and touch. The pheromones released from the bodies of two people were supposed to trigger that. For sight, there was a three D mirrored tent that accentuated an individual’s figure. The mirror nice because the primary focus was for you to discover what is the sexiest part of your body. Those were some of the hands-on exhibits that the visitors were eager to try out. Eventually, I completed viewing all of them and went to next room. Those exhibitions were explicitly about how various species mate in the animal kingdom.
There were a variety of sculpted animals, sea creatures and insects that were mating. Some of them were dolphins, pandas, and three moose. There was written text describing the sexual attraction and connections of all of them. Some of it included group sex, sex with just two animals or sex with murder following shortly afterwards. Sex followed by murder was the case with the spider known as the black widow. She kills her partner upon completion of their intimacy. Those exhibits filled half the room. However, the other half, plastered with detailed information, pictures, sculptures and videos about the raw sexual behavior of gorillas during mating season. Upon looking at all the exhibits, I continued to the final two rooms at the Museum of Sex.
The next room was also interactive because visitors were allowed to bounce up and down on inflated over-sized balloon breast. There was indeed a long line for that. The other room had a variety of sex toys from the earlier centuries. All of the items seemed unique. The showcased toys were very different from each other. One was a toilet bowl that had a built-in object meant for self-pleasure. Another was a latex suit for the dominatrix type. All of them were designed to bring pleasure to whoever purchased it.
Overall, The Museum of Sex is a unique attraction. It certainly lived up to its name in every aspect. Although, I don’t foresee New York City Public School District taking their students on this field trip anytime soon. It is still a fun, interactive and educational experience for those who are 18 and over.
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