RealDolls, robots and rubbers – a strange way to spend Valentine’s Day
It’s everyone’s favorite time of year again: Valentine’s Day, cupid’s Hallmark holiday that has made singles feel lonely and couples feel pressured since back in the day. Rooted in a Roman, religious and pagan past, Valentine’s Day has grown into a retail cash cow, drawing some 14 billion dollars annually in chocolates, roses and edible panties.
In this spirit of romance and raunch, I decided to check out New York’s Museum of Sex (a.k.a MoSex)
While Manhattan is home to dozens of cultural museums dedicated to high-brow art, there’s only one where you can fondle a love doll, watch panda porn and witness the sexual habits of anime characters.
Open since 2002, the Museum of Sex claims to be the most “stimulating museum in New York.” While there are a handful of erotically-themed museums across Europe and Asia, NYC’s Museum of Sex aims to “preserve and present the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality.”
Their newly opened exhibit, RUBBERS: the Life, History & Struggle of the Condom, explores how “one small object revolutionized contraception, protection, and everything in-between.” Tracing the life and history of the condom, RUBBERS features artifacts, conceptual art pieces and a couture cocktail dress, made from 1200 hand dyed condoms. Sponsored by Trojan, this daring exhibit works to make safe sex sexy again.
While the “Sex Lives of Robots “features pornographic stop animation using fashion figurines, “Action: Sex and the Moving Image,” examines the history of sex on film, from metaphorical movies in the 30’s, to bawdy burlesque and modern day pornography.
Most shocking was Paris Hilton’s explicit celebrity sex tapes. With videos like these, it’s no wonder that visitors have to be at least 18 years old to enter the museum.
I dragged myself from the den of cinematic sin to the final gallery, a room filled with a mishmash of paraphernalia: squeezable latex love dolls, a 9 foot S & M suspension cage, pin-up posters and antique vibrators.
Apparently, vibrators were initially developed as medical devices to aid the treatment of female hysteria. Compared to these encased, medieval, hair-dryer like power tools, the sex toys of today sure have come a long way!
A visit to the Museum of Sex provides an uncensored look at the history of sexual expression, from the biology and behavior of animals to advancements in ‘pleasure’ technology.
After my visit, I left with the following conclusions: 1) human sexuality is complicated 2) our understanding of sex, norms and taboos are constantly changing and 3) Robots are having more sex than I am.
For information on admission fees, hours and $3 off tickets visit http://www.museumofsex.com/
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William
