No one is being disrespectful of the work of this or other similar museums.
They
are simply mentioning "points of humor to lighten the tone".


>===== Original Message From Museum discussion list
<[log in to unmask]> =====
>I must express my disappointment that for the second time in recent months
>a posting from the Museum of Sex has elicited a string of puerile and
>unnecessary e-mails from list members making cheap jokes about a serious
>subject. Only Sarah Haldeman has made the point that such museums are in
>fact very well worth studying. I have visited two such museums in Amsterdam
>(the Museum of Erotica and the Venustemple), Ole Ege's Museum of Erotica in
>Copenhagen and the Museum of Erotic Art in Hamburg and could recommend all
>of them. The collections have invariably been impressive, consisting mainly
>of works of fine art covering many centuries and styles from Greek vases to
>digital photographs. Japanese and Chinese art is very strongly represented
>(and it should be no surprise that there is a major sex museum in Tokyo).
>Even the British Museum itself has amassed such a collection and has
>recently admitted the wrongful assumptions that caused it to be concealed
>in a 'secret cupboard' for many years.
>
>The second point is that these museums display their collections in an
>admirable way. I have rarely seen such intelligent mixes of traditional
>objects in cases, audio-visuals, serious information (on topics such as
>venereal disease) and points of humour to lighten the tone. These museums
>have a lot to teach us about varying lighting techniques, extended opening
>hours and highly readable, multi-lingual labelling. You may snigger but
>there is an excellent educational interactive in one of the Amsterdam
>museums where, amongst other things, the visitor can push a button to 'ask
>the price' from a lady of the night. The Venustemple does indeed operate a
>thriving souvenir shop with gifts available by mail order and in plain
>brown paper wrapping.
>
>Perhaps the point I most want to make is that the audiences these museums
>attract are entirely respectable. From young couples to parties of old
>grannies they have all been bristling full of visitors from across the
>social and age spectrum. Other museums recognise this - for instance the
>city museum in Copenhagen now includes displays about prostitution (and
>even helpfully provides a map of present-day brothels in the city - Such
>visitor services!).
>
>Sex is a universal subject crossing all cultural, religious and racial
>boundaries yet it is incredible to think of how many cultural museums the
>world over ignore this subject. Sex influences modes of cultural expression
>but the subject also embraces issues of public health, education, legal
>regulation, policing etc. There's bags of material for innovative museums
>to exploit! I, as a practising Christian and active worker for the Church
>of England, would nevertheless have no intellectual or indeed moral
>objection to working in one of the world's legitimate museums of sex. (Red
>light districts the world over will of course contain imposter 'museums'
>and there are also some private museums of more questionable taste such as
>Iceland's Penis Museum). These museums are usually found in countries that
>take a more relaxed view of the subject especially northern Europe and
>Scandinavia but should not be misidentified as pornographic exhibitions or
>seedy immoral attractions with no other purpose than relieve foreign
>tourists of their money. I suggest that these museums, whilst certainly not
>without their faults, have a lot for dedicated professionals to study and,
>as such, merit serious discussion.
>
>Neil Handley MA
>Curator, British Optical Association Museum
>
>The College of Optometrists,
>42 Craven Street, London WC2N 5NG
>Tel: 020 7839 6000   Fax: 020 7839 6800
>e-mail: [log in to unmask]
>web-site: http://www.college-optometrists.org/college/museum
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:   [log in to unmask] [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:   03 July 2001 19:17
>To:     [log in to unmask]
>Subject:        Re: Job Opening at The Museum of Sex
>
>Having attended the Museum of Sex in Berlin, I must say that it was one of
>the
>better museums I've ever been to.  All jokes aside, I recommed that you
>check
>it out if you're ever in that neck of the woods.  It would also be useful
>to
>get in touch with them to see how they do things.  It's a very large museum
>with three floors and includes video, talks etc.
>Sarah Haldeman
>Arizona State University
>Public History
>
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