The Powerhouse Museum in Sydney has a Transparent Plastic Woman of the
same type as the one in Cleveland, purchased in the 1950s when we were known

as the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences. Publicity at the time announced
'She talks! She Moves! She makes herself completely transparent! She reveals

the innermost and most intimate secrets of Womanhood'. Presentations were
'Strictly for Adults only. Not shown before persons under 16 years'.

The Plastic Woman has gone on to have a long and distinguished career at our

museum, featuring in Human Anatomy lessons for school groups until well into

the 1980s. One of our longstanding Education Officers maintains that for a
long
time this museum was the only place in Sydney where secondary school
teachers
could be relived of the burden of having to give sex education lessons.

Anatomy lessons are no longer given, but the Plastic Woman has not retired.
She
is such a favourite with both museum visitors and staff that she manages to
turn
up in various exhibitions. Currently she and her reproductive system are
starring in our exhibition, 'Taking precautions: the story of
contraception'. This
exhibition has been such a success that it is soon to go on tour to other
centres in
Australia. However the plastic woman is a little elderly for the
strenuousness of
touring, and will not be travelling with the exhibition. Nevertheless I am
quite
sure she will soon talk us into letting her take part in some other
exhibition at
the Powerhouse.

Megan Hicks
Curator of Health and Medicine
Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
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message via
Geraldine Rodwell,
Reference Librarian, Powerhouse Museum
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