The Museum of Sex, also known as MoSex, is a sex museum

Sex museum

A sex museum is a museum that displays erotic art, historical sexual aids, and documents on the history of erotica. They were popular in Europe at the end of the 1960s and during the 1970s, the era of the sexual revolution....

 located at 233 Fifth Avenue

Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)

Fifth Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the center of the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, United States. The section of Fifth Avenue that crosses Midtown Manhattan, especially that between 49th Street and 60th Street, is lined with prestigious shops and is consistently ranked among...

 near 27th Street in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

, New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. It opened on October 5, 2002.

History

Founder Daniel Gluck wanted to start a museum dedicated to "the history, evolution and cultural significance of human sexuality

Human sexuality

Human sexuality is the awareness of gender differences, and the capacity to have erotic experiences and responses. Human sexuality can also be described as the way someone is sexually attracted to another person whether it is to opposite sexes , to the same sex , to either sexes , or not being...

." The official mission of the Museum of Sex is "to preserve and present the history, evolution, and cultural significance of human sexuality. In its exhibitions, programs and publications, The Museum of Sex is committed to open discourse and exchange, and to bringing to the public the best in current scholarship." The museum focuses on a variety of sexual preferences and subcultures, including lesbian

Lesbian

Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

 and gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 history and erotica, BDSM

BDSM

BDSM is an erotic preference and a form of sexual expression involving the consensual use of restraint, intense sensory stimulation, and fantasy power role-play. The compound acronym BDSM is derived from the terms bondage and discipline , dominance and submission , and sadism and masochism...

, pornography

Pornography

Pornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...

, and sex work. Although the museum's exhibits are presented in an educational format, they sometimes feature explicit content. Because of this, visitors must be 18 years old or older.

While Gluck was planning the museum, the New York State Board of Regents rejected its application for non-profit status, objecting that the idea of a "museum of sex" made "a mockery" of the concept of museum

Museum

A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...

s. Because of this, and because Gluck opted not to accept funding from the pornography industry, the admission fee was initially $17, although it has since been reduced to $16.75.

Unlike restrictions placed on adult entertainment venues, New York City authorities have allowed the museum to locate itself within 500 feet of a church or school. Before the Museum opened to the public, William Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights called it a "museum of smut," writing "If the museum's officials were honest, they would include a death chamber that would acknowledge all the wretched diseases that promiscuity has caused. And they would give due recognition to the role that promiscuity has played in creating poverty

Poverty

Poverty is the lack of a certain amount of material possessions or money. Absolute poverty or destitution is inability to afford basic human needs, which commonly includes clean and fresh water, nutrition, health care, education, clothing and shelter. About 1.7 billion people are estimated to live...

. But instead we can look for the museum to celebrate public sex.". Since it has opened, the Museum has faced no opposition from religious officials and even hosted an event entitled "Faith in Latex" which brought together leaders from the Catholic, Pentecostal, Episcopalian, Buddhist, and Jewish faiths.

The inaugural exhibit, NYC Sex: How New York City Transformed Sex in America, focused on the museum's home city, but later exhibits focused on sexuality in other cultures and time periods. Other exhibitions have included Sex Among the Lotus: 2500 Years of Chinese Erotic Obsession,, GET OFF: Exploring the Pleasure Principles, Vamps & Virgins: The Evolution of American Pinup Photography 1860-1960, Men Without Suits: Objectifying

Objectification

Objectification is the process by which an abstract concept is made as objective as possible in the purest sense of the term. It is also treated as if it is a concrete thing or physical object...

 the American Male Body and an online exhibition US Patent Office Sex Inventions

In 2009, the Museum began an expansion project moving its entrance from 27th Street to Fifth Avenue. The Museum also doubled the square footage of their store and increased the size of the museum by one floor, as well as adding an additional gallery. They expanded even further with an aphrodisiac-themed cafe and additional gallery space.

Sources

• New York Times: Sex Museum Says It Is Here to Educate
• New York's Thoughtful Museum of Sex
• Guardian Unlimited: The opposite of sex
• http://www.forward.com/articles/128793/