Aaaah, vaginas! They are all around us (or on us) and most of us came through one the day we were born. However, how much do we know about female genitalia? And how come talking about pussy is almost forbidden in this day and age??
Just before the lockdown I finally managed to visit Vagina Museum in London. I have been following their work on instagram for a long time and was really excited when they opened the actual premises last year. And when I was in London, I was not about to miss the opportunity to see it with my own eyes.
Museum is located in the middle of Camden Town and is dedicated to vaginas, vulvas & the gynae anatomy. Just what we need to fight the common taboos and misconceptions about female physique! Also, a male oriented museum has been in the world for quite a while and it was just a matter of time when our gender also gets one (I stand by those words, the awareness has to be spread!).
Honestly, I had great expectations when I was on my way to the museum. And I will always be very glad that it exists. However, there are some things they will have to rethink, in my humble opinion, to be able to reach a bigger crowd.
First of all, the museum was quite hard to find. Considering its location in Camden and how easily one can get distracted by all the amazing alternative shops, a bigger sign would probably not be a bad idea. Saying that, the place for that kind of museum could not be more appropriate, especially for launching the idea into the world. Start in an area where the concept and perception will be appreciated and then go from there (and conquer the world with pussies!).
After you finally find the entrance, you bump into the museum shop, selling various books and gifts. Needless to say that the topic of everything is female (fyi, I bought an amazing pussy mug and if I had more money/space, I would definitely leave with a few bags of goodies).
Aaaand then I saw the museum. I have to admit, I was kind of underwhelmed by just one small-ish room, where the exhibit mostly consisted of text. I took my time and read through everything, realising some of it being ridiculously shocking: do people actually believe some of the myths that were written down and explained?? Wow, it was about time we started talking about vaginas in public more openly!!
Presented text was great for fighting those myths and beliefs, however, I feel it could be displayed in a less wordy way. There was a huge lack of visuals, which can take out the interest after a while (lol?). More props would be greatly appreciated also for the demonstration and comprehension of the written things.
What the text explained was the difference between vagina and vulva, sex and gender, vaginal discharge, pubic hair, periods, smell and hygiene, as well as disproving old school myths on how to not get pregnant (yowza, that was painful!).
I have to say everything was pretty educational, however, this kind of museum (and its location) will attract the kind of people that already know all these things and not necessarily the ones that the mission was aimed at. The audience at the time of my visit was mostly female, all totally immersed in text and I couldn’t help but overhear some comments of parts of text supposedly not being fully accurate/completely factual (though, that was also a comment made by my (male) partner. Should I consider myself lucky?). I wouldn’t necessarily fully agree with that statement – I would rather say that some pieces of text were probably more generalised as they should be (for the already knowledgeable public).
And the more I thought about it, the name is Vagina Museum, not Vagina Gallery, so what was I actually expecting to see? The title of the display ‘Muff Busters: Vagina Myths and How To Fight Them‘ was therefore pretty accurate. Though more artworks would be greatly appreciated!
All in all, I am glad that a museum like that is out in the world and (with more funding) it can only grow bigger and touch (and educate) more and more people.
I am excited to visit the next set up, which will be about ‘dreaded’ periods and their history (and hopefully a brighter future).
A disclaimer: I am not a feminist of any kind, men are greatly appreciated in my life. I am just very proud of my pussy and everything that comes with her. I feel more women should start connecting with ‘their source’ and own it!
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