vagina_museumGeorgia O’Keeffe, eat your vagina out… There’s a new vagina museum coming to the UK this autumn.
But this museum is more than just flowers which look a bit like female genitalia. The world’s first ever ‘bricks and mortar museum dedicated to vaginas’ will also feature vulvas and the entirety of the gynaecological anatomy, because there’s a penis museum in Iceland, so why the hell not?
Much like vaginas themselves, the museum is both practical and entertaining; it takes a holistic view of vaginas, from science to history, to their place in culture.
According to the website, the curators say:
There is a penis museum in Iceland which is pretty cool. But there is no physical vagina museum anywhere in the world.
We were pretty miffed (muffed?) when we learnt this but we thought, there’s only one way to rectify this. Make one.
Founder, Florence Schechter – who is a science YouTuber – was doing research for a video about the Top 10 Animal Vaginas to go alongside the one she made about penises.
But she discovered it was really difficult to find information about any vaginas, let alone bizarre animals ones for the YouTube trending pages.
She figured there just isn’t enough vagina research out there, so apparently, her brain went ‘hey, there’s that penis museum in Iceland’ and assumed ‘maybe there’s a vagina museum’.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BteKLEFjyOG/
Actually she found there’s a virtual one but, in the name of true gender equality, she decided to dedicate a whole real life space to learning about labia and all the other bits. The museum is also gender inclusive and intersectional.
A mission statement online reads:
The gynaecological anatomy is a part of the body, just like any other part. And yet it is shrouded with stigma and shame.
This is an awful state of affairs since it is a part of the body that should be celebrated – it is what brings life in the world and is a central part of many people’s lives.
It is shame and stigma that is hurting the lives of so many people.
The Vagina Museum is currently crowdfunding to raise £300,000 in order to open their permanent space, cover exhibitions, an outreach programme, rent and staffing – for which they promise to pay above the London Living Wage for all paid positions.
They’re hoping to open the free admission space, set to be in Camden Market in London, in 2019, all being well.
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A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.