MAR–13–2025
Words & Photo by: Colette Goldstein
Taking a climactic structure, the museum experience is divided into two parts: the way up, where visitors ascend three floors of artistic and educational material, and the way down, where visitors are invited to partake in a wealth of X-rated carnival games and photo ops.
Amid the circulating sounds of other visitors’ playful remarks (“Babe! You have to read this”) and prolonged expressions of awe (“Woaaaah”) — which definitely add to the experience — the dimly-lit first level showcases sex-related artifacts across time. These artifacts are not displayed in a typical chronological layout, nor are they categorized by topic, which lends to the idea of sex as a fluid and ever-sculpting concept, shaped by the evolving perceptions within human societies.
The juxtaposition of some of these displays is a ride in itself. In one moment, viewers may find themselves observing a celebration of sexuality in erotic playing cards, only to be confronted by an adjacent anti-onanism device that reflects the way pleasure, specifically masturbation, has been heavily stigmatized as an action that deteriorates morality in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.
Though laughter did travel across the educational floors, as groups of friends and couples shuffled through displays like the baculum (penis bones of aquatic creatures) and a racoon sex doll for furries (a kink culture centered around anthropomorphized animals), the museum was precise in tackling each historical lens, kink, and form of sex expression with a textbook-toned seriousness. There were no bits of misplaced wit or comedic embellishment on the educational journey upward (besides the hand sanitizer dispenser framed by the tagline “Pump it!” between the first and second levels) which applied a worthy sense of gravity to the exploration of sex itself.
Considering the way that sex and sex-related paraphernalia commonly strike awkward chords of laughter and jests, the first half of the museum seemed to venerate sex in a new light, exploring intercourse as this primal, extremely diversified dialogue between living things that pours out with cultural contexts and shifting perspectives.
What follows the climb up enticing sex education is a lighthearted descent to the “Erotic Carnival.” Guests have a chance to clasp a plush penis from the claw machine, frolic in a bounce house of enormous, blow-up breasts and contest in a game of glory hall — a whack-a-mole style game where participants jerk off as many emerging penises as possible — among other activities. The finale — or climax, if you will — is a physical slide down to the museum’s concluding floor, where a swirly tunnel opens to a bar. Bartenders divulge into their personal sexperiences and museumgoers take pictures with the golden stripper poles before pouring out to a gift shop that is stocked with modern sex toys.
MoSex, while not necessarily perfect for a first date or an outing with Grandma, is an enriching experience that is palatable for a wide range of attendees. Any 18+ visitor can take away something from the museum, whether that is enhanced knowledge on sex history, a silly Instagram photo, or — in my case — a sperm plushie and a crown stamped with the label “Sex God.”