Museum of Transology

[ThisIsNotARealAvo]

I'm in Brighton for a couple of days and there's an exhibition on called the museum of transology. It's s collection of artefacts from people's experiences of transition. I'm planning to have a look tomorrow if I can didn't have the kids for an hour.

I was wondering if anyone has been there and what you thought? Like many in MN I am massively skeptical of self identification and men entering women's spaces.

From what I can see on the website and a quick google, many of the artefacts are from transmen, whereas much of the discussion in the media and controversial figures are transwomen, or sometimes men.

I'm rambling a bit here but would love to hear anyone's experiences of the exhibition and I can let people know tomorrow what it was like if anyone is interested.

I'd be interested! Please do report back and thank you for offering to do so

Yes, OP, I'd be really interested to hear about it. Enjoy your visit!

It was quite a small exhibition and it was made up entirely of trans people's own possessions, labelled with their comments. There were things like nhs appointment letters, work badges in deadname and new name, breast binders, breast padding and clothes, such as someone's first dress.

It was really interesting and very much highlighted how long it takes to get an nhs appointment, what lengths trans people have to go to to get the body they want and information about the trans community in Brighton.

Some of it was on the sensationalist side - one person kept everything from the surgery that removed their breasts, including the tissue that was removed, so the two breasts are on display in jars.

It didn't change any of my opinions on trans issues really though.

Interesting. Thank you for reporting back OP!

Breasts in jars. Not sure about that though. Rather sad to display healthy body parts that were removed.

Thanks, Avo. Was it mostly contemporary, or were there also vintage (or even antique) items on display?

I went to this a few weeks ago on a visit to Brighton I thought it was awful. I was surprised that it was allowed in such a family-friendly museum, with just a tiny sign warning parents it might not be suitable for kids. It certainly wasn't suitable. Words fail me to be honest. A gruesome glorification of the painful medical process of transitioning. Blood-stained hospital memorabilia and chopped off breasts in pickling jars - how is this going to help people appreciate the experiences of trans people? Displaying breast binders and prosthetic penises and amputated body parts certainly didn't teach me anything positive. I came away thinking I had been in a display of how to self-harm. I cannot imagine how somebody who had had a mastectomy due to cancer would feel to see those breasts in a jar. I would have complained about it to the museum if I'd had more time.

Sorry for bumping this- but a group of us went to the museum today and we found this exhibition profoundly disturbing.

There was the usual genderwang word salad everywhere (WTF is a "non-binary hard femme"?) Many of the exhibits were superficial things like lipsticks, bras, dresses. Then there was a display of children's items such as a My Little Pony and girls' pointe shoes. These were displayed directly opposite a pair of severed breasts in formaldehyde. There was a cabinet full of medicines. There were dilators and prosthetic penises and cripplingly uncomfortable binders.

There were also loads of little manila tags with messages about gender written on them. Many of these seem to have been written by teens. We found one purportedly written by an 8 year old.

We were horrified at the normalization of irreversible medical procedures and life-long dependency on drugs in order to conform to a set of aesthetic stereotypes. The exhibition was very unsuitable for children but there was little warning as to the contents before you went in and it would have been very easy for a child to wander in there from the previous gallery, which was family-friendly.

I'm v, v pissed off my council tax is funding this.

That is just utterly grim Waters.

It sounds awful. I found the Apartheid Museum deeply upsetting and I was affected for a while afterwards. I'm trying to understand more about trans people but this sounds like one to avoid!

Did it come across as 'deliberately normalizing irreversible medical procedures', or could it just as easily show transitioning as a horrible medical experience to a different viewer? If the former you could legitimately put in some comments to the museum.

Jesus sounds horrifying

I listened to a podcast this week by a person who says they are non-binary, where they visit this museum and talk to the curator/owner of breasts in jars.

It's on the BBC iPlayer and called NB. The episode with the museum visit is episode 1, I think. They think the breasts in jars are hilarious. No reflection on whether they should be celebrating cutting off healthy body parts, or trying to change their bodies.

And there is a school trip in there while they're recording.

Sounds about as delightful as the Jack the Ripper museum, I wonder if the two are in anyway connected...

Maybe we could campaign Brighton council to fund an exhibition on the extreme bodily injuries suffered by prostitutes in the region.. sounds right up their alley. All presented in a value free sex work is work manner.

Misogynistic creeps.