New Vagina Museum - or something else?

[AllTheLittleAngelsRiseUp]

I've been lurking for a bit, wanting to see if anyone else had picked up on this, and working up to post.

I was very excited when I first read about the proposal for a museum in London celebrating all things vagina.

The first publicity was very gyno focused, female centred, and unapologetic.

In a seemingly short time, the presentation changed to focus on inclusivity, to the extent that this interview happened:

www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/04/05/worlds-first-vagina-museum-lgbt-inclusive/

“What I really hope that the museum will be able to do is [showing] actually, we’ve had transgender people all throughout history, but you don’t hear about them, because they’re not included in your textbook,”

The museum website also gives out mixed messages:

www.vaginamuseum.co.uk/visionmissionvalues

I tried engaging with the museum, emailing a couple of times to ask if they could clarify the aim and focus of the museum. I'm not sure if it was bad reporting or whether the focus of the museum has moved from biological sex & vaginas and the socio-cultural relevance, to more woolly notions of gender, and inclusiveness. I thought it was fair and not at all offensive or bigoted to ask.

They are asking for public donations and, while I would support an appropriately female-centred organisation that centred women and girls and educated people about the vagina, I'm reluctant to support something that was in danger of being hijacked before it got off the ground. At a time when transgender ideology is encouraging girls to be ashamed of their bodies and promoting the lie that a 'lady dick' is the same as a vagina.

I'd like to know what strategies are in place to deal with this from the get go.

I never got a response to my emails, not even a dismissal. Just completely ignored. I don't think I deserved that, as I was polite and reasonable in my emails. Maybe I should put this in the AIBU forum?!?

Am I starting to tilt at windmills?

They are, unfortunately, steeped in TWAW wokeness. Which makes the museum a waste of time, imo. It's definitely a waste of time trying to talk sense into them, I'm afraid.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3560033-The-Vagina-Museum-lets-destigmatize-the-word-while-avoiding-the-word-woman

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3168690-So-disappointed-about-Vagina-Museum

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3577739-Vagina-Museum-crowdfunder-v-Maya-Forstater-crowdfunder

Thanks sunset

I need to improve my lurking skills and search for previous topics.

Glad it's not just me then. But so, so disappointed that this might happen.

Am I the only person who associates the word museum with historic things?

Yes - I was hugely disappointed when I went to their event, feeling nervous but hopeful, & they went on about vagina-havers and people with periods. And then announced that a trans-identifying male would be doing a book signing at their next event.

Whatever they’re doing, it’s not supporting women or celebrating our bodies. Stay well away.

Jesus, Empress, if i had to listen to that crap, i think my head would have exploded.

Jesus, Empress, if i had to listen to that crap, i think my head would have exploded.

Tell me about it....

It was all the worse in a way because the talks contained some really interesting stuff too. But the woke crap ruined it.

I left seething.

Oh. I've seen them on tour, I thought they were very good with educating teenagers of both sexes about female anatomy. I must admit to seeing a couple of things on their Twitter more recently which made me wonder if I should be concerned.

Museums don't have to all be historical, no.

Time for a Joni Mitchell singalong?

They took all the vadges, put em in a vadge museum....

Thinking about it and reading the other threads, there's little I object to, even though I'm GC.

The purpose of the VM is, as i understand it, to get people talking, sensibly and factually about vulvas, vaginas and uteri.

Unbelievable as it is to me, i know 5 trans teenagers, all identifying as male. I think I have only ever met a very small handful of other trans people, all adults. (The fact that the are so many teenagers so suddenly identifying as trans is of huge concern to me but for another thread). We also hear on this board of male identifying trans people not getting invited to, or not realising they still have to attend smear tests and so on. So to me, using language that is a bit clunky is okay because is important that what is essentially mainly a biology and demystifying lesson reaches all female bodied people. By using inclusive language (which in this case means hopefully still capturing the women who consider themselves men) they're not as far as I can see asking us to budge up for men, and they're not putting women's spaces or sports at risk. If anything they're serving the women identifying as men who are usually forgotten about by everybody else by reminding them that they do have female anatomy, its normal and nothing to be ashamed of talking about.

You've got the patience of a saint, Empress.

Maybe this saint?? 🤷🏻‍♀️
This is tongue-in-cheek, in the extreme, but I like her!
Especially the epilepsy part...

www.racked.com/platform/amp/2016/2/12/10898406/saint-galentines-day-history

The Vagina Museum opens on November 16.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49753320

"Ms Schechter added that the museum, which will not charge for admission, will be inclusive of all genders because "not everyone who has a vagina is a woman, and not every woman has a vagina".

...Vaginas, no charge for admission?

A museum for vaginas?
What's a next, a museum for left elbows? big toes? the spleen?

The Penis News article on the vagina museum centred penises, obviously. That made me laugh.

Where is the penis museum, I'd like to centre vaginas in it. Snort

everyone who has a vagina is a woman

every woman has a vagina

and breathe...

Sorry just had un NOT that since it's bedtime

I’ve been to the penis museum in Reykjavik. It’s lots of different species’ willies in glass jars (spoiler: whales have especially big ones), one human one apparently was voluntarily donated, there’s a letter from the chap and everything.

The gift shop has some fun keyrings.

We all know exactly how this is going to go.

On the first day that the museum is open, Twitter will be awash with outrage about how the trans-inclusive vagina museum isn't trans-inclusive enough.

The words following phrases will be mentioned a lot:

• triggered
• transmisogyny
• erasure of non-binary folx
• obsessed with genitals
• literal violence
• complete lack of vaginas from the furry population
• do better

The Vagina Museum will immediately capitulate on Twitter, apologising for pain and suffering and will commit to a dedicated Ladydique section that is larger and more prominent than the vagina section.

And so the world turns.

Of course it has all kind of "intersectional" rubbish tacked onto it.

I don't trust anything like this, like I don't trust the majority of "period poverty" initiatives. It always seems to come down to pushing the gender agenda ahead of helping women.

I saw a news thing about it now opening. Me mention of ‘people’ or trans anything. Maybe, just maybe it’s about women?

Ah - oh - the image above is still there... I’m out. I can imagine the type of clientele...

"Challenge heteronormative and cisnormative behaviour" is code for facilitating the take over by sexual fetishists.

I saw a news thing about it now opening. Me mention of ‘people’ or trans anything. Maybe, just maybe it’s about women?

So I hoped when I went to their event... but nope.

If anything they're serving the women identifying as men who are usually forgotten about by everybody else by reminding them that they do have female anatomy, its normal and nothing to be ashamed of talking about.

Coffee, I do see your point on this. But I don’t trust them.