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?

Those girls need to not be lied to. They should be helped to accept that they are girls who will grow into women.

It's not helping anyone to pretend some boys or men have vaginas.

If it looked at medical misogyny, like the torture of women like Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey who were used by Sims to develop gynae procedures; the way that having a vagina means babies in India are thrown on rubbish dumps; the way that having a vagina means you are missing from politics/industry/justice systems all over the world - brilliant.

And, about what women have achieved, despite our vaginas disadvantaging us under patriarchy.

And about what female bodies do - that our biology is simply remarkable.

That might be interesting. Looking at artefacts and art made by women all over the world about our bodies would be a great afternoon out.

and, yes, a bit about what happens to female bodies which transition, and a bit about a neo vagina which is smelly, painful and has hairballs - so not really like an actual vagina at all. It would be remiss to not include trans issues - but, why on earth are they first and foremost?

I don't have the impression that I'd leave the vagina museum feeling uplifted and proud and informed, but rather, pissed off that we can't even have a fucking museum about vaginas being about actual vaginas.

So, the Vagina Museum is going to be relying on volunteers to staff the new venue:

drive.google.com/file/d/1uEK5OcSfpvI9VFm-12pBuet-MB8Aoxm-/view

To volunteer one must:

"Please confirm that you would support our mission and values in your volunteer role -

Spread knowledge and raise awareness of the gynaecological anatomy and health

Give confidence to people to talk about issues surrounding the gynaecological anatomy

Erase the stigma around the body and gynaecological anatomy

Act as a forum for feminism, women’s rights, the LGBT+ community and the intersex community

Challenge heteronormative and cisnormative behaviour

Promote intersectional, feminist and trans-inclusive values "

[my bold]

They are only interested in including people who think exactly as they say they should. All or nothing. #nodebate.

So that means a lot of actual women excluded (and a lot of men too!), who might support some of the aims of the "museum", but question others.

Museums promote themselves as places of debate, learning, enquiry, disruption. Can we file a group motion under trades description? Perhaps they can change the name to 'Vagina Shmagina'?

Can we create our own vagina museum? Or even better a vulva museum because without contortion, instruments or scanning equipment you can't actually see the vagina. This one can centre women. We could have vulva casting classes, clitoral appreciation sessions and period costumes (!!!).

We could also have a wall of orchids to represent the estimated 101 million women who are missing from the human population due to sex selective abortions and female specific infanticide.

So will this museum be showing the surgery constructed vaginas and explain the process and ongoing medical needs of such a procedure? That would be informative.