COLUMN: Turning sex into a cultural display

From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall '00 From Siona Listokin's, "Think Different," Fall '00Penn sex is alive and well. At least it is for alumni. Dan Gluck and Alison Maddex, graduates of the Graduate School of Fine Arts, are spearheading the effort to build the Museum of Sex on New York's Fifth Avenue. The stated purpose of the Museum of Sex (MoSex?) is to serve as a center for the study of "the history and evolution of human sexuality." The museum will examine how sex has invaded our culture, from politics to art to movies. I am interested in what sort of special exhibits the Museum of Sex will have. Perhaps "Adam and Eve: The Sexual Avant-Garde of Their Generation" and a permanent collection dedicated to Michael Douglas' female problems on film. Dare I joke about a hands-on exhibit for the kids? Certainly the museum's panel of sex experts will manage to entice tourists and New York natives with something educational. The New York State Board of Regents -- the group in charge of non-profit cultural institutions -- declined to offer support to the museum, expressing concern that the name "Museum of Sex" made a mockery of the institution of museums. I wonder, though, if anyone will express concern that the institution of sex will be denigrated by its association with the term "museum." Whether and what the Museum of Sex threatens to belittle matters, since it appears that the museum will be opening its doors to an eager and amused public within five years. More interesting than its title is the museum's mission. An in-depth look at the history of sex is promised but may be muddled by a more marketable look at sex in popular culture. Gluck and Maddex insist they do not intend the museum to be a collection of oddities or a mockery of anything, but rather a "Smithsonian of Sex." Their proposal for a legitimate resource center for sex studies are made suspect, however, by the museum's planned public relations campaign. Gluck has said that what he wants most for his collection is to acquire Monica Lewinsky's famously stained dress. The Museum of Sex's Web site is equally subtle: a black background greets browsers, followed by a quick succession of exploding sex, SEX, Sex!, sex. An image of the absurd reality of the museum opening is created. Enlightened intellectuals, horny teenagers and New York socialites will be herded through the museum doors with the expectation of discovery. (Sounds eerily like a sorority rush event.) What they will learn about is how sex is portrayed through the eyes of history's artists, writers and directors. They will leave the museum thinking they have learned about sex itself. The prospect of our educated masses mistaking sexual portrayals for reality is unfortunate, but hardly new. We have all grown up with graphic movies and explicit prime-time TV. So why should we be surprised when a teen magazine offers tips to "Make Your Valentine's Day (and Night) Movie Perfect?" We are so tuned in to TV's notion of sex that we try to emulate circumstances, music and mood in our exploits of everyday life. I have heard a group of girls argue over the best sex scene in a movie with a passion that should be reserved for, umm, other things. Seventh graders spend educational slumber parties in front of the TV, watching every variation of the filmed kiss in order to figure out what goes where, when. And so every kiss is compared to Hollywood's pretty people procreating in picture-perfect form. Gluck and Maddex want to build a museum that examines how sex has pervaded our culture. Perhaps they should focus on how culture has invaded sex. As it is now being presented, the Museum of Sex poses a danger of adding to a false picture of ideal sex. We expect certain things from museums. These institutions give us a chance to learn, commemorate and appreciate different aspects of our lives. However skillfully the Museum of Sex is arranged, there is a risk of presenting the world with a subliminal how-to guide to sex. What a shame that some things are not left to imagination and intuition. Regardless, the Museum of Sex will be a reality one day, and visitors to New York will hop from the Guggenheim to the Met to the Sex to the Park. Let's hope beauty can be appreciated and absorbed without infringing on the private aspects of our lives. Will I go to the Museum of Sex? Sure. I am up for anything new and exciting in Midtown Manhattan. And I have a purely intellectual curiosity to see what is in the museum gift shop.