Photos By Geoffrey Dicker

Last Saturday the CMJ convention was just getting started, in full swing, or just winding up, depending on how desperate you are to appear hip and in-the-know. And while everyone in the city was running around in the rain, laden down with bags of tacky swag, trying to cram in as many crowded shows by over-hyped, crappy indie rock bands as possible, Geoffrey and I were learning about the sexuality of all living things at New York City’s most underrated tourist attraction, the Museum of Sex. So I ask you, who do you think had the better time? I think Geoffrey and I did. And if we got wet, it was not because of the rain.

On this particular afternoon, The Museum of Sex was actually totally packed with visitors, and from what I overheard of various lively conversations, those who came left satisfied. There are two floors and three main exhibit halls in this tiny but densely decorated museum. The first floor is dedicated to the sexuality of animals of all kinds including mammals, birds, invertebrates and insects. My favorite part of the animals’ exhibit was the picture of two nudibranchs totally doing it. Go little nudibranchs, go!

The second floor hosts two large galleries: one dedicated to sex machines, gender identification/ transgenderism, hilarious pamphlets on the history of sex education, sexually themed cartoons and films, sex dolls, sex toys, bondage gear and sexually-inspired functional design. Wow, it was quite an eyeful. There’s also a new exhibit featuring a rather exhaustive collection of fine art photographs of all of the adult entertainment industry’s biggest stars. I enjoyed this exhibit of photographs very much, as it made these actors and actresses seem human and not just like a bunch of freaks. It took us about 90 minutes to see everything in the museum and that includes a very thorough visit. We had fun!

The Museum of Sex is located 233 5th Ave, Corner of 27th Street, in Manhattan. Admission is $15 but you can get a significant discount by purchasing your tickets through Gold Star Events Dot Com.