Thanks to The Museum of Sex Miami, “Sex and the City” can stand for a whole lot more than Carrie Bradshaw’s iconic New York column. Coming this spring, the museum will be home to more than 20 thousand artifacts that, due to their sexual nature, you won’t be able to see elsewhere. Miami locals, tourists and college students alike will soon be able to dive into the culture of sex through art, artifacts and activities. If you want to get in touch with your sexual nature, this museum is for you — but trust us when we say this is no Art Basel.
Let’s be real: Miami is as sexy of a city as it gets. However, sometimes the sexual vibrancy can put residents in unsafe or undesired situations. Instead of hitting the clubs, own your sexuality safely at The Museum of Sex. Whether for date night or girls’ night, you’ll be amazed by the lively erotic displays.
The Museum of Sex originally opened in New York City in 2002 and, like fine wine, it may have become better with age. Considering the so-called 917 Movement with New Yorkers flocking to Miami, it’s is the perfect place to open a second location.
What should you anticipate for this experience, beyond a unique exhibition? It’s meant to be a fun and enriching experience, learning about the history of sexuality and engaging in activities that explore sexual thrills.
Featured at the museum will be the Desire Machines by the Japanese artist Hajime Sorayama — his first major museum exhibition in the United States. Pieces such as 9-foot-tall sexy robot sculptures, a bronze sexy robot walking sculpture and more than 20 never-before-seen artworks will be on display. Sorayama explores themes of beauty and eroticism, both of humans and machines, through the exhibition. His statues and artwork provide photo opportunities for visitors, adding to the already sexy vibe of the museum.
Some of Sorayama’s pieces on display have made their way recently to pop culture through partnerships with Dior and popular artist, The Weeknd.
Explore the history and culture of marketing, advertising, design and distribution of sexual health products with the exhibition Modern Sex: 100 Years of Design and Decency. This exhibit showcases over 500 artifacts from the 1920s to the present day. Visitors can expect to see items such as the coded cure-all vibrator from the 1950s and AIDs advertisements from the 1980s. The exhibition aims to show over 100 years’ worth of debate and experimentation in the sexual health business.
Daniel Gluck, founder and executive director of the Museum of Sex, shares that the opening of the museum in Miami is a huge milestone for the team in the press release. The museum’s goal is to offer the city of Miami — both locals and visitors — a “destination unlike any other they have been offered before,” said Gluck.
Many University of Miami students have visited the Museum of Sex in New York City and are excited to have a new location easily accessible to them during the school year. Simone Lantier enjoyed the many activities in Super Funland, and is eager to see the expansion when the doors to the Miami location open.
Perhaps the grandest part of the new museum is Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival, a popular installation that came to the New York location in 2019. It will include even more features in its Miami version. Super Funland houses games and interactive displays that incorporate sexual humor and thrills. Additionally, it will include four new exhibits that have never been seen before, one being a 40-foot-wide mermaid performance tank that will serve as the centerpiece of the erotic carnival.
“I had way too much fun when I visited the museum. I won squishies from playing the arcade games and I play with them all the time,” Lantier said. “I will definitely be going when the new one opens.”
If only our middle school health teachers knew about the Museum of Sex. Sex education is more than learning to be safe — it’s learning to admire all human sexualities and their cultural significance. The Museum of Sex does just that.
Featured Exhibits
Hajme Sorayama: Desire Machines
Will feature nine-foot tall “sexy robot” sculptures and simultaneously futuristic and nostalgic erotic paintings.
Modern Sex: 100 Years of Design and Decency
Surveys the cultural and societal impact of restriction on the design, marketing and distribution of sexual health products from the 1920s until today.
Super Funland: Journey into the Erotic Carnival
Presents an immersive “carnival fairground” featuring dazzling amusements and games that play on sexual thrills, humor and decadence.
Update 6/22/23: Museum of Sex has postponed their Miami location opening to fall 2023. Stay tuned!
words_molly mckenzie. design_nina d’agostini.
This article was published in Distraction’s Summer 2023 print issue.