Museum of Sex

The intention of David Gluck, the founder of the Museum of Sex in New York City, was to create a museum dedicated to 'the history, evolution and cultural importance of human sexuality'. Through its exhibitions, programs and publication, the Museum of Sex is committed to facilitating the discussion and exchange of ideas on this subject. The museum focuses on a variety of sexual preferences and subcultures, including the history of gays, lesbians, eroticism, BDSM, pornography and sex work. The museum's exhibitions are presented in an educational format, sometimes including explicit context. Due to this fact, visitors to the museum must be at least 18 years old.

While Gluck was planning this museum, the New York State Board of Regents rejected his application due to its 'unlucrative character', objecting that the idea for a sex museum 'poked fun' at the concept of a museum in general. Owing to this, and since Gluck opted not to accept offers of funding from the pornographic industry, the entrance fee initially cost 17$.

Despite the restrictions imposed on adult leisure facilities, the New York city authorities permitted the museum to be established 500 feet away from a church or school. Before the museum opened its doors to the public, William Donohue from the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights described it as a 'pornography museum', writing: 'If the museum's founders were honest, they would also have included a death chamber as recognition of all the awful illnesses caused by promiscuity. They would also have given due recognition to the role promiscuity has played in the creation and worsening of poverty. Instead of this however, the museum seems merely to publicly celebrate sex. ' However, since opening in 2002, the museum has been confronted with a passive attitude from religious organisations, and has even organised an event called 'Faith in Latex', which gathered together the leaders of the Catholic, Pentecostal, Episcopal and Buddist churches, as well as Jews.

The first exhibition, NYC Sex: How sex in the city of New York transformed in the United States, centered on the museum's native city, but later exhibitions have concentrated on sexuality in other cultures and epochs. Exhibitions have included Sex Between the Lotus: 2, 500 Years of Erotic Obsession in China, Exploring the Origins of Pleasure, Vamps and Virgins: The Evolution of America in Photographs, 1860-1960, Men Without Suits: Objectification of the Male American Body, and a display area, an Office of Patented Sexual Inventions.

In 2009, the museum began an expansion project which involved moving its entrance to 27th Street on Fifth Avenue. The museum also doubled the size of its shop and expanded the actual museum by an entire floor, in addition to adding another gallery. An aphrodisiac café was constructed, as was additional gallery space.