reader Posted September 3, 2019 Posted September 3, 2019 From Coconuts Bangkok Dildos, phallic amulets, vintage adult magazines and explicit life-sized sculptures of people having sex. These are among the 500+ pieces of erotic art and historical artifacts that are on display at two sex-centric museums located just blocks apart from each other in one of Bangkok’s trendiest neighborhoods, Thong Lor. Thailand doesn’t exactly have a culture of sexual openness, but it’s not prudish, either. The sale of sex toys is still illegal, for instance, but people tend to turn a blind eye to the rows of vibrators and anal beads sold openly on some Bangkok streets — which just goes to show that the country’s cultural norms and attitudes aren’t all that clear-cut here. Enter Watjanasin Charuwattanakitti, a 40-year-old man who inherited his father’s obsession with erotica, and now takes that interest into bringing sexual taboos out of the shadows. Seven years ago, Watjanasin decided to take his father’s personal collection of erotic art — which numbered over 500 pieces — to the public, and opened the Kamavijitra: Siam Erotic Art Museum. The idea came to him following a trip he made to Venustempel, the world’s first sex museum in Amsterdam, as well as New York’s Museum of Sex and Japan’s Festival of the Steel Phallus. “Other countries can openly talk about it — [so] why can’t we?” he said. Recently, however, Watjanasin followed up with his original project by launching another venue last December: the Museum of Sex, which he opened to tell the true story of sex in Thailand, since he felt that his original gallery space lacked a cultural story connected to the nation’s long history. Together, says Watjanasin, the two venues have one combined mission: to break taboos, and advocate open discourse about sex. Continues with photos and maps at https://coconuts.co/bangkok/lifestyle/museum-of-sex-get-off-at-bts-thong-lor-to-find-500-erotic-art-pieces-and-artifacts-from-thailands-history-of-sex-photos/ Quote
ceejay Posted September 3, 2019 Posted September 3, 2019 That's nothing. In the Grand Place (main square) in Brussels they have a museum of beer - and almost next door a museum of chocolate. Who needs sex? reader and kokopelli 1 1 Quote
