Otherwise Known as the Sex Museum

After my younger sister’s first twenty-four hours in Amsterdam, it was time for her to lock in.

Historical Canal Cruise to Set the Tone

This image was taken before a man said what never needed to be said. 

We went on a canal cruise like true locals and learned about the history of Amsterdam. Two key takeaways. First, “Holland” is a nickname for the Netherlands that started in the 17th century. The tour guide explained it became popular because the men participating in the Dutch East India Company mostly came from Holland, one of the seven republics in the Seven Republics of the Netherlands. The name is a bit of a mouthful, so they told the people in the “Dutch Indies” they were from Holland instead. It was a major shipping port, so it was mostly true.

A woman on the boat jokingly told the tour guide, “Oh so you’re the reason for all this confusion!” To which the tour guide responded, “Actually, it was the men. Maybe if we would have had rights, you could also blame the women. So no, not me!”

This exchanged prompted an American man to enter the conversation, despite being on the complete other end of the boat. He graciously spoke on behalf of all men when he said, “You’re welcome for industrializing the entire world for you.”

Breaking the fourth wall here: I’m not sure any amount of innovation could help him. Okay, back to business.

The woman who initiated the conversation with the tour guide muttered, “He wouldn’t be here without penicillin but Marie Currie had nothing to do with that.” The tour guide fist-bumped her and moved on. I will note that after a quick Google search, Marie Currie  did not invent penicillin but if any snoopers tell this man that then I’m paying an astrology girl on Etsy to put a hex on you.

This man’s entitlement to the entire world is probably what prompted the tone of the Red Lights Secrets Museum.

Women Discussing Politics at the Sex Museum

After the tour, my sister and I walked to the Red Lights Secrets Museum, commonly referred to as the Sex Museum. We bought our tickets at the front ticket booth and walked in. I cannot remember what I asked the woman working there, but she responded that she only works there part-time because she is a political science student at the University of Amsterdam. I studied political science during undergrad and my little sister has a typical girlish obsession with amphibious warfare during World War II, so we became instant best friends. The woman who sold us the tickets is also studying political science, so the small foyer was packed with women yelling about politics and theory.

We yelped about what got us interested in politics, the rage we feel analyzing the world stage every day, and the theories we disagree with. We forgot to thank the canal man for giving us this opportunity.

The Museum

My younger sister and walked through the museum, which told the history of prostitution in Amsterdam with a heavy emphasis on sex workers’ experiences. There were personal narratives on the abuse and diseases sex workers in Amsterdam have faced over time, the lack of formal and informal protection, and the contemporary struggles sex workers face today.

The personalization of the sex workers’ experiences mirrors the personal narratives the Museum of Resistance uses to connect visitors to difficult mass truths. While studying history, it is quite easy to begin talking about group of people as abstract ideas rather than a collection of individual experiences. I appreciated how the museum humanized sex workers in the space where tourists come to gawk and notoriously do not do so.

The museum provides each visitor with a listening device that is to be tapped at each work or display for an audio description. Our program has used these devices at several site visits and they function as a language accessibility tool. However, I’ve felt they also force visitors to be silent and consume more knowledge instead of directly discussing their experiences in the exhibits. At the sex museum,I felt this was an effective way to stop tourists from acting inappropriately in the exhibits and direct people to the heavy stories being told.

In terms of innovation, the museum may not need to make many changes to connect with more people. I appreciate their subtle education to tourists on sex workers’ lives. However, having full-time staff members or curators present may help visitors with questions and help visitors respect the establishment as they would a fine arts museum. While the canal man’s comrades were industrializing the entire world for women, they must have forgotten to give young women working part-time as they attend university the same respect as full-time adult curators.

Megan “Mando” Ando and I had a great time and recommend asking women what they think about the international political economy and military relations when you get a chance.

Historians will not know the political discourse that happened behind these walls.

Ando Dutch Cat Watch Count

19!

Outside a ramen shop.