Yesterday was the anniversary of the Comstock Act of 1873. The act was geared towards preventing the sale of birth control through the mail. It was eventually expanded to include the complete prohibition of birth control distribution and use. The Comstock Act received a major blow in 1916, when Margaret Sanger opened the first birth […]
Multiple Discourses, Similar Objectives In closing his essay Essentialism and Queer History, Rictor Norton has this powerful reminder for his readers: “It is naive to think that one theory or the other will inevitably affect the predominantly negative attitudes of modern Western society,” and suggests that, in place of abiding by one monolithic theory of […]
Museum of Sex, Norton, Weeks I was struck by the condom exhibit at the Museum of Sex for two reasons. One, despite Talmudic law that prohibits the “waste” of semen, the two most largely used types of condoms – animal skin and latex – were invented by Jews (one American, one German.) This is as […]
The museum managed to create a traceable history of our modern attitudes towards sex. I especially liked how all of the exhibits (and items in the gift shop) were presented in an open and informative manner.
