Museum of Eroticism, Barcelona: Marilyn Monroe on La Rambla
A beautiful lady, the ideal of femininity: delicate, ethereal, and sexy, named Marilyn Monroe – invites you…
Playfully and flirtatiously posing on the balcony, in her iconic dress from „The Seven Year Itch“, back in 1955. Some of you who have seen the film can hardly forget the memorable scene in which her dress flies up under the force of the fan from the subway grate. Simply a classic.
And above it a sign – „Erotic Museum“.
The young and beautiful lady is real. She is paid to disguise herself every day as the tragically deceased movie star… To attract one of Barcelona's already famous landmarks, the object of attention of many tourists. She lured us too.
The museum is located in the center, at 96 La Rambla street, and opened in 1997. The entrance fee is around 9 euros, from memory.
Erotic art from antiquity to Picasso
In one place, you can view a collection from antiquity to the present day – 800 items related to erotica.
Many of the exhibits come from antiquity, ranging from ancient China, Japanese prints, India – original Kama Sutra paintings, 19th-century African art, South America, Europe – a remarkable collection of postcards, all the way to the great masters of the Renaissance and later eras – all talented people, for example, the Spaniards Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso…
Some fetishes inspire laughter with their naiveté compared to the perversions of the current porn industry. But the imagination of ancient masters, right up to the 20th century, is documented in detail and in its original form... Perhaps modern man has something to learn and can awaken his erotic imagination with some ancient hint.
Shocking statistics: Who visits the Erotic Museum?
A little statistics: what do you think?!
At what speed does a sperm move towards the egg? Let me ask the question this way: which moves faster: a bus from the bus stop or a sperm during ejaculation? Well, the answer is obvious – the sperm – at a whole 5 km/h faster than the bus…
In numbers – 40 km/h for the bus departing from the bus stop and 45 km/h for the sperm... The statistic is immortalized on this poster that greets you as soon as you enter the museum.
Let's unlock the secret of human nature – which gender is more curious and visits the erotic museum – the „strong“ or „weak“ one. It turns out that 999 men visit per day versus 55 women. An undeniable fact in support of the theory that sex and procreation are the driving forces of nature for men. They are the hunters who pursue prey in the pursuit of reproduction. The woman – her biological clock remains to keep ticking... Someday.
By the way, in my profession, these are quite serious questions, even though I’m trying to give the narrative a casual and frivolous character… Regarding male ejaculation and the time a woman shouldn’t miss, due to career, lack of a suitable partner, and a host of other reasons, for the reproductive clock to start ticking…
So, let's quickly go through the halls: visually with valuable original objects, tracing the development of the genre Erotica.
Actually, the museum suggests that we're not talking about reproduction here, and to enhance the pleasure of foreplay...
Extraordinary medical inventions from the 19th century
One of the newest exhibitions is titled „History of the Vibrator.” Several of the first pleasure devices are preserved in special display cases. Appearing around 1900, some of them long before the vacuum cleaner. In appearance, by shape and size, they resemble a hairdryer more.
Art, Cinema, and Emancipation: The Film „Hysteria“
This photo /The Vibrators/ reminds me of the film by director Tanya Wexler „Hysteria,“ 2011.
The film tells the true story of two London doctors who invented, in the form of a comedy. the first electric vibrator (Hugh Dancy and Jonathan Pryce play the doctors).
They treated women who, in the 1880s, were thought to suffer from hysteria. Their friend, who loves to create various devices, played by Rupert Everett, helps them with their invention. Both were tired of treating female patients who needed pelvic massages. To speed up the process, they invented the electric device. The unintended result was, what contributed to women's sexual independence.
A while ago, vibrators were sold as medical devices or household appliances through „good housewife“ magazines.
If you haven't seen the movie, I recommend it.
Of course, The erotic theme is intimate, therefore, there is no need to describe the exhibits, they have a clear purpose.
Every self-respecting tourist center in Europe strives to establish its own erotic museum as another attractive lure for tourists. And the more shocking the exhibits in it, the more interesting the city itself becomes.
Spicy attractions: From „El Molino“ cabaret to Rasputin
Barcelona surprises people with its sophisticated sexual taste and valuable exhibits. Here, for example, is a series of S&M-themed posters and calendars from 1960-1990.
Items related to the famous „El Molino” cabaret. Special attention in the exhibition is given to the first pornographic films and animation, which pale in comparison to today's industry. If you have time, visitors can watch them on a big screen in a special room. Tourists are mostly gathered around a photo of Rasputin's manhood.
The museum has thought about tours for blind visitors, who are allowed to touch the sculptures.
And so, erotica has not ceased to thrill humanity and provoke its imagination. It turns out that everything has long been discovered...
Unlikely...
Each generation will add something new according to the technologies of its time.
See more Vladimir Staykov here
Exhibit at the Erotic Museum
Exhibit at the Erotic Museum
Exhibit at the Erotic Museum
